Authors: Brian Hines
The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy
,
edited by A.H. Armstrong, Cambridge at the University Press, 1967. In a single volume, eight scholars have contributed substantial essays on such wide-ranging subjects as “Greek Philosophy from Plato to Plotinus,” “Philo and the Beginnings of Christian Thought,” “The Greek Christian Platonist Tradition,” and “Early Islamic Philosophy.” Armstrong’s essay, “Plotinus,” clearly describes the essence of the philosopher’s life and thought in only seventy-three pages.
Plotinus: The Experience of Unity
,
by Gary M. Gurtler, Peter Lang, 1988. This book focuses on Plotinus’s psychology: his teachings about consciousness, soul, perception, reason, intellection, being. The philosophical arguments are quite dense, though important. Gurtler often includes both the English and Greek words for key terms in quotations from the
Enneads
—a helpful aid for the reader who doesn’t know Greek, but wants a greater understanding of Greek terms. Here’s an example: “For in general thought
[to noein]
seems to be an intimate consciousness
[synaisthesis]
of the whole when many parts come together in the same thing.”
Plotinus’s Philosophy of the Self
,
by Gerard J.P O’Daly, Barnes and Noble Import Division, 1973. Even though this is simply a published version of the author’s doctoral dissertation, it is quite well-written and clear. One of the interesting questions O’Daly examines is in what manner the individual self continues to exist in the Plotinian mystical union. As scholarly books often do, the text bounces back and forth between English, Greek, French, and German, but the bulk (thankfully) is in English.
Plotinus’s Psychology: His Doctrines of the Embodied Soul
,
by H.J. Blumenthal, Martinus Nijhoff, 1971. This is another published doctoral dissertation that focuses on the less-mystical side of Plotinus: his teachings concerning the nature of the soul that is still earth- and body-bound. Blumenthal discusses the relation between soul and body, the faculties of the soul, sense-perception, memory and imagination, reason, and the limits of individuality
Mystical Monotheism
,
by John Peter Kenney, Brown University Press, 1991. Subtitled “A Study in Ancient Platonic Theology,” this is an interesting examination of the roots of the modern Western religions. As Kenney says, “Each of the Western monotheistic religions has engaged in a prolonged process of philosophical self-definition, and for each this endeavor has been rooted in ancient Greek metaphysics.” Approximately a third of the book is devoted to the mystical monotheism of Plotinus.
Monopsychism, Mysticism, Metaconsciousness
,
by Philip Merlan, Martinus Nijhoff, 1963. As befits a book based in part on a lecture course given at the University of Oxford, Merlan’s treatise is heavy going for the non-scholar. But he addresses intriguing questions concerning the nature of mystical experience and higher states of consciousness.
The Significance of Neoplatonism
,
edited by R. Baine Harris, State University of New York Press, 1976. In this collection of essays, Harris contributes a clear and comprehensive historical survey of Neoplatonism, ranging up to the Neoplatonic notions of Berkeley, Blake, Bergson and other quasi-modern thinkers. Other interesting essays include Armstrong’s “The Apprehension of Divinity in Plotinus,” Mamo’s “Is Plotinian Mysticism Monistic?” and Rist’s “Plotinus and Moral Obligation.”
Advaita and Neoplatonism: A Critical Study in Comparative Philosophy
,
by J.F. Staal, University of Madras, 1961. This is a published doctoral dissertation that compares two great philosophical systems of East and West. Staal begins by asking how one goes about the business of comparative philosophy, an intriguing question in itself (for example, is a third normative system needed as a basis to judge the others?). He then moves to a discussion of the metaphysics of Advaita, and concludes by comparing Advaita and Neoplatonism. An interesting work, though filled with abstruse Indian and Greek terms.
5
. R
ELATED
W
ORKS
It is impossible to delimit those works that bear a close relation to Plotinus’s teachings, since Neoplatonic thought permeates Western philosophy and religion so extensively. Nevertheless, here are some books that are personal favorites of mine both because of their innate value, and also because each echoes, in its own unique fashion, the sublime spiritual message of Plotinus. I end the list with a single selection from the vast corpus of Eastern philosophy, just to remind us that the One at the center of all transcends distinctions of West and East.
Marcus Aurelius: Meditations
,
translated by Maxwell Staniforth, Penguin Books, 1964. Aurelius was a Roman Emperor who lived about a hundred years before Plotinus, and shared his Stoic inclinations. Apart from the philosophical value of Aurelius’s pithy musings and maxims (written during his martial campaigns), they are wonderfully applicable in everyday life. I took this book with me when I had to have a root canal, and these words comforted me in the dentist’s chair: “The substance of us all is doomed to decay…. Why must you agitate yourself so? Nothing unprecedented is happening; so what is it that disturbs you?” For a deeper understanding of Aurelius’s writings and his Stoic philosophy, read
The Inner Citadel
by Pierre Hadot, translated by Michael Chase.
