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Roman Philosophy
Plotinus
On the basis of the concepts about Aristotle and Plotinus as discussed in the class, compare and
contrast the two philosophers.

Plotinus was born in 204 AD at Lycopolis, Egypt. He was the originator of Neoplatonism and the
finest late-Antiquity philosopher. As a Neoplatonist, he felt that Plato's philosophy, both his
dialogues and his unwritten teachings, included all truths. Plotinus blended reason and
spirituality, mysticism and philosophy, contemplation and action to establish an understanding of
metaphysics and way of life that would profoundly affected developments in Christian, Jewish,
and Islamic philosophy, theology, and mysticism in later centuries. Plotinus' perspective of the
cosmos is rooted in his belief in fundamental unity and a One beyond words, which is central to
the Western philosophical tradition.

Plotinus, was dissatisfied by the philosophers of Alexandria until he encountered Ammonius, a

Platonist, one day (i.e. someone who follows in the traditions of Plato). Plotinus sought study of
Persian and Indian philosophy after learning Plato's philosophy from Ammonius. He took part in
a military expedition to Persia, which ended in failure. Upon his return, he travelled to Rome to
promote his interpretation of Plato's philosophy as a path to self-awareness and, ultimately,
enlightenment for the philosophical individual.

In Greek thought, there was a long tradition of trying to understand how it is possible that all the
things of the worlds had come to exist. Plotinus explains that there is a One, which like the sun,
is capable of continuously emanating energy or being. As a result of these emanations,
progressively the world as we know it came into being. He refers to this as the three hypostases:
the One, Intelligence, and Soul. These three things are different aspects of reality, which exist in
unity with each other, and both explain the way the world came into being as well as how one
can reunite with this divine source.

For Plotinus, the One is the source of life. It is a perfect thing without any limitations. It is so
unlimited, it can’t even be described other than to say that it is indescribable. This is known as
negative theology, that one can only know what the divine isn’t, and not what it is. This One
represents the unity in the world before there is any distinction between this or that, subject and
object, man and God. The One transcends the world as this perfect unity, which exists in
perpetual self-contemplation. By understanding that there is a One, and not that the world was
created by some intelligent and intentional designer, we can start to identify with our higher
nature.

From the One, a next level of being was emanated which he called the realm of Intelligence.
Intelligence is the aspect of reality where everything is understood in terms of Forms, Plato’s
Forms. For example, Intelligence consists of the Forms of Beauty and Truth and Justice and the
Good. The Intelligence represents our intuition, the understanding of these Forms that underlie
the things of the world and make up their eternal nature.
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After Intelligence, there is the level of Soul. Soul is where individual things come into being.
There is a higher soul, and a lower soul. The higher soul, man’s higher nature, remains in
contemplation of the Forms in the realm of Intelligence. The lower soul, man’s lower nature, is
contained in the world of senses and matter. The soul is the place where rational thought occurs,
however, because the lower aspect of the soul is contained in the world of nature, emotions and
other such things can cause us to act irrationally. Matter, lacking divine being, is therefore the
source of evil and the reason why we fall into error.

In this way, Plotinus is able to explain both why the world is the way it is, for example why there
is evil in the world (in philosophy known as the Problem of Evil or theodicy), and he is also able
to provide a path to enlightenment and salvation. When man forgets his true nature, his higher
self, and instead focus his energies exclusively on things in the material world, he is lost. He
does not recognize that he is in unity with reality and the One, but rather sees himself as an
isolated individual who is at the whims of the constantly changing material universe. However,
through philosophical training, one can learn to recognize the unity of the world, and to therefore
identify with one’s higher nature.

When one focuses on his higher nature, he is able to progressively identify with his higher soul,
with Intelligence, and with the transcendent One. Moral virtue is important (i.e. doing good
things in the world) because it allows one to be at peace with himself and therefore in a position
to contemplate/think of/examine/look at the higher realities of the world. Plotinus believes that
through such contemplation it is possible to have a vision of the One, and he is said to have had
several mystical experiences in his lifetime. For him, this was not just an abstract philosophy, but
something real based on personal experience of what he considered to be divine.

Common to both Plato and Pythagoras, as well as certain Indian philosophies, Plotinus believed
in reincarnation. He explains that depending on where one’s focus is, one will be reincarnated in
one of several different life forms. If one is focused solely on material concerns, they will be
reincarnated as an animal or even a plant. If they focus on what is rational, they will come back
as a human being. And if they are able to identify with Intelligence, the realm of Forms, they can
escape this cycle of reincarnation and unite with the One.

Plotinus’ metaphysical philosophy, mysticism, and way of life was very influential in his time as
well as since in the history of Western thought. As a Neoplatonist, he saw Aristotle (Plato’s
student) as integral to helping one understand Plato’s true philosophy. Most developments in
Western philosophy, either Platonic or Aristotelian, used Plotinus’ writings (the Enneads), as
their source. He would deeply influence St. Augustine, as well as later Christian thinkers such as
Aquinas and Nicholas of Cusa.

Plotinus’ writings were reintroduced into Europe by Renaissance thinkers. His Neoplatonic
philosophy inspired the Romantic writers of Europe, and the imagination of Christian writer such
as C.S. Lewis. In the 20th century, William James created an understanding of theology rooted in
religious experience in the same way that Plotinus grounded his philosophy in his mystical
experiences. In his ability to unite traditional Greek thought with original understanding, and to
connect rationality and philosophy with mysticism and spirituality, Plotinus stands out as an
incredibly interesting and influential figure in Western history.