Chinese name: Plotinus mbth: Plotinus alias: Borodin Birthplace: Egyptian Date of Birth: 205 Date of Death: 270 Major Achievements: Summarize the greatest philosopher of Roman Empire, his life, influence on Christianity, inheritance and development of Plato, central philosophical thought, refutation of Gnosticism, and conclude that Plotinus is the most famous philosopher of Neo-Platonism, and is regarded as the father of Neo-Platonism. He is an undisputed master of late Roman philosophy and the last glorious representative of the great tradition of ancient Greek philosophy. Plotinus advocated theism, superstition and magic at the same time. He was not a Christian, but his philosophy had a great influence on the godfather philosophy of Christianity at that time. Because Platonism, which influenced the early Christian godfathers, was not Plato's Dialogues itself, but Plato's theoretical system mediated by Neo-Platonism represented by Plotinus. Plotinus highlighted the "parmenides" in Plato's philosophy, and emphasized that the highest spiritual noumenon, namely "Taiyi", is not only higher than our world, but also higher than "phase" or real existence, which is completely beyond human understanding. The second noumenon of Taiyi overflow is "sacred reason", which is equivalent to Plato's phase and Aristotle's pure self-reflection; From sacred rationality to downward overflow, the third layer of ontology-"the soul of the universe" has emerged, which is the leading principle of our world. As for the specific individual soul and everything, it is the result of further overflow of ontology. Plotinus inherited and developed Plato's thought. What is the idea? Ideas are the archetypes of things. He summed up the world of ideas as one that transcends everything and is absolutely perfect. It radiates not only the mind and the soul, but the soul is partly for the purpose of pursuing the mind and the other part is in the tangible material body. One is empty, because everything is born from it; Therefore, Taiyi is our "Tao", which is "zero" rather than "one". Life Plotinus's life, as far as we know, was learned through a biography written by his friend and disciple Porphyry/Porphyry (Semu, whose real name is Malcus). However, there are many miraculous elements in this record, which makes it difficult for people to believe even more credible parts. Plotinus thinks that his existence here and now is irrelevant, so he doesn't want to talk about the historical deeds of his life. However, he said that he was born in Egypt; We know that he studied in Alexandria when he was young, and he lived here until he was 39. His teacher is Anmonius Sacas, who is usually regarded as the founder of Neo-Platonism. After that, he took part in the third expedition of the Roman emperor Gaudi to Persia, which was said to study the religions of the East. The emperor was a young man at that time and was soon murdered by the army. This kind of thing was the practice at that time. It happened in 244 AD, when he was fighting in Mesopotamia. Therefore, Plotinus gave up his plan to go to the East, settled in Rome, and soon began to teach in Rome. There are many influential people in his audience, and he was once favored by Emperor Gallienus. At one time, he made a plan to establish Plato's ideal country in Kumania, and built a new city called Plato City for this purpose. The emperor agreed at first, but finally withdrew his support. Plotinus didn't start writing until he was 49; But after that, he wrote a lot. His works were compiled by Beauveria, who was more obsessed with Pythagoras than Rotino, and he made the Neo-Platonism school more supernatural. If Neo-Platonism could follow Plotinus more faithfully, it would not be so. Influence on Christianity Plotinus got rid of the destruction and suffering of the real world and moved towards an eternal world of goodness and beauty. In this respect, he is in tune with all the most serious people of his time. For all of them (whether Christians or pagans), the real world seems hopeless, and only another world seems to be worthy of dedication. For Christians, this "other world" is the kingdom of heaven after death; For Platonists, it is the eternal world of ideas and the real world as opposed to the illusory world of phenomena. Christian theologians integrated these viewpoints and included many Plotinus's philosophies. In his valuable book about Plotinus, Imam Inzawa rightly emphasized what Christianity gained from Plotinus. He said, "Platonism is the main part of the organic structure of Christian theology. I dare say that no other philosophy can cooperate with Christian theology without friction. " He added, "Without breaking up Christianity, it is absolutely impossible for Platonism to break away from Christianity." He pointed out that Saint Augustine once described Plato's system as "the purest and most glorious of all philosophies", and Plotinus was "Plato's near-re-embodiment", but if Plotinus was born a little later, he only needed to "change a few words and become a Christian". According to Imam Inzawa, Saint Thomas Aquinas is "closer to Plotinus than the real Aristotle". Therefore, Plotinus's