Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-07T21:06:38.539Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 17 - Plotinus on Concepts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2024

Gábor Betegh
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Voula Tsouna
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Get access

Summary

Plotinus’ views on concepts have so far received little attention, whereas his views on ennoiai, conceptions, have been more widely discussed. This is partly due to the varied vocabulary that Plotinus uses to refer to what we might call concepts, assuming that the latter are understood as mental items distinct from thoughts. Sara Magrin’s chapter ‘Plotinus on Concepts’ focuses on one important passage of the Enneads (Ennead 6.6.12–14) which offers a critical discussion of an account of the concepts (ennoēmata) of one and numbers commonly attributed to the Stoics. The chapter pursues the twofold aim of reconstructing the account in question and of interpreting and assessing Plotinus’ criticism of it. This has scarcely, if ever, been attempted in the scholarship, both because the evidential value of that passage in respect of the Stoics has been deemed questionable and because Plotinus’ criticism of the Stoic concept of number is extremely compact and difficult to articulate. The main contribution of Magrin’s analysis consists in her use of Plotinus’ criticism of the Stoics as evidence, on the basis of which she pieces together Plotinus’ views on concepts.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×