Fleet, B.
Plotinus. Ennead IV.8 (2012)
At 34a he (=Plato) says, of the material body of the cosmos, that it is divine and that at its center the god set a soul that extended throughout its mass and enclosed it all…
At 34a he (=Plato) says, of the material body of the cosmos, that it is divine and that at its center the god set a soul that extended throughout its mass and enclosed it all…
Generally speaking, Plotinus is equivocal on the nature of the descent of human souls. At times he suggests that the soul’s descent is voluntary, at others involuntary. Dodds (1965, 24–26) thinks that Plotinus changed his…
Plotinus would certainly deny that there is any positive evil force at play in the cosmos — that would be a tenet of the Gnosticism that he eschewed. Rather evil is seen as an absence…
However, Plato nowhere fully discusses the question of evil. Guthrie (1978, vol. 5, 92-100) reviews the question and its treatment by scholars, who are divided on the consistency of Plato’s approach ; some consider that…
5, 35 : Each one of us : The chapter ends on an optimistic note, probably in contrast to the Gnostic view that the cosmos is an evil creation. Part of our human experience is…
The two options offered at 18-21 are, then, that matter has existed eternally depending for its being, such as it is, on the munificence of the One, or that it is in some way generated…