HPhil Seminar: November 16, 2023

The HPhil (History of Philosophy) Research Group of the Centre of Philosophy of the University of Lisbon announces the 2023/24 edition of its permanent seminar on the history of philosophy, devoted to the presentation of conferences by renowned specialists while also creating opportunities to emerging scholars, aiming to promote advanced studies in groundbreaking debates and the permanent training of its academic community.

In this session of the seminar, Eyjólfur Kjalar Emilsson (University of Oslo) will present a paper entitled “Dualist, Idealist or Something Else? Plotinus on the Ontological Status of the Sensible World”.

The session will take place on November 16, 2023 at 5 p.m., in the Room C201.J (Room Mattos Romão, Department of Philosophy). The entrance is free.

 

Abstract

In this paper I will address the question of whether Plotinus’ metaphysics can be fruitfully described as a form of idealism. A background to my discussion is Myles Burnyeat’s seminal paper from 1982, “Idealism and Greek philosophy: What Descartes Saw and Berkeley Missed,” in which he comes to the conclusion that no one in Antiquity—this includes Plotinus—ever entertained ontological idealism. I come to a rather different conclusion, even if the sense in which I claim Plotinus may be called an idealist is different from the restricted meaning Burnyeat wishes to maintain. I short, I argue that if non-reductive materialism, a position holding that some non-reducible mental properties may supervene on physical properties/substances, is truly a form of materialism, there are no good reasons for denying the label ‘idealist’ to Plotinus.