Plotinus's Metaphysics of Love: A Reflection On Ennead III.5 (50)
Plotinus's Metaphysics of Love: A Reflection On Ennead III.5 (50)

Summary/Abstract: This article provides a philosophical commentary on Plotinus's Ennead III.5, examining the Neoplatonic transformation of the principle of Eros. Diverging from the Aristotelian view of desire as a mere "relation" or movement within a static substance, the authors argue that Plotinus radicalizes Eros into a unitive "substance". This use of substance must be understood henologically: the active soul generates its own degree of reality based on its orientation. Utilizing the analogy of a compass, the article delineates three metaphysical states of the soul determined by its trajectory: the "god", the "daemon", and the "pathological". Through an analysis of the mythic parentage of Love in Plenty (Poros) and Poverty (Penia), the article demonstrates how the soul's desire for the good, mixed form (participated beauty mixed with matter), or matter qua matter determines the soul's substantial actuality and moral condition.

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