Iamblichus on Divination

This chapter argues that Iamblichus draws a distinction between two opposed types of divination: on the one hand, ‘true’ or ‘divine’ or ‘authentic’ divination, which is anchored solely to divine power; on the other, ‘non-divine’ divination, which is enmeshed in the material world, attributable to lower-order human cognitive power, and akin to what modern observers would call human ‘intuition’. A closer look at the third book of Iamblichus’ De mysteriis not only reveals the philosopher’s particular reshaping of the powers of the divine in new and more remote ways, but also brings into sharper focus the fact that, before him, the notion of human intuition had been left without designation, being referred to under the large and robust Greek cultural form of divination.