Ennead IV Hardcover – January 1, 1984

This is a review of Ennead IV (volume IV of the Loeb edition of the Enneads). This apparently is one of the less popular volumes. Not only is my review the only review for this volume so far, but I am just finishing up a graduate seminar on Plotinus and we only read one section from this Ennead, the section on the descent of the soul. While this is an interesting problem, and Plotinus gives a very interesting solution to the problem, if there are people out there who are trying to save money, and who are only interested in the really essential Enneads (it is expensive getting all 7 volumes of the Loeb edition) I would say that Ennead IV can probably be safely skipped by most readers.There are lots of reasons to read Plotinus. Plotinus represents, in my opinion, the pinnacle of a long development that has its origins in Plato and the Platonic dialogues. The Neo-Platonists really systematized Platonic metaphysics, and worked out in detail the metaphysical doctrines that Plato often only hinted at in the dialogues or presented in mythical form. Plotinus works out a consistent metaphysics based on Platonic principles and solves a number of problems that arose after Plato: the problem of participation (Ennead VI, 4-5), the interrelationships between the Ideas, and the nature of matter and the receptacle (Enneads II.4 and III.6), among many others. So anyone who is interested in Platonism, or Platonic metaphysics, should definitely read Plotinus.Plotinus was not simply an interpreter of Plato, however. Plotinus was an original philosopher even though he may not have viewed himself in that way. I actually think that it is probably possible to find almost every major doctrine of Plotinus somewhere in Plato's dialogues, but that does not mean that Plato thought all of those doctrines through as fully or completely as Plotinus. Plotinus was, for example, the first Western philosopher that I am aware of who really worked out a doctrine of the radical transcendence of the One. For Plotinus, the One transcends being itself, and this leads to a very interesting logic of simultaneous immanence and transcendence on the part of the One that has had profound effects on the subsequent history of philosophy, as well as Christian theology. Plato hinted at the Good being "beyond being" but it is Plotinus who fully works out what that means and all the ontological implications of such a claim.To put all of this more succinctly, Plotinus is really the first thinker who really thought through all the implications of an ultimate first principle (God) that is beyond intelligibility and that is genuinely ineffable. This was somewhat of a break with a great deal of Greek philosophy since Greek philosophers tended to equate being and form and, in fact, Plotinus himself equates being and form. That is precisely why the One, which is beyond form, also has to be beyond being. That is all very easy to say, but what does that actually mean? Plotinus works that out in detail in a way that no prior philosopher really had.Plotinus' philosophy is also meant to guide the spiritual seeker in their process of liberation. In the ancient world philosophy was not an academic, or purely intellectual, pursuit as it is today. It was a way of life, and a process of liberation. The same is still true about a great deal of Eastern philosophy which is a mixture of metaphysics and soteriology (doctrine of salvation). Plotinus' metaphysics are also a doctrine of salvation, and Plotinus has a lot of helpful advice for those who are on a "spiritual path". There is a lot of overlap between Plotinus and some Eastern philosophies especially Advaita Vedanta.So those are just a few reasons to read Plotinus. There are many more, but that should suffice. I want to quickly recommend that the serious Plotinus student get the Armstrong translation rather than the MacKenna. I do not read Greek myself, but my Plotinus professor, who is an expert in Greek, thinks very highly of the Armstrong translation, and I trust his judgment. Armstrong was a very good Plotinian scholar. I realize it is annoying that Loeb has broken the Enneads up into 7 volumes at around $25 a volume. I certainly understand why people would prefer to get it all in one volume. Personally, I tried reading the MacKenna years ago, and I found Armstrong to be much more accessible, although I have also progressed a great deal in my philosophical education, so that might be playing some role in my judgment. The bottom line is: if you can afford it, it is definitely worth getting the Armstrong translation.