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Plotinus on Beauty
Beauty as Illuminated Unity in Multiplicity
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The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
In this book, Ota Gál presents a new analysis of Plotinus' conception of beauty, beginning from a close reading of treatises I.6 and V.8, which link beauty with the unified multiplicity of Intellect. This account is subsequently placed in a hierarchical and structural context in VI.2 and VI.6 and connected to illumination in VI.7, enabling us to determine the meaning of the predicate âbeautyâ at different ontological levels. For Plotinus, beauty is ultimately the illuminated unity in multiplicity of Intellect, which, as the manifestation of the Good, simultaneously enables the soulâs ascent and threatens to bind the soul to itself.
In this book, Ota Gál presents a new analysis of Plotinus' conception of beauty, beginning from a close reading of treatises I.6 and V.8, which link beauty with the unified multiplicity of Intellect. This account is subsequently placed in a hierarchical and structural context in VI.2 and VI.6 and connected to illumination in VI.7, enabling us to determine the meaning of the predicate âbeautyâ at different ontological levels. For Plotinus, beauty is ultimately the illuminated unity in multiplicity of Intellect, which, as the manifestation of the Good, simultaneously enables the soulâs ascent and threatens to bind the soul to itself.
Ota Gál, Ph.D. (1984), is a philosopher and physiotherapist working in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, and the Department of Neurology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University (Prague). He has published articles on Plato and Plotinus, as well as several medical papers and books.
"...this is a very good book, well worth the time not only of one interested in Plotinus and in the topic of beauty, but also in the view held universally by all Platonists that beauty is not separable from morality or from metaphysics." - Lloyd P. Gerson, BMCR 2023.01.35
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
â1.1âBeauty in Plotinus: Where and How to Start?
â1.2âTreatise V.8: Plotinus the Defender, or the Top-Down Perspective
â1.3âTreatise I.6: An Introduction to Plotinus, or the Bottom-Up Perspective
â1.4âOn the Kinds of Being: Plotinus the Exegete
â1.5âOn Number: Plotinus the Explorer
â1.6âTreatise VI.7: The Many Faces of Plotinus and Beauty
2 Beauty as a Stepping-Stone (Treatise I.6)
â2.1âThe Phenomenal Field of Beauty
â2.2âThe Context of the Question: The Symposium and Beauty as Symmetry
â2.3âThe Cause of Beauty and Ugliness in Bodies
â2.4âThe Impact of Beauty on Soul
â2.5âThe Cause of Beauty and Ugliness in Soul
â2.6âThe Hierarchy of Beauty and What Is at the Top
3 Intelligible Beauty (Treatise V.8)
â3.1âProductive Contemplation
â3.2âThe Defence of Ïá½³Ïνη and Sensible Beauty
â3.3âThe Beauty of Soul: The Cosmic Dimension
â3.4âThe Correct Understanding of Intellect and Its Beauty
â3.5âThe Îá½ÏανόÏâÎÏόνοÏâÎÎµá½»Ï Myth: Consequences for Beauty and the Good
4 Unity, Multiplicity and the Highest Kinds (Treatise VI.2)
â4.1âThe Focus of VI.1â3 and the Quest for the Highest Kinds (VI.2.1â3)
â4.2âEstablishing the Five Highest Kinds (VI.2.4â8)
â4.3âIs the One To Be Counted among the Highest Kinds? (VI.2.9â11)
â4.4âTentative Summary: The Unity and Multiplicity of Intellect in VI.2
â4.5âIs Beauty To Be Counted among the Highest Kinds? (VI.2.17â18)
5 Unity, Multiplicity and the Numbers (Treatise VI.6)
â5.1âThe Context of the Quest for the Notion of Number (V.5.4â5 and VI.6.1)
â5.2âDefined Multiplicity, Form of Beauty and the Indefinite Dyad (VI.6.1â3)
â5.3âNumber in the Intelligible (VI.6.4â8)
â5.4âThe Role of Number in the Generation of Beings (VI.6.9â10)
â5.5âNumber and Beauty (VI.6.18)
6 Beauty as the Manifestation of the Good (Treatise VI.7)
â6.1âThe Ascent to Intellect as Life (VI.7.1â12)
â6.2âThe Context of the Question of the Presence of the Good in Intellect (VI.7.13â14)
â6.3âThe Presence of the Good in Intellect: The Top-Down Answer (VI.7.15â17)
â6.4âThe Presence of the Good in Intellect: The Bottom-Up Answer (VI.7.18â23)
â6.5âAlternative Notions of the Good and the True Meaning of Platoâs Doctrine (VI.7.24â30)
â6.6âThe Good from the Perspective of Beauty and Love (VI.7.31â36)
â6.7âThe Good and Intellection (VI.7.37â42)
7 Beauty as Illuminated Unity in Multiplicity
â7.1âBeauty on the Level of Sensibles
â7.2âBeauty on the Level of Soul
â7.3âBeauty on the Level of Intellect
â7.4âBeauty and the Good
â7.5âBeauty as Such
Bibliography
Index
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
â1.1âBeauty in Plotinus: Where and How to Start?
