Plotinus: Against The Gnostics

Abstract

Plotinus (204/5-270) is considered the last representative of the ancient Greek philosophical tradition. The Enneads serve as the main source for understanding Plotinus' philosophical architecture. In this work, the philosopher attempted to fully explain his own philosophical doctrine. However, there is a treatise in this work that gives the impression of being outside philosophical architecture. This treatise, entitled Against the Gnostics (II.9/33), serves two different purposes for researchers. First, the philosopher's own teaching can be verified by this treatise. Second, Plotinus' objections to the Gnostics can shed light on the heated debates of the time. In this treatise, Plotinus develops a detailed counter-position to the Gnostics and directly refutes them. The main outlines are: The universe is the product of an evil creator and is therefore completely evil; renunciation of earthly life with hatred and contempt for it; the doctrine that salvation from the material world can be granted only to a select group by grace. Plotinus developed both a radical rejection of these questions and solutions on how to understand them. In fact, these topics contain questions of human history that go back to the most ancient roots but have not yet lost their relevance. How did the universe come into being? How does the existence of man in this physical world relate to its nature? Is life in this world good or bad? What awaits man after his earthly life? Is redemption possible? We can say that the answers to these universal questions are given by two different traditions: the tradition of philosophical thought and the tradition of Gnostic thought. Although the aforementioned questions are common questions, we note that the answers given by both traditions are not the same. Here, in the treatise of Plotinus, we find one of the first examples of this historical encounter. In the philosophical tradition, the existence of the universe and the world contains a certain degree of beauty and goodness, having emerged from the fullness of the ideal intelligible realm. From this point of view, it can be said that the life that people lead in this world also has a certain value and beauty. Of course, the perfect life to strive for is the heavenly and divine life. But it is said that people can approach that life by leading a disciplined life through virtues and wisdom in this world as well. At this point, it can be said that the bios theoretikos, i.e., the life of contemplation, is a preparation for the final goal of eternal life. The tradition of Gnostic thought gives mostly pessimistic and negative answers to these questions. First of all, in their cosmological mythologies, the existence of the universe is presented with the terrible rupture and fall from the realm of light. The world, on the other hand, comes from the hand of a creator who is himself evil, namely Demiurge. It inevitably follows that the world itself is an evil and hateful place. Man's life in this world is not only worthless but also to be despised. The redemption of man is possible only through gnosis, which is granted to the chosen. Therefore, according to the tradition of gnostic thought, one can also speak of a division of people into two as the chosen and ordinary. If this is the case, there is no point in following moral principles and living a virtuous life in this world. In Plotinus' critique, such a life is a kind of antinomianism that ignores all laws and violates moral rules. Plotinus, one of the last system-building philosophers of the tradition of philosophical thought, also offered a refutation against these teachings of Gnostic thought. For the time in which the philosopher lived and the cultural life he experienced are not unacquainted to the Gnostic teachings. It is even known that some of his early students came from the Gnostic tradition. In his refutation, Plotinus not only answers these questions but also attempts to show the inconsistencies of Gnostic thought. In fact, he shows that some elements of Gnostic thought were taken from the ancient philosophical tradition, especially from Plato. This article aims to analyze this rejection based on the text. First, the basic dynamics of the debate are shown, and then the objections of Plotinus are argued. These arguments are examined from the perspective of various Plotinus scholars. In this context, an attempt is made to show the consistency of Plotinus' objections concerning his own philosophy. From this, a judgment is made about the reasons for which the philosopher wrote the Against to the Gnostics. Accordingly, it can be said that Gnostic thought is an inconsistent synthesis of philosophical and esoteric teachings. On the other hand, it can be argued that it cannot provide people with a satisfactory solution for worldly life in minimal common.