Plotinus' Hierarchical View of Emotions and its Relevance to Research on Affectivity

In the paper I start by presenting the status quæstionis. Since the existing analyses do not do justice to Plotinus' view of emotions, I present a number of passages from the Enneads in order to give a complete account. The emerging picture is complex and dynamic. To offer a comprehensive interpretation I resort to a hierarchical approach. As a result, strata of affectivity are identified. Finally I compare Plotinus' perspective with Max Scheler's and Nicolai Hartmann's and suggest that a vertical model of affectivity is attractive because it accounts for apparently conflicting features of affectivity.