ABSTRACT
First published in 1999. We are fortunate in possessing a fascinating document, The Life of Plotinus, written by the philosopher Porphyry, a pupil and associate of Plotinus for the last eight years of his life. The basic facts contained in this Life can be quickly recounted. Plotinus was likely a Greek born in Egypt in AD 205. It is possible, though, that he came from a Hellenized Egyptian or Roman family. In his 28th year, Plotinus discovered in himself a thirst for philosophy. This is a collection of his works- Ennead I contains treatises on what Porphyry calls “ethical matters”; Enneads II–III contain treatises on natural philosophy or cosmology, with some rationalizations for the inclusion of III. 4, 5, 7, and 8. Ennead IV concerns the soul; V Intellect or and VI being, numbers, and the One. The thematic unity of Enneads I, IV, and V is somewhat greater than the rest.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |107 pages
Part I
chapter |10 pages
An Argument for the Existence of a First Principle of All
chapter |24 pages
The Attributes of the One
chapter |20 pages
Intellect and Soul
chapter |12 pages
Truth and the Forms
chapter |22 pages
Categories and the Tradition
chapter |18 pages
A Platonic World
part |85 pages
Part II