influence on Christianity and Catholic theology in the Middle Ages is of great historical significance. When talking about Christianity, historians must be very careful to realize the great changes that Christianity has undergone and the different forms that Christianity may even take at the same time. * * * Looking at Christianity in the Gospels, I know almost nothing about metaphysics. In this respect, Christianity in modern America is very similar to primitive Christianity; Platonism is strange to the thoughts and feelings of ordinary Americans, and most American Christians are more concerned with the responsibility of the world and the social progress of the daily world than with the extraordinary hope of comforting people when they are desperate for the world. I don't mean any change in doctrine, but the difference in emphasis and interest. It is impossible for a modern Christian to understand Christianity in the past unless he realizes how different this is. Because our research is historic, we must explore the powerful beliefs in the past few centuries. On these issues, we cannot but agree with the influence of Plato and Plotinus mentioned by Imam Inzawa. However, Plotinus is not only of great historical significance. He represents an important theoretical type more than any other philosopher. Whether a philosophical system is important or not can be judged according to various reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that we think it may be true. Today, not many people who study philosophy will think that Plotinus is true; Imam Inzawa is a rare exception. But authenticity is not the only advantage of metaphysics. In addition, it can also have beauty, and beauty can undoubtedly be found in Plotinus; There are many places in Plotinus that remind people of the poems in the second half of Dante's Divine Comedy "Paradise", and hardly think of anything else in literature. He described the glorious eternal world over and over again: in our subtle fantasy, that quiet, pure and melodious song came. Always sing in front of the emerald throne, and sing to those who sit on it. In addition, a philosophy may also be very important, because it well expresses what people are easy to believe in a certain emotion or situation. Simple happiness and sadness are not the themes of philosophy, but the themes of relatively simple poetry and music. Only with the joy and sadness of cosmic thinking can all kinds of metaphysical theories be produced. A person can be a happy pessimist or a melancholy optimist. Maybe samuel butler can be the representative of the former; Plotinus can be an excellent representative of the latter. In an era like Plotinus, misfortune could happen at any time; And happiness, if it can be obtained, must be obtained by thinking about all kinds of things far away from sensory impressions. There is always a tension in such happiness; It is completely different from the simple happiness of children. And since it does not come from the world of daily life, it comes from thought and imagination; So it needs an ability to despise or despise sensory life. Therefore, anyone who can enjoy instinctive happiness is not a person who can create all kinds of metaphysical optimism; Metaphysical optimism depends on the belief in the reality of the extrasensory world. Plotinus occupies a very high position among those who are unfortunate in the secular sense but determined to seek a higher level of happiness in the theoretical circle. His advantage in pure reason can never be underestimated. He expounded Plato's theory in many aspects; He developed a theory that he and many others advocated with the greatest possible consistency. His argument against materialism is very good; His whole concept of the relationship between soul and body is clearer than Plato or Aristotle's. Like Spinoza, he has a very touching moral purity and sublimity. He is always sincere, never sharp or critical. He always wants to tell readers what he thinks is important as simply as possible. No matter what people think of Plotinus as a theoretical philosopher, as a person, it is impossible for people not to love him. Plotinus inherited and developed Plato and held great respect for him. He talked about Plato always using his respectful name "He". Generally speaking, he always treats "blessed the ancients" with great respect, but this respect is not as good as that of atomists. Stoicism and Epicurus, who were still active at that time, were opposed by him. They opposed Stoicism only because of their materialism, while Epicurus opposed every part of philosophy. Aristotle is more important to him than it seems, because many places he borrowed from Aristotle are often undeclared. In many other viewpoints, we can also feel parmenides's influence. Plato written by Plotinus is not as flesh and blood as the real Plato. The theory of ideas, the mysterious theory in the sixth volume of Phaedo and the Letters of Credentials, and the discussion on love in the Banquet Book almost constitute all Plato in the Nine Chapters Collection (which is the name of Plotinus's works). As for political interest, the pursuit