Meditations on the Soul: Selected Letters of Marsilio Ficino
,
translated by members of the Language Department of the School of Economic Science (London), Inner Traditions International, 1997 Ficino was the leader of the Platonic Academy in fifteenth-century Florence. Even though he generally is termed a humanist, his humanism is of the deeply spiritual Neoplatonic variety. From the back cover: “Ficino was utterly fearless in expressing what he knew to be true. This collection of letters between Ficino and some of the most influential figures in European history, including Lorenzo de’ Medici, Cosimo de’ Medici, and Pope Sixtus IV, covers the widest range of topics, mixing philosophy and humor, compassion and advice.”
Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works
,
translated by Colm Luibheid, Paulist Press, 1987. No one knows the real identity of the fifth or sixth-century person who wrote under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite. And what the Pseudo-Dionysius taught is deeply mystical and often almost incomprehensible. Still, his Neoplatonic emphasis that God can be known only by an “unknowing” that transcends reason, mind, and even being itself had a great influence on later Christian mystics. His short essay, “The Mystical Theology,” beautifully captures the essence of the
via negativa,
the negative way.
Nicholas of Cusa: Selected Spiritual Writings
,
translated by H. Lawrence Bond, Paulist Press, 1997. Cusa has been called “the outstanding intellectual figure of the fifteenth century as well as the principal gatekeeper between medieval and modern philosophy.” Echoing Plotinus and the Pseudo-Dionysius, he speaks of the importance of what he calls learned ignorance. For example, in his wonderful “Dialogue on the Hidden God” he deflates those who intellectualize their spirituality: “One knows that which one thinks one knows less than that which one knows one does not know.” If you like to ponder such thoughts, you’ll love Nicholas of Cusa.
The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works
,
translated into modern English by Clifton Wolters, Penguin Books, 1987. These writings by an anonymous fourteenth century English parson are a much easier read than those of Pseudo-Dionysius and Nicholas of Cusa, yet reflect to as great a degree, if not more so, a Neoplatonic approach to Christianity. “Our work,” says the author, “is a spiritual work, and not physical; nor is it achieved in a physical fashion…. Everything physical is external to your soul, and inferior to it in the natural order.” This is one of my favorite books, well worth reading and then re-reading.
Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings
,
selected and translated by Oliver Davies, Penguin Books, 1994. There are many books about Meister Eckhart, the German Dominican of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries who boldly melded Greek thought and Christian theology. This volume contains some interesting Eckhart sermons that are not easily found elsewhere, and a clear introduction to Eckhart’s mystical thought. Meister Eckhart demonstrates that Neoplatonism is fully compatible with a mystically-inspired Christianity.
Open Mind, Open Heart
,
Thomas Keating, Continuum Publishing Company, 2001. Keating is one of the leaders of the modern Christian “centering prayer” movement, which, he says, “is an effort to renew the teaching of the Christian tradition on contemplative prayer.” Keating notes that the Greek Fathers borrowed the term
theoria
(contemplation) from the Neoplatonists, and I had the feeling, while reading this book, that whatever form of mystical contemplation Plotinus practiced, it must have borne a close resemblance to centering prayer. “Divine union,” says Keating, “is the goal for all Christians,” as for Plotinus.
Nature Loves to Hide: Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality, a Western Perspective
,
by Shimon Malin, Oxford University Press, 2001. This book should make Classics department faculty stand taller when they run into their Physics colleagues. Malin, a professor of physics, explains the intricacies and mysteries of quantum physics in a highly readable manner. Then, in the final chapters, he shows that the philosophy of Plato and Plotinus (and Alfred North Whitehead, a modern philosopher) is entirely commensurate with what physics has come to know of quantum reality. Malin writes: “For the individual, therefore, the quest for the experience of Oneness is the quest for the experience of his or her deepest identity, as well as the experience of the nature of reality.”
Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness
,
by Robert K.C. Forman, State University of New York Press, 1999. Forman argues persuasively, on the basis of both philosophical insight and his own mystical experience, that “pure consciousness events” are real, and can’t be explained away as an artifact of a mystic’s belief system or personal expectations. He also describes the nature of a “dualistic mystical state” in which the no-thought of pure consciousness can co-exist with everyday worldly living. Though this book contains no mention of Greek philosophy, per se, reflections of Plotinus’s teachings are on every page. For example, Forman speaks of knowledge by identity, where “the subject knows something by virtue of being it.” That’s pure Plotinus.