â1.2âTreatise V.8: Plotinus the Defender, or the Top-Down Perspective
â1.3âTreatise I.6: An Introduction to Plotinus, or the Bottom-Up Perspective
â1.4âOn the Kinds of Being: Plotinus the Exegete
â1.5âOn Number: Plotinus the Explorer
â1.6âTreatise VI.7: The Many Faces of Plotinus and Beauty
2 Beauty as a Stepping-Stone (Treatise I.6)
â2.1âThe Phenomenal Field of Beauty
â2.2âThe Context of the Question: The Symposium and Beauty as Symmetry
â2.3âThe Cause of Beauty and Ugliness in Bodies
â2.4âThe Impact of Beauty on Soul
â2.5âThe Cause of Beauty and Ugliness in Soul
â2.6âThe Hierarchy of Beauty and What Is at the Top
3 Intelligible Beauty (Treatise V.8)
â3.1âProductive Contemplation
â3.2âThe Defence of Ïá½³Ïνη and Sensible Beauty
â3.3âThe Beauty of Soul: The Cosmic Dimension
â3.4âThe Correct Understanding of Intellect and Its Beauty
â3.5âThe Îá½ÏανόÏâÎÏόνοÏâÎÎµá½»Ï Myth: Consequences for Beauty and the Good
4 Unity, Multiplicity and the Highest Kinds (Treatise VI.2)
â4.1âThe Focus of VI.1â3 and the Quest for the Highest Kinds (VI.2.1â3)
â4.2âEstablishing the Five Highest Kinds (VI.2.4â8)
â4.3âIs the One To Be Counted among the Highest Kinds? (VI.2.9â11)
â4.4âTentative Summary: The Unity and Multiplicity of Intellect in VI.2
â4.5âIs Beauty To Be Counted among the Highest Kinds? (VI.2.17â18)
5 Unity, Multiplicity and the Numbers (Treatise VI.6)
â5.1âThe Context of the Quest for the Notion of Number (V.5.4â5 and VI.6.1)
â5.2âDefined Multiplicity, Form of Beauty and the Indefinite Dyad (VI.6.1â3)
â5.3âNumber in the Intelligible (VI.6.4â8)
â5.4âThe Role of Number in the Generation of Beings (VI.6.9â10)
â5.5âNumber and Beauty (VI.6.18)
6 Beauty as the Manifestation of the Good (Treatise VI.7)
â6.1âThe Ascent to Intellect as Life (VI.7.1â12)
â6.2âThe Context of the Question of the Presence of the Good in Intellect (VI.7.13â14)
â6.3âThe Presence of the Good in Intellect: The Top-Down Answer (VI.7.15â17)
â6.4âThe Presence of the Good in Intellect: The Bottom-Up Answer (VI.7.18â23)
â6.5âAlternative Notions of the Good and the True Meaning of Platoâs Doctrine (VI.7.24â30)
â6.6âThe Good from the Perspective of Beauty and Love (VI.7.31â36)
â6.7âThe Good and Intellection (VI.7.37â42)
7 Beauty as Illuminated Unity in Multiplicity
â7.1âBeauty on the Level of Sensibles
â7.2âBeauty on the Level of Soul
â7.3âBeauty on the Level of Intellect
â7.4âBeauty and the Good
â7.5âBeauty as Such
Bibliography
Index
Anyone interested in Greek philosophy and aesthetics, in the history of the concept of beauty and, above all, in Plotinus.