Plotinus found favor with the
Roman emperor Gallienus. The emperor sponsored the founding of a school to be
headed by Plotinus. Due to the
editing of PlotinusÕ works by his student Porphyry, his works were widely
influential and survived complete into the middle ages. Many Christian, Jewish
and Muslim thinkers were strongly influenced by PlotinusÕ Philosophy.
Plotinus was a major figure
in the late Hellenistic school commonly known as Neoplatonism but he and his
followers simply referred to themselves as platonists, claiming to base their
ideas on those of Plato and not creating anything new.
However, it is clear that
Plotinus was not entirely satisfied with the way that Plato had expressed his
ideas.
For example, the opinions on the origins and structure of the universe that Plato presented in the Timeaus were undeniably problematic.
The story Plato told in the
Timaeus seems to imply that that the Universe was created at some time in the
past, that there was literally a beginning of things. If so, then, what was there before the universe was made?
Plato says that only formless
stuff (the Receiver) existed. This
idea raises the question of whether this stuff had always existed. If so, why
did the Demiurge wait so long before making anything?
More importantly, if the
Forms have always existed, and the Demiurge used the Forms as the plans for
making things, there seems to be no reason why he would not have made things
long before the time He did. If He was idle for an indefinitely long time, why
bother to ever make anything?
Most seriously, the Demiurge,
like any craftsman, is intelligent, alive and capable of acting deliberately.
But this is the very definition of an animal.
Plato says that there is a
form for Animality. Animals exist by participating in this form. That seems to
mean that the Demiurge participates the form of Animality. If animals like fish and birds exist
only because the Demiurge made them, using the form of Animality, this seems to
mean that the Demiurge himself was made by something that used the same
form. Was there another Demiurge
before that Demiurge?
If so, the same question
arises all over again. Because of problems like these, Plotinus decided that
much of PlatoÕs philosophy was expressed in metaphorical language and needed to
be interpreted so that it could be understood in literal terms.
Plotinus was sympathetic with
PlatoÕs disagreement with Parmenides on the nature of Being and Unity. Parmenides said it is impossible for
there to be many things. Only Being exists.
Being, according to
Parmenides is absolutely one, unchanging and indivisible.
Plato argued that some things
have a greater degree of being than others. As a result, change and the existence of many things are not
contrary to Logic as Parmenides had claimed.
Plotinus claimed he was only
interpreting and supplementing PlatoÕs philosophy. He stresses such themes as
the following:
Some degree of unity is a
necessary condition for any degree of being. The more unity a thing has, the
greater its degree of Being.
The ever-changing objects of
sense-experience never attain
more than an imperfect degree
of unity. They all undergo
changes of some sort. Even
the eternal, incorruptible stars move in their constant courses. Even indestructible
souls undergo changes in their activities and in their degree of understanding.
Forms have the highest
possible degree of Being because of their absolute unity. So, they are
unchangeable, immaterial and
eternal.
Forms can be defined as
principles of unity for inferior things.
Yet, Unity is not the same as
Being. Forms participate in Unity.
But Unity itself is not a
form. Unity is not itself a being. It is the principle that makes all beings
possible. It is beyond Being.
Because it transcends all beings,
it is indescribable.
PlotinusÕ principle: Anything
that is perfect of its kind necessarily generates something a degree
lower in perfection.
Plotinus calls the first
stage (hypostasis) in the order of Being
Intellect or Mind. It is the totality of all (platonic) Forms.
Emanation is not a temporal
process. It has no beginning or ending. It is not an activity or process. It is
a timeless fact.
It is a timeless act of
Intellect knowing itself as containing all Forms.
Intellect is the best possible
image or representation of the One. It is both an act of knowing and the object
that is known.
Act and object are identical
in this case.
A rough comparison would be
the way in which a human soulÕs act of knowing is aware of itself (in addition
to other things).
Plotinus calls the second
stage (hypostasis) in the order of Being
Soul. It is eternally emanated by Intellect.
PlotinusÕ principle of Soul
is comparable to PlatoÕs World-Soul.
It is immaterial and eternal
but undergoes changes.
Soul eternally contemplates
Intellect through a continual process of step-by-step reasoning. It is this
movement that constitutes the unvarying, objective order of Time.
Soul has a higher aspect (Logos) and a lower aspect (Physis).
Logos directly contemplates
all the forms in Intellect together.
In doing so, it contains
imperfect images of the forms.
Physis realizes, shapes and
controls the physical world in ways that correspond to the imperfect images in
Logos. It is a principle of order and growth.
The souls of animals and
plants are necessary emanations of Physis.
Human souls have both a
higher aspect and a lower aspect.
The higher aspect of the
human soul (Reason) is capable of an acquaintance with the forms in Intellect.
