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"The Arabic Plotinus" was the most important source for Neoplatonic ideas in the Arabic world. Falsely attributed to Aristotle and known as the ‘Theology of Aristotle’, the Arabic version of Plotinus’ "Enneads" was influential on Muslim philosophers from al-Kindi to Avicenna and beyond. This book is a study of the philosophical transformation undergone by the works of Plotinus when they were rendered into Arabic as the ‘Theology’. The translator’s approach to Plotinus was creative and historically decisive: he tried to make Neoplatonism compatible with the religions of Christianity and Islam, and to assimilate Plotinus to the thought of the genuine Aristotle.

This is the first book-length study of the text, devoted to understanding the ideas and motivations of the translator who helped to determine how philosophers for centuries thereafter would confront Greek thought. ... Read more

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This book is addressed to readers new to the Enneads.One of the greatest of ancient philosophers, Plotinus is attracting ever-increasing attention from those interested in ancient philosophy, late Antiquity, and the importance of this period for the Western intellectual tradition. O'Meara presents a brief outline of Plotinus's life, and of the composition of the Enneads, placing Plotinus within the intellectual context of the philosophical schools and religious movements of his time.He then discusses selected Plotinian texts in relation to a number of central philosophical issues to show how Plotinus's thinking on these issues evolved, and to assess the historical importance of his philosophy. ... Read more

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An excellent introduction to Plotinus
This book is more conventional than Pierre Hadot's remarkable study on Plotinus (see my review), since its regressive mode of exposition - from body to soul, Intellect and finally the One - is the most widely used in Neoplatonic studies. Staying close to the Enneads, O'Meara skillfully expounds these hierarchical levels, and he is especially adept at explaining how they relate to each other. The book is more than a simple catalogue of doctrinal tenets: unlike some other scholars of Neoplatonism, O'Meara is fully aware that one can't write about Plotinus' thought without considering the life experience it both presupposes and leads to. Neoplatonic speculation, however abstract it may seem at first, is never distinct from man's situation in the world. (This awareness on O'Meara's part is not surprising: in many articles and a recent book, he seeked to refute the commonly shared contention according to which the Neoplatonists were apolitical.) The author concludes his book with a brief but insightful assessment of Plotinus' influence on Western thought. In short, I strongly recommend this work to those who wish to learn more about a fascinating man and thinker. ... Read more

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A fine intro to Plotinian thought
This compilation is by no means a comprehensive look at the writings of Plotinus, the man known as the founder of Neoplatonism--only certain Enneads are produced in translation and are commented upon--but that is not Corrigan's intent. The purpose of this book is to highlight certain key concepts from Plotinus's revolutionary brand of Platonism so that the reader can become reasonably familiar with them prior to diving into the Enneads as a whole.

In this respect, the book is a success. The translations and subsequent commentaries are arranged by topic and need not be read in order from first to last. And the reader should be reasonably well versed in core ideas such as the hypostases, the nature of the soul, etc., at least insofar as any commentator really understands the thoughts of Plotinus on these matters. The downside is that Corrigan opts for a very literal translation, and unfortunately Plotinus is already a writer infamous for his inability to be rendered clearly into English. That being the case, the casual reader would perhaps be better suited reading the commentary first, then reading and rereading the translated passages until it makes some kind of sense. But Plotinus is difficult in any medium, and someone new to this very sophisticated philosophical system could do worse than to start here.

