Time and Eternity in Plotinus

We will thoroughly study the seventh treatise of the Third Plotinus Ennead (About eternity and time III 7 [45]). To understand Plotinus presentation and criticism on the previous theories about time, we will use the relevant extracts from Plato's Timaeus, from the books VI (Book Δ') and VIII (Book Θ') of Aristotle's Physics and from the Stoics fragments. To study the concept of eternity in Plotinus, we will use passages from the treatises in which Plotinus analyzes the structure of the Νους [Mind - Intellect] (V 9 [5] and V 5 [32])• and for studying the concept of time will use passages from the treatises in which Plotinus analyzes the structure of the psyche (V 3 [49] and I 1 [53]).

Objectives

Upon completion of this course the student: • will have a picture of the main theories that have been developed in ancient Greek philosophical thought on the issue of what is eternity and what is time, • will be acquainted with the theory of Plotinus concerning eternity and time and the relation between them, • will also be able to recognize the fundamental difference of the plotinic theory of time in relation with all the other theories of antiquity and its resemblance with modern and contemporary theories of time, • will be able to study the Plotinus texts, • will be able to detect the position of plotinic metaphysics on the broader nexus of the metaphysical theories of antiquity.

Prerequisites

Knowledge of the basic positions and concepts of Platonic and Aristotelian physics and metaphysics.

Syllabus

1st Section - Introduction to Plotinus Philosophy 2nd Section - Basic Principles of Plotinus Philosophy 3rd Section - Eternity I 4th Section - Eternity II 5th Section - Eternity III 6th Section - Eternity IV 7th Section - Time I 8th Section - Criticism on the Previous Theories About Time I 9th Section - Criticism on the Previous Theories About Time IΙ 10th Section - Time II 11th Section - Time III 12th Section - Completion of the Treatise About Eternity and Time