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/lit/ - Literature

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18895123 No.18895123 [Reply] [Original]

What else should I read before reading Plotinus besides Plato?

>> No.18895189
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18895189

>>18895123
pic related and maybe some plutarch

>> No.18895213

Get the new Enneads from Gerson et al

>>18895189
This is real good too, I believe Dillon was one of the et al on Gerson's Enneads

>> No.18895227

>>18895213
Is there really that much of a world of difference to justify dropping $138 on it?

>> No.18895446
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18895446

>>18895123
Ignore >>18895189 . The middle Platonists are basically irrelevant to Neoplatonism. What you should read before hand is Plato: The complete works by John Cooper, followed by the Pythagorean Sourcebook by Kenneth Guthrie. Taken together they should provide you with everything you need to ease yourself into Neoplatonism. Just make sure you do not just right into the Enneads, as without a proper grounding and introduction it is like running face-first into a wall.

Alternatively you could read the two books I recommended them just right into the Gnostic Bible by Meyer. Gnosticism basically took everything positive about Neoplatonism, reframed it into an approachable form then added a proper answer to the the problem of evil while they were at it. Plotinus even wrote an autistic screed attacking gnosticism due to how much more popular it was becoming in Alexandria compared to his teachings. If you go this route (I recommend it), I would also advise that you buy a copy of Gnostic Religion in Antiquity, as it does actually touch on Neoplatonism and even the texts that the two schools shared.

>> No.18895524

>>18895123
Read Aristotle. Start with Nicomachean Ethics.

>> No.18895538

>>18895123
just read plato. aristotle could help you a little bit but its much less relevant. you can understand every core idea in the enneads by just being familiar with plato beforehand. dont get tricked into reading every single useless philosopher that came between plato and plotinus.