A thorough and far-reaching academic sourcebook
Also available in a hardcover edition (1557532338, $58.95), Reading Plotinus: A Practical Introduction To Neo-Platonism by KevinCorrigan (Visiting Professor, Humanities Department, Emory University, Atlanta, Corrigan and Professor of Classics and Philosophy, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, Canada). Plotinus (204/205-270) was a philosopher whose kindly views on the soul, time and eternity, free will, and other topics earned him the respect and admiration of those close to him, and derisive insults such as "big driveller" and "plagiarist" by those who did not. His advanced views are presented in a fluid translation of their original text, followed by an extensive and exhaustive commentary. A thorough and far-reaching academic sourcebook, intended especially for college students of philosophy, but also containing deeply spiritual contemplations that will resonate with the seeker of mystical matters about the soul, the afterlife, and oneness with the universe. Additional chapters offer a broad-reaching summary and insight into Plotinus' views as a whole, as well as bit-by-bit analysis. An excellent resource and reference for college libraries or any student of Plotinus and Neo-Platonism.
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Philosophers Speak for Themselves From Aristotle to Plotinus Edited by T. V. SMITH Phoenix Books THE UNIVERSITY OP CHICAGO PRESS This book, together with FROM THALES TO PLATO Phoenix Book P 8 is also amiable in a one-volume, clothbound edition from THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, CHICAGO 37 Cambridge University Press, London, N. W. i, England The University of Toronto Press, Toronto 5, Canada M4 di95 v ty The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published i 934 . Second Edition 1956. Third Impres sion ip5p. Composed and printed fy THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, Chicago tilinois, U. S. A. PHILOSOPHIC OVERTONES A PHILOSOPHERS FAITH That we shall be better and braver and less helpless if we think that we ought to enquire, than we should have been if we indulged in the idle fancy that there was no knowing and no use in seeking to know what we do not know that is a theme upon which I am ready to fight, in word and deed, to the utmost of my power. PLATO. A PHILOSOPHERS CAUTION It is, the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits it is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician scientific proofs. ARISTOTLE. A PHILOSOPHERS PRAYER Beloved Pan, and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward soul and may the outward and inward man be at one. May I reckon the wise to be the wealthy, and may I have such a quantity of gold as a tem perate man and he only can bear and carry, SOCRATES. A PHILOSOPHERS ADVICE Absorb not all that you wish, but all that you can hold. Only be of sound mind, and then you will be able to hold all that you wish. For the more the mind receives, the more does it expand. What then you say, do we not know certain men who have sat for many years at the feet of a philosopher and yet have not acquired the slightest tinge of wisdom Of course I know such men. There are indeed persevering gentlemen who stick at it I do not call them pupils of the wise, kit merely squatters. .... This class, as you will see, con- V iii 6116550 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS letting me use a large body of material without charge, but has made it possible in this way for me to call attention in fashion exemplary to the greatest storehouse in English of classic wisdom from Greece and Rome. Every student who uses this book will, I hope, treasure for present and later use the knowledge of where he can get more, much more, of such mellow reflection as he has here sampled from this ever grow ing Loeb series. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE A PANORAMA i ARISTOTLE CHAPTER I. ARISTOTLE 3 His SYNTHESIS IN ITS HISTORICAL SETTING On His Predecessors Metaphysics 4 PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE How We Are To Conceive Nature and Cause Physics 40 PHILOSOPHY OF FIRST PRINCIPLES Development as Matter Taking on Form Metaphysics 48 The Final Cause of Development from the Potential to Actuality Hid. 6 THE FUNCTION OF MAN AND THE TECHNIQUE OF INTELLI GENCE The Theory of the Good Life Ethics 60 Education for Citizenship Politics 107 THE LATER ETHICAL PERIOD II. THE CYRENAIC-EPICUREAN TRADITION 113 Diogenes Laertius on Epicurus and the Epicureans . 114 III. THE CYNIC-STOIC TRADITION 154 Diogenes Laertius on Zeno and the Stoics .... 155 IV. THE SKEPTICAL CULMINATION 171 Diogenes, Laertius on Pyrrho and the Skeptics . . . 172 V. THE GREEK AND ROMAN CAREER OF THE ATHENIAN SCHOOLS 184 Cicero on Their Interrelations Academica . . . . 185 THE ROMANS VI. ROMAN STOICISM COSMOPOLITANISM AND CONSOLATION . ... ... Read more

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Neoplatonism is a term used to designate the form of Platonic philosophy that developed in the Roman Empire from the third to the fifth century A.D. and that based itself on the corpus of Plato's dialogues. Sara Rappe's challenging and innovative study is the first book to analyze Neoplatonic texts themselves using contemporary philosophy of language. It covers the whole tradition of Neoplatonic writing from Plotinus through Proclus to Damascius. In providing the broadest available survey of Neoplatonic writing the book will appeal to classical philosophers, classicists, as well as students of religious studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An excellent introduction to Neoplatonic textuality
This excellent book begins with an interrogation: why were the Neoplatonists so weary of discursive thinking while at the same time being the most exegetical philosophical school of all Antiquity? This question's vastness precludes any exhaustive treatment, but Rappe's study goes a long way in fleshing out the most important aspects of its ambitious and fascinating theme, namely the nature of Neoplatonic knowledge and the multiple (not to mention extremely varied) ways that lead to mystical experience in Neoplatonism (philosophical exegesis, mathematics, myth, theurgy, prayer and invocation, etc.). Rappe focuses on Plotinus, Proclus and Damascius - an audacious decision, since most scholars tend to isolate Plotinus from the later Neoplatonists, but a welcome one because Plotinus is at least as fascinated as the later Neoplatonists by the 'gap' between the text and what it can't express, if not even more so. A small caveat: the book would have benefitted from further proofreading done by a French speaker; the French quotes and titles are full of errors. Still, it remains a must-read study for students of Neoplatonism and religion.

