Plotin - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Plotin is a Philosophe born in 205 after J. - C. with Lycopolis, in Egypt, and died in 270 with Rome. He is the author of the Énnéades who contains the essence of his philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the thought neoplatonician.

Biography

Knowledge which one has of the life of Plotin is mainly reported by Porphyre of Tyr, one of its disciples. At the 28 years age, Plotin leaves to study philosophy with Alexandria, near Ammonius Saccas, auprès of which there will remain 11 years. At 39 years, it decides to study Eastern and Indian philosophies, and thus joined the army of Gordien III who walks on the Perse. But this army is overcome and Gordian killed, so that Plotin must, not without difficulties, to take refuge in the town of Antioche. It settles then in Rome, in 247 under the reign of Philippe the Arab, and teaches there the philosophy lasting of many years, attracting itself the protection of the emperor Gallien. It seems to found a philosophical school in Campanie, close to Naples. He dies in Naples into 270. Its disciple, Porphyre, which played a very great part at Plotin since it is him which urged its Master to be written, went away, sick, in Sicily. On its return, it published the work of the Master, then continued to develop and publish the philosophy of Plotin.

Doctrines

Plotin teaches that there exists a " Un" , supreme, completely transcendent, including concepts of to be and non-being. These concepts (" être" and " non-être") are derived from the objects from our human experiment, but Him, l'" Un" infinite and transcendent is beyond these objects, and thus beyond the considerations and categorizations which of it are derived; beyond language, it is unutterable. The to be, or the Existence is an attribute, and one is beyond these attributes, since It is with their source.
One is not " any existant" , nor the sum of those, but precedes all what exists.

One emanated the remainder of the Univers as a sequence of lower beings. So sectateurs of Plotin, in particular Jamblique, drew from there from the intermediate hundreds of beings like intermediate emanations between one and humanity, the doctrines of Plotin is much simpler.

One contains neither division, neither multiplicity, neither distinction, nor change. Consequently, no attribute can be to him assigned, not more than the Pensée, because it implies a distinction between the thinker and the object of his thought. In the same way, neither the Will, nor the Activité can be to him charged, because that would also imply a distinction between a " Agent " of will or dealing and its object.

It is this " Un" who is the source of the world, not by an act of creation, volunteer or not, because the activity cannot be applied to this " Un" immutable, therefore motionless.
Plotin calls here upon a principle of Logique, knowledge that the " less parfait" must, necessarily, emanate from a " parfait" or of a " more parfait". Therefore, all " création" emanate from the One in successive stages (without concept of temporality) less and less perfect

Plotin thus offered an alternative to the concept of creation ex nihilo , supported by the Juif S and the first Christians, who according to him " affligeraient" God of the deliberations of a spirit and actions of the will. On the contrary, the Emanatio ex Deo , confirms Its absolute transcendence, making cosmic deployment a coincidence of Its existence. These emanations do not affect It in any manner, not more than they decrease It. It is not divided into a multitude of lower beings, nor is not parcelled out. Plotin establishes the analogy with the Sun whose the light without it not being decreased by it, or with a reflection emanates, which does not decrease of anything the reflected object.

The first emanation is the Us (the " Pensée"), that Plotin identifies with the Platonic demiurge, evoked in Timée. L'" emanates Us; Heart of the monde" , that Plotin divides into levels " inférieur" (the " Natural "), and " supérieur". Heart of the world emanate the human hearts, and finally the matter, degree low to be and of Perfection.
Cependant, although the material world is with lowest of this " procession" , Plotin criticizes scorn professed by the gnostic for the matter. On the contrary, it is of divine nature, since emanating from Us and the Heart of the world.

The religious nature of the philosophy of Plotin is also illustrated by the concept of union with one in l'" Extase ", to which Plotin would have arrived several times over time that Porphyre studied with him, at the dires of this last.
La relationship with the Illumination, the release, the mystical union is obvious.

