In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

PLOTINUS' QUEST OF HAPPINESS T HE quest of happiness is a desire so deeply-rooted in man's nature that we see everyone occupied in acquiring what he calls happiness. Only a few men are fortunate enough to seek this goal where it really resides, but alas! the greatest number among them, toil in vain for the acquisition of this supreme good since they look for it in the wrong place. History of philosophy is particularly interesting and useful in this that it teaches us the object which the greatest minds of all times selected as the true end of human life. The ancient philosophers of Bellas have put forth various theories and doctrines concerning this problem and one of the most interesting and most approximate to truth was developed by the Platonic School; first with Plato, the Master and Founder of this trend of thought, but especially with one of his followers of the Neo-Platonist School of Alexandria, Plotinus. Plotinus was born in Lycopolis (Egypt) around the year 206 A. D. and died in the Roman Campagna in 269 A. D. Formed by Ammonius Saccas, from whom he would have heard of the Christian doctrine,1 he retained the best of Plato's doctrine and especially his theory of purification towards personal perfection and betterment. Throughout his life, he strove to abandon sensible frivolity in order to unite himself and, so to say, to lose himself entirely in tl}e infinite ocean of perfection, in God, the One, as he calls Him, the source of all sensible and intelligible realities. His philosophy is a religious one, and for that very reason Plotinus had a great influence upon St. Augustine. Throughout history the minds of men have wavered between two dispositions: optimism and pessimism. An important sec1 Eleuterio Elorduy, S. J., "Ammonio Sakkas: la leyenda de su apostasia," in Pensamiento, S (1947), p. 5-'J.7. 217 218 GASTON CARRIERE tion among the modern philosophers is but too inclined towards the latter. The supporters of Existentialism especially are very radical. They separate man from God, the Absolute, his strength and his end. Thus, the free creature is weakened and made unfit for attaining happiness and immortality. It is enough to recall the names of Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Martin Heidegger. We know, however, that man has an unquenchable thirst for the Absolute, and unless he places the Absolute in the right object, he is doomed. Saint Augustine expresses the same thought very clearly when he says; "... for Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart cannot be quieted till it may find repose in Thee." 2 In the optimistic philosophy of Plotinus life really means something, contrary to the doctrine of the atheistic part of Existentialism. There iS nothing tragic nor dramatic about life; it is simply a serious .affair. In such a philosophy, man can be called a pilgrim of happiness. Plotinus assuredly is optimistic and with conviction. But his optimism is in no way comparable with the ardour and the juvenile enthusiasm of younger students of philosophy afte:r their first contact with the marvellous world of essences. Plotinus had a late vocation to philosophy and began its study at the age of 28. For some time he remained deceived by the words of his first professors. Fortunately enough, he finally became acquainted with Ammonius , the lecturer in accord with his mind. For ten full years he- followed his lectures. The philosophy he developed is a composite of the philosophies of Aristotle, Pythagoras and Plato with an evident preference for Plato. This was to make him particularly dear to St. Augustine. Plotinus accepted without discussion the platonic doctrines of the ideas and of the intelligible world and he brought them to their summit of dialectical perfection. His philosophy acquired a religious value as yet unheard of, since it was destined to lead men to God through their own purification and unification. No wonder, then, that St. Augustine could make the following statement about Plotinus: 1 Confessions, I, 1, n. 1. PLOTINUS' QUEST OF HAPPINESS U9 Shortly afterwards, when all the persistent sophistry was dead, and when the clouds of error has been dispelled; then...

pdf

Share