of various definitions of virtues, the interest in mathematics, and the profound appreciation of each character's drama, especially Plato's wit, are completely absent in Plotinus's works. Plato, as Carlyle said, "the most carefree in heaven"; On the other hand, Plotinus always tries to obey the rules. Plotinus's metaphysics, that is, the core philosophical thought, starts from a holy trinity, namely "the oneness", "rationality" and "soul". But these three are unequal, just like three of the Christian trinity; First, supremacy, followed by reason, and finally the soul. Taiyi is a little vague. Taiyi is sometimes called "God" and sometimes "goodness"; Taiyi transcends "you", and "you" is the first one after Taiyi. We can't give any description to Taiyi, but we can only say that Taiyi exists. (This reminds people of parmenides. It is wrong to say that "God" is "everything" because God is above everything. God appears through all things. But the one can appear without anything: "it doesn't exist anywhere, but it exists anywhere." Although he sometimes describes Tai Yi with "good", he tells us that Tai Yi comes before "good" and "beauty". Sometimes at first glance it looks like Aristotle's "God"; He told us that God doesn't need his own derivatives, and he doesn't care about the created world. One is undefined; At this point, silence is more reasonable than any sentence. Plotinus called it the second reason (mind). It is difficult for us to find an English word to express nous. The standard dictionary translation is "mind", but this does not mean its correct meaning, especially when the word is used in religious philosophy. If we say that Plotinus put his heart above his soul, we will create a completely wrong impression. Mckenna, an English translator in Plotinus, used "reason-principle", but the word is still inappropriate. It does not mean that it is an object suitable for religious worship. Imam Inzawa used "spirit", which is perhaps the most desirable word. However, this word ignores the extremely important rational elements in all Greek religious philosophy since Pythagoras. Mathematics, the world of ideas and all thoughts about non-sensory things have some sacred elements for Pythagoras, Plato and Ping Lotino. They constitute rational activities, or at least the closest thing we can imagine to rationality. It is precisely because of this rational factor in Plato's religion that Christians-the most famous author of the Gospel of John-equate Christ with logos. In this respect, logos should be translated as "rationality"; This makes it impossible for us to translate nous with the word "rationality". I would like to use the word "spirit" after Imam Inzawa, but there is one condition, that is, nous has a rational meaning, which is not what we usually understand as "spirit". But I will often use the word nous without translating it. Plotinus tells us that nous is the shadow of the One; It comes into being because one must see something in self-pursuit, and this thing is rationality. This is a difficult concept to understand. Plotinus said that an "being" without all parts can know itself; In this case, the viewer and the observed are the same thing. Plato imagined God as the sun, and in God's presence, what shines and what is illuminated is the same thing. By analogy, nous can be regarded as the light that Taiyi relies on when he sees himself. We may realize our "sacred heart" that has been forgotten because of stubbornness. If we want to know the sacred soul, we must study our own soul at the moment when our own soul is most similar to God: we must put aside our body and the part of the soul that shapes it and "have desires and impulses and all kinds of similar illusory and useless feelings"; What is left at this time is the shadow of divine reason. "Those who are full of gods and inspired by them have at least one kind of knowledge, that is, they have something greater, even though they don't know what those things are; From the movement that drives them and their speeches, they see not themselves, but the power that drives them in the movement: therefore, when we grasp pure reason, our relationship with the supreme must be in the same state; We know that the inner sacred mind is the mind that creates existence and everything else that belongs to it: but we also know that there are other things, which do not belong to existence at all, but a much nobler principle than everything we know about it; It is more complete and greater; It transcends reason, mind and feelings; It gives these forces, but it must not be confused with these forces. " In this way, when we are "filled and inspired by the gods", we will not only see nous, but also see the One. When we are in contact with the gods in this way, we can't infer from words or express what we see in words; These are all things in the future. "At the moment of contact with the gods, there is no power to make any affirmation; At that time, there was no time to do so; It is inevitable to reason from what you see. We only know that when the soul is suddenly illuminated, we have this kind of sight. This light comes from the supreme, and this