Sara Rappe does it again.
The acclaimed philosopher Sara Rappe has written a very interesting collection of work.The central question - how is the thinking of Plato still applicable today.Extensive research gives as many answers as possible...perhaps not all the answers are necessary.Prof. Rappe's style is shaky at times, of Neoplatism is your thing, you will not be disappointed.A great way to get in touch with classical thinking ... Read more

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In this volume, Kieran McGroarty provides a philosophical commentary on a section of the Enneads written by the last great Neoplatonist thinker, Plotinus. The treatise is entitled "Concerning Well-Being" and was written at a late stage in Plotinus' life when he was suffering from an illness that was shortly to kill him. Its main concern is with the good man and how he should pursue the good life. The treatise is therefore central to our understanding of Plotinus' ethical theory, and the commentary seeks to explicate and elucidate that theory. Plotinus' views on how one should live in order to fulfill oneself as a human being are as relevant now as they were in the third century AD. All Greek and Latin is translated, while short summaries introducing the content of each chapter help to make Plotinus' argument clear even to the non-specialist. ... Read more

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1787. Thomas Taylor was one of the outstanding translators of the philosophical writings of the Greeks and Romans, and also published several original works on philosophy and mathematics. Many of his important contributions in these fields have been long out-of-print and are extremely difficult to obtain, having been issued in very small editions. Most of Taylor's translations have an archaic elegance which preserves the spirit of the older authors in a manner not evident in more recent translations. Taylor also added notes and commentaries which give valuable insight into the essential meaning often obscure in the actual text. Contains all the known translations of the Enneads by Thomas Taylor. Plotinus stands as the great reviver of Platonism as a living philosophy, and a true basis for real mystical development. From his inspiration and work arose a line of profound thinkers, whose works remain a high-water mark in the religious and philosophical achievements of humanity. This volume includes 27 treatises on such subjects as: The Good or The One; The Immortality of the Soul; Providence; Dialectic; Virtues; Felicity; Eternity and Time; The Nature and Origin of Evil; and Intellect, Ideas and Being. See the many other works by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more

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Plotinus (205-270 AD) was the most important philosopher in the centuries between Aristotle and Augustine, and interest in his work is growing rapidly. Lloyd P. Gerson gives a detailed account of the arguments of Plotinus in the major philosophical areas of metaphysics, epistemology, psychology and ethics, and examines them in their historical context. ... Read more

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Understand the very influential philosopher
It might not be clear to modern readers how important Plotinus was.His Enneads, consisting of 54 essays, is an attempt for a world view that is going to exert great influence on medieval Islam and Christianity.In this work of Gerson, he continued the thinking he laid out in his where he pinpoints the central question Greek philosophers tried to answer: What is the ultimate cause and principle of explanation?In this way, the superiority of the Plotinian answer over that of Plato's and Aristotle's becomes clear.The reading in this book is very dense, but it is rewarding to me personally to see how studying of ancient Greek philosophy CAN be of value in the contemporary world in clarifying our own ideas and our implicit world view.

Without understanding Plotinus (and arguably Origen) and the anchor points, it is virtually impossible to understand and compare the various medieval philosophies from Augustine to Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus. ... Read more

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This book is a philosophical analysis of Plotinus' views on sense-perception. It aims to show how his thoughts were both original and a development of the ideas of his predecessors, in particular those of Plato, Aristotle and the Peripatetics. Special attention is paid to Plotinus' dualism with respect to soul and body and its implications for his views on the senses. The author combines a historical approach to his subject, setting Plotinus' thought in the context of thinkers who preceded and succeeded him, with a proper analysis of his ideas and, where appropriate, of those from which they derived. ... Read more

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"Mankind is poised midway between the gods and the beasts."

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Ennead I.6 and Ennead V.8. ... Read more

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Plotinus (c.205-70) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, his work posthumously published by Porphyry and divided into six books, nine tractates each, called the "Enneads". In this book, Majumdar makes a valuable addition to the literature on his work, especially "Ennead III.7"(45)11-13 - in particular explaining Plotinus' cosmology using the genus-species model of soul, coordinating the literature on the appearance of time and the cosmos with that on the larger issue of Plotinian "emanation" and examining the role of tolma and the restless nature of soul in this conjoint appearance. This book investigates Plotinian "emanation," its laws of poiesis (contemplative making) and the roles of nature, matter, logos, (rational formative principle) and contemplation and highlights the subtler details of Plotinus' cosmology by disentangling conceptual issues about the nature of soul and self ("we") and their impact on the process of generation of time and the cosmos. ... Read more