From Passion to Knowledge : Plotinus’ Grades of Virtues as Stages in the Development of Practical Moral Agency

Kovács, Dániel Attila (2024) From Passion to Knowledge : Plotinus’ Grades of Virtues as Stages in the Development of Practical Moral Agency. ACTA ANTIQUA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE, 64 (1). pp. 75-97. ISSN 0044-5975

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Abstract

In this paper, I aim to situate the practical agency of the sage in an overall picture of the development of the Plotinian moral agent. This development can be seen as a gradual transition from external to internal principles of action guidance which endow the agent with autonomy and coherence in her practical actions. The transition from external to internal principles corresponds to a changing relationship between the agent's telos and particular actions. Non-virtuous agents aim at the attainment of an object of desire, while the civically virtuous person aims to perform virtuous actions irrespectively of the achievement of particular objects of desire. Finally, the telos of the sage is the contemplation of forms and she acts practically as a consequence and external activity of having achieved her goal. The analysis of Plotinus' theory of moral development shows that the sage's inward turn and detachment from external circumstances do not involve inactivity in the practical sphere but figure as a necessary condition of her making an active contribution to the order of the sensible world through her actions as opposed to passively responding to external circumstances.

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