The Philosophy of Plotinus, Vol.
2 of 2: The Gifford Lectures at St. Andrews, 1917-1918 offers a clear, accessible study of Plotinus as a cornerstone of later Platonism. It also connects these ideas to Christian thought and other philosophical traditions, helping readers see how ancient ideas shape modern questions about reality, beauty, and meaning.
This edition frames the Absolute as the One, the Good, and Beauty, and explains how these ideas relate to Spirit, Soul, and the world. It also traces the Path of Dialectic, the Path of Beauty, and the Path of Perfection, highlighting how Plotinus grounds ethics, aesthetics, and metaphysics in a unified vision. The author discusses how Christianity and Platonism influence each other and what that means for understanding religion and philosophy today.
What you’ll experience
- A guided tour of Plotinus’s core concepts, including the One, the Good, and Beauty
- An explanation of how beauty, goodness, and truth interrelate in the spiritual world
- Insight into how early Christian thought links to later Platonism and other nearby traditions
- Plain-language analysis of how these ideas influence ethics, mysticism, and the nature of reality
Ideal for readers of philosophy, theology, and the history of ideas who want a concise, thoughtful bridge from ancient thought to modern discussions.