Plotinus: An Introduction to the Enneads

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to Plotinus
Review: This book is more conventional than Pierre Hadot's remarkable study on Plotinus (see my review), since its regressive mode of exposition - from body to soul, Intellect and finally the One - is the most widely used in Neoplatonic studies. Staying close to the Enneads, O'Meara skillfully expounds these hierarchical levels, and he is especially adept at explaining how they relate to each other. The book is more than a simple catalogue of doctrinal tenets: unlike some other scholars of Neoplatonism, O'Meara is fully aware that one can't write about Plotinus' thought without considering the life experience it both presupposes and leads to. Neoplatonic speculation, however abstract it may seem at first, is never distinct from man's situation in the world. (This awareness on O'Meara's part is not surprising: in many articles and a recent book, he seeked to refute the commonly shared contention according to which the Neoplatonists were apolitical.) The author concludes his book with a brief but insightful assessment of Plotinus' influence on Western thought. In short, I strongly recommend this work to those who wish to learn more about a fascinating man and thinker.