The Return of the Self to the One : A Philosophical Investigation into the Mystical Experience of Plotinus /
Antony Cyriac Thundathil.
- Bangalore : Dharmaram Publications ; 2007.
- 99 p. ;
includes index and biblioraphy
Chapter one Contemplation and action; Reconstruction of classical metaphysics Introduction ...6 1.1 The life and writings of plotinus ...6 The two unrealized dreams of plotinus ...7 Plotinu`s life in rome ...8 The social and political background of his time ...8 The religious context of his time ...9 1,2. The work ...11 The structure of the enneads ...12 1.3. Plotinus: Towards restructuring of classical metaphysics ...13 Plotinus relation to presocratic philosophers ...14 Plotinus relation to ammonius saccas ...15 Plotinus and plato ...15 Plotinus and aristotle ...16 Plotinus and stoicism ...17 Neo platonism of plotinus ...17 Plotinus and his school ...18 1.4. Plotinus platonism ...18 Is plotinus original ? ...19 Plotinus : Exegete of plato or innovator ? ...20 Differences between plato and plotinus ...22 1.5. Plotinus system of thought ...23 1.6. Fundamental characteristics of neoplatonism ...25 1.7. Metaphysical reconstruction in the philosophy of plotinus ...25 Conclusion ...27 Chapter two The one ; Mystical Introduction ...28 2.1. Anachronism of terminology ; Priority and posteriority ...28 The three fundamental realities ...30 2.2. Metaphysics of the one ...31 Talking about the one : A ffirmative and negative aspects ...32 Mentological discourse about the one ...33 The one in itself ,the transcendence of the one ...34 The one above all predicates ...35 The one is beyond being ...36 The one as power ...36 Transcendence and the Immanence of the one ...37 The one as simple ...38 The one as perfect ...39 The one as infinite ...40 The ontological approach ...41 The one as efficient cause ...42 The prior actuality principle ...42 The principle of undiminished giving ...43 The immanence of the one ...44 The one as final cause ...45 The one as mystical cause ...45 The paradoxical approach to the one ...46 The one as the source and goal of everything ...47 The one as the source and goal of everything ...47 Conclusion ...48 Chapter three The nous rational Introduction ...49 3.1. Existence of intellect ...50 The nature of intellect ...51 Reason and intellect ...51 Being and intellect ...52 The emergence of intellect ...54 The ascent to intllect ...55 The intellect itself ...56 3.2 The contemplation of the intellect and the emergence of soul ...56 Conclision ...57 Chapter four Soul the spiritual Introduction ...58 4.1 The notion of soul ...58 Emergence of soul ...59 4.2 Soul as an entity (Entitative character of soul) ...60 Arguments based on the capacity of judgment ...61 Argument based on their reflexivity ...61 Arguments based on the representational theoty of knowledge ...62 4.3 Soul as one and Mary (nature of soul) ...62 Soul as substance ...64 Kinds of soul ...64 The world soul and individual souls ...65 Soul body relation ...66 The presence of soul to body ...66 Role of the soul in the sensible world ...67 Endowed self and the ideal self ...68 Our selves ...69 4.4 The descent and fall of soul ...70 Conclusion ...71 Chapter five Return of the self to the one : Fusion of mystical and rational Introduction ...73 5.1. Plotinus mystical xperience with the one ..74 The descent of the soul ...76 Metamorphosis of vision a path to mystical union ...77 Contemplation universal and individual activity ...78 The mysticism of intellect ...80 Removal of all that is alian ...81 5.3. Mystical union with the one ...81 Preparation for mystical experience ...82 Life after contemplation ..84 Plotinian virtue ...85 Plotinian virtue and contemplation ...86 Conclusion ...88 General conclusion ...89 Bibliography ...95