Sentence:  ‘Revelation', to a philosopher such as Plotinus, was not merely irrational: it led to second-rate <WSD>counterfeits</WSD> of traditional academic philosophical culture. It was as if the inhabitants of an underdeveloped country were to seek to catch up with western technology by claiming to have learnt nuclear physics through dreams and oracles. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A non-genuine article; a fake.