Differences between Plato's 'One' in the Parmenides and the idea of Good compared to Plotinus'

NocturnalRuminator August 16, 2024 at 10:41 2225 views 7 comments
Hello! So I have an exam on monday about Ancient philosophy and I was reading Anthony Kenny's book when I came across the differences between Plotinus' idea of the One and how he derived it from Plato's One in the Parmenides dialogue and the idea of Good out of the republic.

I don't really understand what the differences or similarities are? Plotinus' different levels of reality as the One, nous and psuchè seem a lot different than Parmenides' being.

Could someone point out what I'm missing here?

Comments (7)

Wayfarer August 16, 2024 at 11:21 #925922
Reply to NocturnalRuminator A very great deal of reading, which you’d better attend to pretty quickly.
NocturnalRuminator August 16, 2024 at 11:40 #925924
Reply to Wayfarer

Hah... okay
Lionino August 16, 2024 at 11:48 #925925
Advice. Claude, ChatGPT, character.ai will give you better answers, and quicker, than most here could.
Wayfarer August 16, 2024 at 11:59 #925928
Reply to NocturnalRuminator No, seriously, welcome to the Forum and all, and there are folks here who know these materials, but there is a lot in those questions. As the above poster suggests, now we have AI which is like Google on steroids, give it a whirl, but also make sure it recommends the appropriate texts. And also be very wary at the early stage of relying too much on tech, these are the foundation texts for all philosophy and it is really important to take time to absorb them.
Paine August 16, 2024 at 12:35 #925935
Reply to NocturnalRuminator
How does Kenny describe the difference?
Which book are you reading? Is your exam on this book or upon different materials?
Have you read any of the original writings of Plato and Plotinus?
NocturnalRuminator August 16, 2024 at 12:59 #925936
Reply to Wayfarer

Sure I'll look a bit better, thanks!
Count Timothy von Icarus August 16, 2024 at 13:34 #925941
Is this his "A New History?" That's probably my favorite survey of Western Philosophy (although Durant has the best prose), and the topical organization is good, but it's a mile wide and an inch deep (sort of by necessity).


The question your asking isn't an easy one to answer easily. I could recommend sources. Eric Perl's "Thinking Being," would be a good one, even if you just read the Parmenides, Plato, and Plotinus chapters. It has its own particular view of things, but it is a compelling one and his couching of ancient philosophy in the terms of contemporary phenomenology is useful.

Another one I always recommend for its accessibility is Robert Wallace's Philosophical Mysticism in Plato and Hegel, but this is doesn't touch on Plotinus much.

Schindler's "Plato's Critique of Impure Reason" is good on the Plato side of the equation as well, maybe a bit much to try to absorb in a short time period though. Your school might have any of these in a digital library.

Or, sometimes it's helpful to listen to things. The Teaching Company has a really great series of lectures by Michael Sugrue on Plato. For your question you could focus on the ones on the Republic, Parmenides, Phaedrus/Symposium, and Timaeus. These are free with an Audible membership, which I think you could sign up for and cancel (and then you also get one free book). There is a lot less stuff on Plotinus, but the free podcast "A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps," has some decent episodes on Plotinus and they are short. Since these are made for listening, it's easier to drive, etc. while absorbing them than many audiobooks.

I mean, I would highly advise reading them closely and sitting with the texts themselves, but it can be helpful to start with some text that is more accessible and lays out the historical context and connections.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is the other obvious place to go. And the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. They should both have articles on the "One and the Many."