PLOTINUS Ennead IV.4.30-45 & IV.5: Problems Concerning the Soul: Translation, with an Introduction and Commentary (The Enneads of Plotinus)

Ennead IV.4.30–45 and IV.5 retrieves the unity in this last section of Plotinus’ treatise on Problems concerning the Soul. Combining translation with commentary, Gurtler enhances both the accuracy of the translation and the recovery of Plotinus’ often unsuspected originality. This is especially true for IV.5, where previous translations fail to convey the concise nature of his argument against both the Aristotelian and Platonic theories of vision. Plato and Aristotle each claim that vision depends on the light between the eye and the object, but Plotinus presents evidence that this is not the case and develops a novel theory of light as a second activity that moves from source to object directly, even arguing that color is in the light itself rather than merely a quality of the object. This theory of vision, in turn, depends on the nature of sympathy developed especially in IV.4.30–45, where Plotinus shows how action at a distance is both possible and necessary for the proper unity in diversity of the sensible cosmos. Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Introduction to the Series 11 Abbreviations 21 Acknowledgments 23 Introduction to the Treatise 25 Note on the Text 41 Synopsis 43 Translation of Plotinus Ennead IV.4.30-45 and IV.5 75 Commentary 125 Chapter 30 125 Chapter 31 132 Chapter 32 145 Chapter 33 151 Chapter 34 156 Chapter 35 162 Chapter 36 173 Chapter 37 178 Chapter 38 184 Chapter 39 188 Chapter 40 194 Chapter 41 200 Chapter 42 204 Chapter 43 212 Chapter 44 216 Chapter 45 227 Chapter 1 240 Chapter 2 249 Chapter 3 260 Chapter 4 266 Chapter 5 275 Chapter 6 282 Chapter 7 289 Chapter 8 300 Appendix: Ennead IV.1.1-2 and IV.2 309 Introduction 309 Synopsis: Ennead IV.1 315 Translation 319 Commentary 329 Ennead IV.1[4] 329 Ennead IV.2[21] 349 Select Bibliography 355 Index of Ancient Authors 365 Index of Names and Subjects 371 Plotinus ; Translation With An Introduction And Commentary Gary M. Gurtler, Sj. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 345-353) And Indexes.