Plotinus on Eudaimonia

Plotinus on Eudaimonia
Author: Kieran McGroarty
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2006-10-05
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0199287120

"This is the first full-length commentary on Plotinus' Ennead I.4 (46), a work written at a late stage in Plotinus' life when he was suffering from an illness that was shortly to prove fatal. The main concern of Ennead I.4 (46) is the good man and his pursuit of the good life. The treatise is therefore central to our understanding of Plotinus' ethical theory, and Kieran McGroarty's commentary seeks to explicate and elucidate it from a philosophical standpoint. The author's own English translation is printed on pages facing the Greek text (the editio minor of P. Henry and H. R. Schwyzer). Each chapter of the commentary begins with a short summary of the content followed by detailed discussion of paragraphs, lines, and, where necessary, individual words. McGroarty explains the structure of Plotinus' argument and identifies the sources he uses and critiques. The commentary confirms what Porphyry notes in his Life of Plotinus, that the Enneads are indeed full of hidden Stoic and Peripatetic doctrines. Appendices contain discussions of Plotinus' view on suicide, and his use of St. Ambrose's sermon On Jacob and the Good Life."--BOOK JACKET.

Commentaries on Plato: Phaedrus and Ion

Commentaries on Plato: Phaedrus and Ion
Author: Marsilio Ficino
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780674031197

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus, was largely responsible for the Renaissance revival of Plato. This volume contains Ficino's extended analysis and commentary on the Phaedrus.

The Renaissance of Plotinus

The Renaissance of Plotinus
Author: Anna Corrias
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000080102

Plotinus (204/5–270 C.E.) is a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. However, during the Middle Ages he was almost unknown. None of the treatises constituting his Enneads were translated, and ancient translations were lost. Although scholars had indirect access to his philosophy through the works of Proclus, St. Augustine, and Macrobius, among others, it was not until 1492 with the publication of the first Latin translation of the Enneads by the humanist philosopher Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) that Plotinus was reborn to the Western world. Ficino’s translation was accompanied by a long commentary in which he examined the close relationship between metaphysics and anthropology that informed Plotinus’s philosophy. Focusing on Ficino’s interpretation of Plotinus’s view of the soul and of human nature, this book excavates a fundamental chapter in the history of Platonic scholarship, one which was to inform later readings of the Enneads up until the nineteenth century. It will appeal to scholars and students interested in the history of Western philosophy, intellectual history, and book history.

The Essential Plotinus

The Essential Plotinus
Author: Plotinus
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
Total Pages: 228
Release: 1964-01-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780915144099

'The Essential Plotinus is a lifesaver. For many years my students in Greek and Roman Religion have depended on it to understand the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages. The translation is crisp and clear, and the excerpts are just right for an introduction to Plotionus's many-layered view of the world and humankind's place in it' - F. E. Romer, University of Arizona

PLOTINUS Ennead IV.8

PLOTINUS Ennead IV.8
Author: Barrie Fleet
Publisher: Parmenides Publishing
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2012-06-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1930972784

Plotinus was much exercised by Plato's doctrines of the soul. In this treatise, at chapter 1 line 27, he talks of "e;the divine Plato, who has said in many places in his works many noble things about the soul and its arrival here, so that we can hope for some clarity from him. So what does the philosopher say? It is clear that he does not always speak with sufficient consistency for us to make out his intentions with any ease."e; The issue in this treatise is one that has puzzled students of Plato from ancient to modern times-and is indeed a popular topic for undergraduate essays even today: Why should the philosopher, who has ascended through a long and painful process of dialectic to "e;assimilation to the divine,"e; ever descend back into the body? Plotinus himself is said by Porphyry to have attained such a state of other-worldly transcendence on at least four occasions during his lifetime, so this was a very real and personal issue for him. In this treatise we see him grappling with it.

Plotinus' Legacy

Plotinus' Legacy
Author: Stephen Gersh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2019-04-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108415288

Using a series of case-studies from across European philosophical traditions, this book traces the influence of Neoplatonism over the centuries.

Plotinus the Platonist

Plotinus the Platonist
Author: David J. Yount
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-10-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472575237

In this insightful new book David J. Yount argues, against received wisdom, that there are no essential differences between the metaphysics of Plato and Plotinus. Yount covers the core principles of Plotinian thought: The One or Good, Intellect, and All-Soul (the Three Hypostases), Beauty, God(s), Forms, Emanation, Matter, and Evil. After addressing the interpretive issues that surround the authenticity of Plato's works, Plotinus: The Platonist deftly argues against the commonly held view that Plotinus is best interpreted as a Neo-Platonist, proposing he should be thought of as a Platonist proper. Yount presents thorough explanations and quotations from the works of each classical philosopher to demonstrate his thesis, concluding comprehensively that Plato and Plotinus do not essentially differ on their metaphysical conceptions. This is an ideal text for Plato and Plotinus scholars and academics, and excellent supplementary reading for upper-level undergraduates students and postgraduate students of ancient philosophy.

Plotinus' Cosmology

Plotinus' Cosmology
Author: James Wilberding
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2006-03-23
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0199277265

In Ennead II.1 (40) Plotinus grapples both with the philosophical issue of personal identity through time and with the rich tradition of cosmology which pitted the Platonists against the Aristotelians and Stoics. James Wilberding presents an extensive introduction, the text itself, and a commentary offering a line-by-line interpretation of the work's philosophical, philological and historical details.

St. Augustine and Plotinus: the Human Mind as Image of the Divine

St. Augustine and Plotinus: the Human Mind as Image of the Divine
Author: Laela Zwollo
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 509
Release: 2018-11-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004387803

In Augustine and Plotinus: the Human Mind as Image of the Divine Laela Zwollo provides an inside view of two of the most influential thinkers of late antiquity: the Christian Augustine and the Neo-Platonist Plotinus. By exploring the finer points and paradoxes of their doctrines of the image of God (the human soul/intellect), the illustrious church father’s complex interaction with his most important non-biblical source comes into focus. In order to fathom Augustine, we should first grasp the beauty in Plotinus’ philosophy and its attractiveness to Christians. This monograph will contribute to a better understanding of the formative years of Christianity as well as later ancient philosophy. It can serve as a handbook for becoming acquainted with the two thinkers, as well as for delving into the profundity of their thought.

Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology, and Ethics

Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology, and Ethics
Author: David J. Yount
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2017-02-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1474298443

This book argues against the common view that there are no essential differences between Plato and the Neoplatonist philosopher, Plotinus, on the issues of mysticism, epistemology, and ethics. Beginning by examining the ways in which Plato and Plotinus claim that it is possible to have an ultimate experience that answers the most significant philosophical questions, David J. Yount provides an extended analysis of why we should interpret both philosophers as mystics. The book then moves on to demonstrate that both philosophers share a belief in non-discursive knowledge and the methods to attain it, including dialectic and recollection, and shows that they do not essentially differ on any significant views on ethics. Making extensive use of primary and secondary sources, Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology and Ethics shows the similarities between the thought of these two philosophers on a variety of philosophical questions, such as meditation, divination, wisdom, knowledge, truth, happiness and love.