light is the supreme; When he is called by another god-like person and comes with light, we can believe that he is in front of us; The mere evidence of his arrival. In this way, the soul that is not illuminated will never see that; But once it is illuminated, the soul has what it seeks. And this is the real purpose before the soul: to grasp that kind of light, to see the supreme with the supreme (not with the light of any other principle), and to see the supreme himself is the one who has obtained this way of seeing; Because it is what the soul wants to see that illuminates the soul, just as we can only see the sun with its own light. " However, how can this be achieved? The experience of "abandoning everything" and "harmony between man and nature" (outside the body) came to Plotinus many times: it happened many times: getting rid of the body and rising to the self; During this period, everything has nothing to do with himself, and he only focuses on himself; So I caught a glimpse of a magical beauty; At this time, I am more and more sure to be integrated with the highest realm; Embody the noblest life and be one with God; Once I reach that kind of activity, I feel comfortable in it; No matter what is below the supremacy of reason, I will skip it: however, at some point, rational activities will fall to reasoning. After this wandering among the gods, I asked myself what happened to my decline at this moment, and how did my soul enter my body? Even if the soul is in the body, it shows that this is a noble thing. This brings us to the third and lowest member of the Trinity, namely the soul. Although the soul is lower than nous, it is the creator of all living things; It created the sun, the moon, the stars and the whole visible world. It is the product of reason. It is twofold: one inner soul is devoted to reason, and the other soul is devoted to the outside world. The latter soul is associated with a downward movement, in which the "soul" produces its image-that is, the natural and sensory world. Stoicism once equated nature with God, but Plotinus regarded nature as the lowest realm, which was something that overflowed when the soul forgot to look up to reason. The Gnostics' view that the visible world is evil may be inspired by it, but Plotinus himself does not hold this view. The visible world is beautiful, and it is the residence of the blessed soul; Its beauty is second only to the rational world. In a very interesting controversial article about Gnosticism (that is, the universe and its creator are evil), he admitted that some parts of Gnosticism theory, such as hatred for matter, can come from Plato; But he thinks that all other parts that are not from Plato are not true. He refuted Gnosticism from two aspects. On the one hand, he said that the soul created the material world because of the memory of the gods, not because it had fallen; He thinks that the emotional world is as beautiful as the emotional world. He strongly feels that what the senses perceive is beautiful: anyone who really perceives the harmony of the rational world, as long as he has a little sense of music, can't feel the harmony in the perceptual voice? Which geometer or mathematician can't appreciate the principles of symmetry, correspondence and order that we observe in visible things? Think about painting: anyone who sees a painting art with his physical senses is by no means the only way to see it; They realize the expression of things hidden in their ideas from the things outlined in front of them, and are deeply moved, thus arousing memories of truth, which is the experience from which "love" comes. If the beautiful image reappears on each face, it can push the soul to another realm; So anyone who sees these lovely images everywhere in the sensory world-this huge order, even the distant stars, embodies this form-of course, no one will be so stubborn and so indifferent that he can't be brought into his memory by all this, but when he thinks of all this from that greatness, he can't help but be awed. People who can't understand this can only be that they haven't explored this world and seen anything in another world. In addition, there is another reason to refute Gnosticism. Gnostics believe that everything about God has nothing to do with the sun, the moon and the stars; The sun, the moon and the stars were created by an evil soul. Of all the things that can be perceived, only the human soul has some goodness. However, Plotinus is convinced that celestial bodies are the bodies of some creatures similar to gods, and they are much superior to humans. According to the Gnostics, "they claim that their own soul, the smallest soul of mankind, is sacred and immortal;" But the whole celestial body and the stars in the sky have nothing in common with the principle of immortality, although these are much purer and more lovely than their own souls "). Plotinus's view is based on the authority of Timio, which was once adopted by some Christian godfathers (such as Origenes). It attracts the imagination; It expresses the feelings naturally aroused by celestial bodies and makes human beings less lonely in the material world.