Plotinus, Self and the World `

164 Pages·2013·1.39 MB·English

by  Raoul Mortley

PLOTINUS, SELF AND THE WORLD
Plotinus,SelfandtheWorldaddressesthequestionoftheindi-
vidual subject in its relationship with the world, the ‘All’. It
traces the self through its experience of memory and forget-
fulness,looksatwhethertheideaofthesubconsciousexistsin
Plotinus,andnotestheprobableimpactofPlotinus’thoughton
thedevelopmentoftheautobiography,intheformofAugus-
tine’sConfessions.AugustinehistoricisesthePlotinianindividual
self.ThebookreinterpretstheideaoftooikeioninPlotinusand
placesgreatemphasisontheimportanceoftheideaof‘having’,
and the ability to possess is itself linked to being: thus we are
closetotheideaofpersonalauthenticity.Lastly,thebookexam-
inesPlotinus’viewofimagesandart,andnoteshisrespectfor
thebeautyofthehumanface.Hispositiveviewofthephysical
worldisstressed.
raoul mortley is Professor and Dean in the Faculty of
HumanitiesandSocialSciences,BondUniversity.

PLOTINUS, SELF AND
THE WORLD
RAOUL MORTLEY
UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107040243
(cid:2)C RaoulMortley2013
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Firstpublished2013
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyCPIGroupLtd,Croydoncr04yy
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Mortley,Raoul.
Plotinus,selfandtheworld/RaoulMortley.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-04024-3(hardback)
1.Plotinus. I.Title.
b693.z7m675 2013
186(cid:3).4–dc23 2013023079
isbn978-1-107-04024-3Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
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Contents
Preface pagevii
Introduction 1
1 Theindividuatedselfandmemory 14
2 Memoryandforgetting 28
3 Ignorance,loveandplay 40
4 Plotinus’Eros 55
5 Theself:‘andwetooarekings’ 68
6 Beingandhaving 79
7 Self-knowledge 94
8 Artandtheseductionofbeauty 110
9 Face,imageandtheself 126
Conclusion 138
Bibliography 142
Index 151
v

Preface
Thisbookowesitsdevelopmenttoanumberoflecturesandseminars,
and the attendant discussion, given over the years at the Colle`ge
de France, the Sorbonne, the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes,
the Institut de Philosophie, the Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique,andKing’sCollegeLondon.Iwouldliketoexpressmy
gratefulthanksfortheseopportunitiestoMichelTardieu,Monique
Dixsaut,PhilippeHoffmann,AncaVasiliuandRichardSorabji(and
DavidPapineau),aswellastomyoldfriendandinterlocutorAnnick
Charles-Saget.Italsoowesagreatdealtotheworkandfriendshipof
the late Jean Pe´pin, to whom I would like to pay tribute as having
hadanespeciallyimportantplaceinmylife.Mywife,Miranda,has
been particularly supportive of me and my work on this project: to
her,gratefulthanks.
My university, Bond University, has been generous in supporting
thisworkandIwouldliketoacknowledgethis.
Lastly,mygratefulthanksgotomypatientandhighlycompetent
executiveassistant,AnouschkaBridgman,forallherhelpwithsetting
upthedocument,andtomyresearchassistantTrishitaMathew.
vii