Neoplatonism

Pauliina Remes is a lecturer in theoretical philosophy at Uppsala University, Sweden. She is the author of Plotinus on Self: The Philosophy of We.

"Remes' book benefits extensively from recent work on Plotinus and other Neoplatonic authors, and offers a readable and accurate introduction to the topic. It is a welcome resource and I would certainly recommend that anyone teaching a course on Neoplatonic thought give this book to their students to read." - Peter Adamson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "This book excels as an introductory text. It is a nice corrective to older surveys of late ancient philosophy, which tend to present Neoplatonism as decadent, 'spiritualized', and concerned more with theurgic magic than philosophy. Remes does a fine job introducing the metaphysics, but her focus in the book's middle chapters on anthropology, psychology, and ethics really set this book apart. It is these areas that are receiving attention in recent research (including Remes' own work), and this book situates students within the most current and promising trends in the field. This innovative approach and attention to the most current research does not come at the expense of a solid introduction to the basics of the tradition. It would work well as a graduate or advanced undergraduate course text." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review A concise, thematically oriented introduction. Attuned to the originality of Plotinus and Proclus, among others, Remes also treats them as inseparable from the ancient Greek philosophical tradition they were concerned to preserve and defend.A" - Lloyd P. Gerson, University of Toronto

• Preface 1. Introduction 2. The first principles and the metaphysical hierarchy 3. Nature and the sensible universe 4. Human being and the self 5. Epistemology and philosophical psychology 6. Ethics and politics 7. The Neoplatonic legacy Glossary of terms Guide to further reading References Index