Description
Book SynopsisIn this book, Joseph Torchia, OP, explores the mid-rank of the soul theme in Plotinus and Augustine with a special focus on its metaphysical, epistemological, and moral implications for each thinker’s intellectual outlooks. For both, human existence assumes the character of a prolonged journey—or, in the nautical imagery they both employ, an extended voyage. Augustine’s account incorporates theological significance, addressing the ontological difference between God and creatures. As a rational creature, the soul stands mid-way between God and corporeal natures and, in broader terms, between eternity and temporality. Plotinus and Augustine on the Mid-Rank of Soul: Navigating Two Worlds encompasses two parts: Part I addresses the significance that Plotinus attributes to the soul’s mid-rank within the broader context of his understanding of universal order, and Part II delineates Augustine’s interpretation of the intermediary status of the soul with an ongoing reference to his spiritual and intellectual peregrinatio, as recounted in the Confessions.
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
Abbreviations
Part I. Plotinus: Wayfaring Stranger
Chapter 1. Plotinus' Vision of Reality: A Broad Sketch
Chapter 2: The Order of the Whole
Chapter 3: The Mediation of Soul
Chapter 4: Between Two Worlds
Chapter 5: Soul's Homeward Odyssey
Part II. Augustine: Peregrinatio Animi
Chapter 6: Tranquillitas ordinis
Chapter 7: In Medio Paradisi
Chapter 8: Pondus Meum Amor Meus
Chapter 9: Voluntas medium bonum
Chapter 10: Civitas Peregrina
Conclusion: The Journeys of Embodied Spirits