Talks with Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness
,
Inner Directions Publishing, 2000. If you want to put a label on Ramana, a twentieth-century Indian sage, he could be called a teacher of advaita—which simply means “not two,” or we might say, one. But Ramana, like Plotinus, transcends labels. He never traveled, gave formal talks, or wrote books. He spontaneously answered questions posed by visitors, and these conversations form the basis of this captivating book. Echoes of Plotinus can be heard throughout the book, just as Ramana’s voice speaks in the
Enneads
. At heart, every pure mystic says the same thing, albeit in distinctive styles of saying.
Introduction
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 54.
2
. Underhill, p. 13.
3
. Huxley, p. vii.
4
. Tarnas, p. 441.
5
. Tarnas, pp. 442-43.
6
. Tarnas, p. 2.
7
. Gatti, p. 24.
8
. Tarnas, p. 103.
9
. Ward, p. 113.
10
. Rappe, p. 33.
11
. Rappe, p. 3.
12
. Meagher, p. 3.
13
. Meagher, p. 5.
Plotinus, a Rational Mystic
1
. Luce, pp. 152, 153.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 74.
3
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 20.
4
. Harward, pp. 809, 810.
5
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 82.
6
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 88.
7
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 88.
8
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
pp. 83, 84.
9
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 88.
10
. Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life,
p. 64.
11
. Harris, p. 2.
12
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 85.
13
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
pp. 91, 93.
14
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 93.
15
. Jowett, p. 427.
16
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 84.
17
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 17.
Philosophy as a Way of Life
1
. McGinn, p. 46.
2
. Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life,
pp. 271, 272.
3
. Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life,
p. 265.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision,
p. 30.
5
. Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life
, pp. 267, 268.
6
. Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life
, p. 272.
7
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 34.
Making a Leap of Faith
1
. Malin, p. 7.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 46.
3
. Sells, p. 31.
4
. Sells, p. 32.
5
. Kavanaugh, pp. 81, 107.
6
. Kavanaugh, pp. 67.
7
. Benoit, p. xiv.
8
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 19.
9
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 19.
10
. Kavanaugh, p. 67.
11
. Jowett, p. 202.
Reading the Writings of Plotinus
1
. Rappe, pp. 64, 85.
2
. Sells, pp. 9, 216.
3
. Rappe, p. 238.
4
. Rappe, p. 20.
5
. Yun, p. 141.
6
. MacKenna, p. xxii.
THE ONE
God Is the Goal
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 58.
2
. Gerson, p. 187.
3
. Gerson, p. 187.
One Is Overall
1
. Kenney, p. 154.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 44.
First Is Formless
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 57.
2
. Hatab, p. 28.
3
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 58.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 58.
5
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 57.
Love Is Limitless
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 59.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 54.
3
. Mencken, p. 723.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 52.
Infinity Is Ineffable
1
. Sells, p. 5.
Beauty Is Beyond
1
. Armstrong,
Plotinus I
, p. 69.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 49.
3
. Hadot,
Philosophy as a Way of Life
, p. 102.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 21.
5
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 43.
Universe Is a Unity
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 38.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 45.
AND MANY
Spirit Is Substance
1
. Casti, p. 27.
Above Is Astonishment
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 37.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 44.
All Is Alive
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 46.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 37.
3
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 37.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 37.
5
. Malin, p.141.
6
. Rist,
The Road to Reality
, p. 205.
Creation Is Contemplation
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 22.
2
. Deck, pp. 102-103.
3
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 42.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 42.
5
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 38.
6
. Deck, p. 124.
7
. Hadot,
Plotinusor The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 43.
Truth Is Transparent
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 37.
2
. Eddington, p. 174.
3
. O’Meara, p. 39.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 33.
5
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 92.
Form Is Foundation
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 37.
2
. Rist,
The Road to Reality
, p. 22.
Intelligence Is Intuitive
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 40.
2
. Mortley, p. 61.
3
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 44.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 33.
Time Is Temporary
1
. Armstrong, “From Intellect to Matter: The Return to the One,” in
The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy
, p. 251.
2
. Hawking, pp. 8, 9.
3
.
Meditations on the Soul: Selected Letters of Marsilio Ficino
, p. 31.
World-Soul Is a Weaver
1
. Armstrong,
Plotinus IV
, p. 27.
2
. Gerson, pp. 62-63.
3
. O’Meara, p. 26.
4
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 94.
5
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 35.
6
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 94.
Providence Is Pervasive
1
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 104.
2
. Wallis, p. 68.
3
. Rist,
The Road to Reality
, pp. 204, 206.
SOUL’S DESCENT
Psyche Is a Pilgrim
1
. Blumenthal, p. 2.
2
. Hadot,
Plotinus or The Simplicity of Vision
, p. 64.