---
product_id: 10549982
title: "Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision"
brand: "pierre hadotmichael chase"
price: "454 kr"
currency: DKK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.dk/products/10549982-plotinus-or-the-simplicity-of-vision
store_origin: DK
region: Denmark
---

# Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision

**Brand:** pierre hadotmichael chase
**Price:** 454 kr
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Plotinus or the Simplicity of Vision by pierre hadotmichael chase
- **How much does it cost?** 454 kr with free shipping
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Opening the Gate to the Garden of Presence
  

*by J***N on Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017*

This is a great introduction to Plotinus.  I think this would work well for a class on Neo-Platonism, or the way philosophy was conducted in the late Roman world as well as a class focused on Plotinus.  It is well written and accessible for those with a modest philosophical background.  I suspect that those without such a background, but who have an interest in western mysticism, would also find it accessible.The book is arranged into seven chapters that touch on major themes in the writings of Plotinus.  The first chapter is a portrait of Plotinus, based on the biography of Porphyry.  This portrait aspect of Plotinus is regularly reintroduced in the following chapters and by the end of the book you have a feeling for Plotinus as a human being.  It is a remarkably attractive portrait.The other six chapters give the reader an overview of central themes in Plotinus.  These include the nature of the Self, the nature of Presence (the Presence of the Divine), Love, the place of Virtues in spiritual practice, Gentleness, and Solitude.  Hadot has a secure grasp of the material and is able to draw on a wide range of quotes from our philosopher to assist us in understanding Plotinus.Plotinus has his critics and one of the benefits of the book is that Hadot is aware of them and responds to them with grace and consideration.  Hadot’s defenses of Plotinus ring true to me.  And I appreciate how he engages with these critics without becoming rancorous himself; that is becoming a very rare ability.Plotinus is one of the towering figures in the western intellectual tradition.  His work is foundational for understanding western mysticism.  He has had, and continues to have, a significant influence on Christian, Islamic, and Jewish thought.  And some Neo-Pagans have told me that the presence of the thought of Plotinus is often found in their communities.  But Plotinus is not an easy read.  For those who have struggled with his essays, Hadot’s book is a good way to open the gate onto the garden of the transcendent source of all things, the Good, the Beautiful, and the One.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Probably the only book on Plotinus I found worth reading
  

*by R***Y on Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2021*

You can keep all your dry academic discourses written in scholastic ivory towers.  Just give me Pierre Hadot's Simplicity of Vision.  Who gives a horse pucky about the dry renditions and rationalization issuing from the dry, sterile, and stale mind of a  tenured professor.  I want the the nugget of gold at the center of our mystical traditions in plain and clear Language.  Hadot deliveries all that, and more.  Buy this book if you want clarity rather than jargon.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    "Then there is no longer an outside and an inside: only one single light...."
  

*by K***. on Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2007*

Pierre Hadot wrote PLOTINUS OR THE SIMPLICITY OF VISION at a time (1963) when far fewer supplementary Plotinian texts existed. This third edition paperback, translated from the French, has been available since 1993 essentially unchanged from the earliest version. Hadot's scholarship regarding both the life and philosophy of Plotinus has passed the test of time.This short, but not superficial, overview examines Plotinus' teachings on the Self, Presence, Love, Virtues, Gentleness, and Solitude.It also provides a spiritual biography of the third-century Roman and seeks to dispel certain misconceptions that reading THE LIFE OF PLOTINUS, by the master's student, Porphyry, can and have biased the minds of many pre-Hadot readers. Precious little is known about Plotinus' life, but Hadot takes care to place what is in the context of the norms of philosopher's era. Thus, Plotinus is depicted as a man of balance, not as a unhealthy ascetic: "Plotinus' spiritual life consists in tranquil confidence and peaceful gentleness," Hadot persuades.Plotinus sought to teach his students constant inner contemplation (very similar to meditation disciplines popularized in the West over the last several decades but not widely influential here in 1963). In the ENNEADS (the compilation of his writings, as organized by Porphyry), he explains what a diligently practicing student could experience," ' Suddenly a light bursts forth, pure and alone. We wonder whence it came: from the outside, or from the inside?...The light comes from nowhere, and it goes nowhere; it simply either appears or does not appear....What a wonder!' "For anyone interested in this philosopher/sage, PLOTINUS OR THE SIMPLICITY OF VISION is an outstanding place to begin.

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*Last updated: 2026-03-04*