Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision (Paperback)

~ (Author), Michael Chase (Translator) "What do we know about Plotinus?..." (more)
Key Phrases: philosophie antique, total presence, Emile Bréhier, Les Ennéades, Plato's Symposium (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Since its original publication in France in 1963, Pierre Hadot's lively philosophical portrait of Plotinus remains the preeminent introduction to the man and his thought. Michael Chase's lucid translation--complete with a useful chronology and analytical bibliography--at last makes this book available to the English-speaking world.

Hadot carefully examines Plotinus's views on the self, existence, love, virtue, gentleness, and solitude. He shows that Plotinus, like other philosophers of his day, believed that Plato and Aristotle had already articulated the essential truths; for him, the purpose of practicing philosophy was not to profess new truths but to engage in spiritual exercises so as to live philosophically. Seen in this light, Plotinus's counsel against fixation on the body and all earthly matters stemmed not from disgust or fear, but rather from his awareness of the negative effect that bodily preoccupation and material concern could have on spiritual exercises.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 145 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (April 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226311945
• ISBN-13: 978-0226311944
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,462 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable introduction to Plotinus, November 9, 2002

By	Platonism (Montreal) - See all my reviews

`Plotinus or the simplicity of vision', like other books written by Pierre Hadot, seeks to go back to a conception of philosophy in which philosopher and philosophical experience are inextricably linked, and it implicitly holds that such a conception is not only desirable but possible. It is less a catalogue of plotinian doctrines than a `psycho-portrait' of Plotinus, the witness of a way of life. Hadot emphasizes the process of the plotinian philosophical experience, his work becoming the mirror of the text it analyses: the initial sections thus deal with the preparatory, purificatory steps, which eventually lead to a discussion of the One, source of all things, and possible fusion with it. In some of the later chapters, Hadot considers Porphyry's `Life of Plotinus' and uses it to counter some of the questionable assertions that have been made about Plotinus over the years (often under the authority of that same work); he then takes a closer look at Plotinus' late treatises, whose topics generally revolve around death, the origin of evil, happiness and Providence. Hadot's approach is both personal and self-effacing: the commentary of a spiritual work becomes a spiritual work itself, as the commentator takes part in the experience related by the author he writes about. Those who read this book - which is useful either before, during or after our reading of the Enneads - will, too.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual Biography/ Spiritual Philosophy, January 11, 2007

By	OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This book is a joy to read. It is a joy because the author did not primarily write it for scholars; he wrote it for the layman. He wrote a spiritual biography that explains Plotinus and his teachings, and not a deconstructionist hatchet job to profane them. Yes, it is a slim volume and an introduction, but if it is sufficient to get the idea of simplicity of vision across, of stripping away all of the dross to once again attain union with the One, then it is more than enough. After all, true philosophy is simplicity, and not the complicated, pretentious, artificial construction of "learned" discourse that passes under that name in these days.

Those who think that Plotinus merely regurgitated the concepts of Plato couldn't be more mistaken. Plotinus achieved the mystic union that enabled him to verify Plato's teachings by direct experience. In the same way, later mystics validated Plotinus' teachings by direct experience. That isn't regurgitation- it is a form validation and verification based on experience. Yes, there is a chain uniting all true mystics and mystical philosophers, but it is not a cause and effect chain in the earthly world of matter and history- it is a chain existing at the higher level of pure Intellect, where we all are united whether we realize it or not.

Our self extends from God down to the level of matter. Most of us are not conscious of it. However, our point of attention or perspective can be shifted to a higher level. Our soul is in an intermediate position between the lower world (matter), and the higher worlds of Spirit and the One. When we descend from the All before birth we add something to this All. We do not gain by this addition, but are lessened by it. This addition is what constitutes our little, rational self. However, we can forget this little self and at least briefly re-unite with Spirit. A few may even briefly reach as high as the One while still rooted in this realm of time.

The secret lies in contemplation. Through spiritual practice we calm and purify the consciousness to be ready for the intervention of the Spirit. For we do not control this outcome no matter how long and hard we may work for it. Plotinus held that it ultimately depended upon...Grace. We must strive to become a living temple- but it is up to the divine presence whether or not it chooses to enter in.

There is a remarkable underlying consistency to all the teachings attributed to Plotinus. Even his last words are a holographic fragment containing the whole: "I am trying to make what is most divine in me rise back up to what is divine in the universe."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply thoughtful, August 13, 2006

By	D.K. (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Hadot's work on Plotinus is first rate and this is as good as anyone will find on the philosophy of Plotinus. But it is more than that. Hadot feels that something is missing in modern philosophy. At the start philosophy was not simple theoretical knowledge, as in trying to figure out if a sentece is analytic or not. No, at the start, philosophy was also a "way of life". You become a philosopher not just to think about the world, but to learn how to live the best life. Hadot also focuses on this aspect of Plotinus, in doing so opens up the possiblity that we today can adopt philosophy was a guide to living. No wonder this book hit the bestseller lists in France.

We should not forget that Plato said that our job, as philosophers, is "to see the world as it is, and ACT accordingly". Few aside from Hadot understand this and few infuse their studies with this wisdom. As a result Hadot gets closer to the truth than most.