ABSTRACT
Ethics is a constituent part of most philosophical systems. Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Aquinas, Spinoza and Kant all have an ethical theory, which is organically linked to the other parts of their system. Is Plotinus’ philosophy, undeniably systematic though it is, an exception to this general rule? e fact that learned students of Neoplatonism have raised the question is evidence enough that the question does arise. at is perplexing enough. More perplexing even is the fact that these same scholars should have come to two diametrically opposed answers despite being in broad agreement on the meaning of the relevant passages in the corpus. It would seem therefore that it is not so much the meaning of these passages as their interpretation in the broader doctrinal context of the Enneads that is the object of scholarly disagreement.
