Quite often, words and expressions from a scientific and philosophical turn fall into colloquial speech. There they can radically change their meaning, up to the opposite. So, for example, what happened with the word "emanation." It was often used by Russian writers in a very ironic sense, for example, Saltykov-Shchedrin. When he wrote that being in a society should not spoil the air, he allegorically spoke of "emanations of the backyard." And in other cases, many believe that emanation is a smell. Therefore, this word is pronounced in one phrase with the verb “catch”. In the sense of “catching a smell” or a wave coming from somewhere.
But what is the true meaning of this term? Let's try to conduct a small investigation.
Translation and scientific interpretation
And in fact, if we open the Latin dictionary, we will find that emanation is a word meaning the expiration and spread of something. Encyclopedias and scientific interpretations tell us that we are talking about some kind of substance or phenomenon, which, arising, became so due to the outflow from somewhere. Another meaning of the word "emanation" is the allocation of some elements from a more complex substance. Therefore, in physics this term is used in the theory of the so-called radioactive decay. From the point of view of this concept, emanation is when special substances emit rays or emit gases during such decomposition. In chemistry, the radon element was given such a name, although now it isotopes are mainly called it.
Computer games
The popular word did not go unnoticed by gamers. For example, emanation is an element of the online strategy fantasy game Heaven. With this artifact, participants can craft items. Since there are several cults or character classes in this game, there are a corresponding number of emanations. They have different names. For example, the "emanation of chaos" - the most popular among the players - is part of such an artifact as the "perfect relic of the Destroyer." There are other similar elements. "The emanation of love" refers to the so-called cult of the Virgin. It can be obtained by disassembling the "perfect relic" of the class of the same name. And the "emanation of power" refers to the cult of the Protector. All these artifacts in the game can be bought, exchanged for “diamonds” or obtained by sorting out “perfect relics”.
Origin of the term
This word first appeared in ancient philosophy. Thinkers began to use it, trying to determine the origin of our world from a single divine Universe. In other words, this is an explanation of how being fell from heaven to earth, and why it acquired just such a form. Even the above-described online game has some, albeit very indirect, relevance to this initial concept. No wonder it is called "Heaven." Elements of the concept of "emanation" can be found in pre-Socratic philosophy. When Democritus or Empedocles thought about how the process of cognition occurs, they believed that every object emits some “patterns”, copies that affect a person’s feelings and, thus, cause a sensation of a “model” in the subject’s head. The transitional concept of this theory appeared in Plato and Aristotle.
Classics of Ancient Philosophy
The connection of emanation with the origin of the world appears indirectly in the term “aporroy”. It belongs to Plato and also means "selection." As you know, the Greek philosopher presented the world in the form of a kind of pyramid, on top of which is the concept of "Good." It is as if it emits or radiates from itself being and the possibility of understanding everything that exists. Fortunately, it gives rise to a world of ideas whose peculiar “emanations” are the things of this world. Aristotle refers the meaning of this term to the concept of a special kind of energy. The divine universe, from the point of view of the Areopagite, is the prime mover. It radiates energy, which, spreading from the primary source, as if “winds up” the entire mechanism of the Universe.
Understanding the term
The tradition of Platonism, established in ancient philosophy, gave rise to specific schools of thought. Their representatives created a very persistent metaphor for the theory of emanation, understood as a derivation from a certain inexhaustible source that constantly produces something, but remains eternal. For example, they compared the Universum to the beginning of a river that produces water but does not dry out. Or with the sun, emitting rays, but not losing light. The Stoics developed this understanding somewhat more already in the era of Ancient Rome. They took the Greek concept of “Logos” as the creative principle of the world. The Stoics believed that this “primordial fire” emits its breath - pneuma - which, gradually cooling and cooling, gives rise to organic nature.
Emanation theory
However, the world renown for this term was provided by the Neoplatonists. They also created the modern philosophical meaning of the word. One of the largest representatives of this school - Plotinus - presented the Absolute Good, the Universe as a source of creative energy, which is in constant abundance. That is, the Good is so full of its creativity that it is constantly overflowing with it. Creative energy emanating from the Universe creates our world in an involuntary and natural way. However, the further this divine light moves away from its source, the more it fades and fades until it goes out completely. Therefore, the world is divided into different levels - according to its proximity to the beginning. The farther from the source, the less good and, accordingly, more evil (which is a lack of good). Thus, emanation in philosophy is, first of all, the concept of the loss of perfection in the process of stepwise outpouring of the energy of the Absolute, up to nonexistence, by which in Neoplatonism is understood matter.
Christian perception
Neoplatonic theory initially opposed the new religion that was emerging in the Roman Empire. In Christianity, the creation of the world through an act of God's will was a concept absolutely opposite to the idea of a “natural expiration” of good due to the nature of the Universe. After all, the Bible believes that everything created by Yahweh is “very good”, and corruption is a consequence of a violation of the will of the Lord. However, later the theory of emanation was positively perceived by Christian thinkers and apologists in some of its elements. For example, Thomas Aquinas developed the idea of "the impoverishment of good" in creation and evil as a lack of good, based on this the Catholic theodicy. He argues that God can be gradually known through his creations, referring to the same principle. Dionysius the Areopagite introduced the theory of emanation into the canon of the Christian faith and created a treatise
about the heavenly hierarchy.
