Plotinus: First Ennead
Plotinus: First Ennead
This chapter presents the English translation of Paul Kalligas’s commentary on the first Enneads of Plotinus. The first Ennead comprises what Porphyry describes as “treatises with mainly ethical subject-matter” (VP 24.36–37). Nonetheless, it is immediately evident to the reader that Plotinus was rarely content with presenting a purely ethical doctrine; he was rather trying to probe into the metaphysical, psychological, and epistemological underpinnings of ethics. Thus, even his treatment of topics such as dialectic or beauty becomes easily integrated into the overall character of this set of treatises. Moreover, the first Ennead lays down some of the basic principles of Plotinus’s system (e.g., concerning the nature of man and the presence of the Good) and thus effectively serves as an introduction to his work as a whole.
Keywords: Porphyry, Plotinus, ancient philosophy, ethical doctrine, ethics
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