The neoplatonism was sometimes used as philosophical support of the Paganisme, like means of defense against Christianity. However, it is in Christianity that it obtained the greatest audience, influencing Augustin d' Hippone, one of the first Fathers of the Church, and others. Néoplatonisme is at this point attached to Christendom that the author of the Fons Vitae , Avicebron was taken for a Christian whereas it was about a Juif, Solomon ibn Gabirol. The place of the neoplatonism in Christianity is central: the pseudoone, founder of the negative Theology, takes again Plotin via Proclus indirectly. The Pseudoone, one can then go back to Thomas d' Aquin who quotes it like the most authorized mystical reference, but also, though indirectly, with the Rhenish mystic (Main Eckard, Tauler, Suso)

The procession

The procession, in Greek: proodos or cathodos, evokes the emanation by which l'" Un" product Intellect then the Heart, the world, beings.

One
Intellect
the Heart
the matter

Conversion

Conversion, épistrophie in Greek, are the opposite movement of the procession, the reversal of the beings towards their principle. Thus, intermediary between the understandable world and the sensitive world, the Heart can be turned over towards its source to contemplate it and enjoy it. By being diverted material world and through the esthetic experiment, then philosophical conversion, it can rise until the contemplation of the One.

Works

First Ennéade

What the animal? What the man?
Of the virtues
Of dialectical the
Of happiness
does happiness increase with time?
Of beautiful the
Of the first good and other goods
What the evils and from which they come?
Of the reasonable suicide

Second Ennéade

Of the world or the sky
Of the movement of the sky
Of the influence of the stars
Of the two matters
Which wants to say in power and act?
Of quality and the shape
Of the total mixture
Pourquoi the objects seen by far appear do small?
Against the Gnostic ones, those which say that the demiurge of the world is malicious and that the world is bad

Third Ennéade

Of the destiny
Of Providence (I)
Of Providence (II)
Of the demon which received us in division
Love
Of the impassibility of the incorporeal things
Of eternity and time
Of nature, contemplation and
various Considérations

Fourth Ennéade
Fifth Ennéade
Sixth Ennéade

Neo-Platonists

Tests on Plotin

Emile Bréhier, the philosophy of Plotin , Paris, 1928.
Maurice de Gandillac, the wisdom of Plotin , Paris, 1952.
Jean Yellowbelly:

the purification plotinienne , PUF, 1955.
the procession plotinienne , id.

Stefan Leclercq, Plotin and the expression of the image , Editions Sils Maria, 2005,134 pages.
Michel Fattal, Logos and image at Plotin , Plotin at Augustin , followed Plotin vis-a-vis Gnostic the , Paris, Harmattan, " Opening philosophique" , 2006,184 pages.
Mr. Bilolo: concept of “one” in Ennéades de Plotin and the Anthems thébains. Contribution to the study of the Egyptian sources of the Neo-Platonism. In: D. Kessler, R. Schulz (Hrsg.), " Gedenkschrift für Winfried Barta HTTP dj N Hzj" , (Münchner Ägyptologische Untersuchungen, data base 4), Frankfurt; Berlin; Bern; New York; Paris; Wien: Peter Lang, 1995, pp. 67-91.
Pierre Hadot, " Plotin or the simplicity of the regard" , Paris, Gallimard " Folio essais" , 1997,201 pages.
Arielle Castellan, " Plotin. The rise intérieure." , Paris, editions Michel Houdiard, 2007,130 pages.
Vladimir Jankélévitch " Ennéades" , Paris - Editions of the Stag, 1998.

External bonds

Texts on line

Greek Text of Ennéades de Plotin , edition Kirchhoff
complete Works of Plotin in the course of edition
Life of Plotin , by Porphyry of Tyr, site of P. Remacle
the Philosophy of Plotin , Emile Bréhier

Articles

'' Plotin criticizes of Aristote '', Bernard Pitou, Académide of the Meeting
'' Of the method: rationality at Plotin '', P. Géraud, Académide of the Meeting

Random links:

The Jealousy (Robbe-Grillet) | Daubèze | Danna García | List Linux distributions | Alphabetical list of planets and other places of the cosmos of Valérian and Laureline