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Plotinus On The Objects Of Thought, Eyolfur Emilsson

The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter

The strong identity Plotinus maintains between the intellect and its objects, the ideas, can be explained in terms of his acceptance of certain sceptical arguments; in particular he holds that unless the subject and the object of thought are strictly identical, there is room for doubt and error. Moreover, I suppose that Plotinus believed that without this identity the traditional account of the forms as at once ontological and epistemological standards cannot hold. Thus, I am suggesting that we see Plotinus' position here as that of a Platonist who says to his fellow Platonists: if you wish to hold, as …