Abstract

The subject of this chapter is the reception of Plotinus in the work and thought of Hegel (1770–1831). Hegel’s direct engagement with Plotinus begins relatively late in his career. As a young man, he became acquainted with Neoplatonism through Proclus, and his early theological work seems to be inspired by Middle Platonic metaphysics. Plotinus first appears in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy (from 1805 onwards). Hegel is attracted by Plotinus’ analysis of the self-thinking Intellect as a triadic structure and argues for an intellectualist interpretation of the Plotinian ekstasis. By identifying the One or Absolute with pure Being, Hegel misses Plotinus’ concern with the transcendence of the One over Being and Thought. But he shows a deep understanding of the Plotinian notion of Intellect as the unity of the subject of thought with its object. In Hegel’s thought, the Neoplatonic philosophy of Intellect gains new actuality.