This is genuine knowledge as defined in PlatoÕs Republic.
The lower aspect of human and animal souls generates and attempts to control a body. Souls are more or less weakened as a result.
Matter in itself is
relatively disorderly. It has no inherent unity.
The simplest types of matter
are a privation of being rather than
true beings. Matter is the
principle that makes evil possible.
The soul is in a constant
struggle with the body. It seeks to
Evade being controlled by the
body. Often, in moments of weakness due to ignorance it fails to exercise
control.
At those times, the soul is
controlled by the body and it makes bad choices. Bad deeds result. This,
problem, however, teaches the need to escape from the body.
The lesson is an extremely
important one. In keeping with
SocratesÕ statements in Phaedo,
the value of studying philosophy and living according to true philosophical
principles is that we become less and less attached to the body.
Death can never frighten an
accomplished philosopher. Such a philosopher knows that the soul cannot be
destroyed and nothing can disturb the happiness of a virtuous soul.
Soul produces beings of every
possible degree of unity and with every possible degree of intelligence. Of course, they may not all exist at
the same time or in the same place.
The function of souls is to
impose form and order on relatively formless things. However, in this they can never be completely successful.
Earthly bodies are inherently unstable, especially human bodies. The more a
human soul is preoccupied with the body and its needs, the more they can become
disorderly.
Moral vices such as greed,
hatred, cowardice and lust, are types of disunity or disorder in the soul.
Matter, being inherently disorderly
can communicate disorder on
the soul that is in contact with it.
But matter necessarily exists
just as much as the other stages in the order of being. However, Plotinus says different things
about the status and nature of matter.
In some places, he says that
matter is so inherently formless and disorderly that it should be thought of as
the lowest limit of Being or even beneath being. Given this notion, Evil in the
form of disorderly states of the soul
must exist.
But can this be true if, as
Plotinus says, God (the One) is the ultimate source of all that exists ? If
matter is just the privation of Being, something utterly formless, how could be
said to exist at all? If Plotinus were to take this position, it seems
impossible to explain the existence of evil.
But Plotinus also provides a
different explanation of evil.
According to this
explanation, evil exists not because of matter but because God produces all
possible degrees of being. Types of being differ in their degrees of strength,
degrees of stability or instability. So, everything is exactly as it must be. Considered
as a totality, everything is appropriate and necessary.
In their descent from
Intellect, Souls become weakened and challenged by their association with
bodies. They become partial and self-centered. This is inevitable but some
souls, the human ones are still responsible for how they live their lives. If
they fail to attain virtue, they will inevitably be reincarnated. This means
that our most important business is to restore ourselves to the blessed
condition they once enjoyed when they were united with the universal soul.
Souls that are in an
imperfect, disorderly state nevertheless yearn for a vision of God. This is
proven by the natural desire in each of us for beautiful things, justice,
virtuous conduct and knowledge.
We also have a natural revulsion
for ugliness, cruelty, vice , etc.
These are promptings to
purify oneself, reject the corrupting influence of bodily things and work
toward moral virtue. With practice the soul can become beautiful and godlike.
Beyond virtue, what is necessary for salvation is a training of the
intellectual part of the soul in order to grasp the forms in Intellect.
Final salvation is attained
though a mystical union with the Logos
and a vision of the One.
After death, the perfected soul may expect to enjoy this vision perpetually.
PlotinusÕ doctrines were
taught by various followers for three centuries after his death. One of his most important followers was
Porphyry. He took over direction of his school in Rome and also composed a number
of treatises and commentaries that strongly influenced other thinkers,
including some of the most important early Christian authors e.g., Boethius,
Augustine and ÒDionysiusÓ.
This influence is ironic
because the neoplatonists, especially Plotinus and Porphyry were quite hostile to
Christianity. Porphyry wrote several books in opposition to Christianity,
including
Against the Christians.
http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/porphyry.html
Another anti-Christian
neoplatonist was Celsus.
http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Celsus.html
In spite of such powerful opposition, many aspects of neoplatonism
as well as Stoicism were adapted by the early Christian writers.
The original doctrines of Christianity were significantly
transformed as a result of these and other influences.
What makes these facts especially ironic is that the original
doctrines of Christianity, based on the Bible, include the doctrine of
The Atonement Ð the sacrifice of GodÕs only son for the redemption
of sinful mankind. This doctrine was absolute nonsense to the
neoplatonists. The divine son of
God could not have a body any more than God himself could have a body, let
alone endure suffering and death. Moreover, it makes no sense to suppose that
an all-powerful God would atone for the imperfections of human beings by
causing the death of his own Son. The imperfections of human beings are
entirely due to their ignorance. It would have been far more rational to
correct human ignorance by sending
millions of angels to Earth to teach human beings the truth about
God and the path to salvation.