The Return of Soul: Philosophy and Mysticism
Dominic J. O’Meara
March 23, 1995 DOI: 10.1093/0198751478.003.0011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that for Plotinus the human good consists in the soul's return to the One, the absolute Good, achieved through virtue and philosophical argument, with the soul becoming Intellect and then transcending that state in union with the One; it also discusses Plotinus' 'mysticism' and an ethics of giving in which the soul united to the Good gives of its goodness to others. |
Abstract
Abstract Discusses ethical themes in Plotinus: the human good (happiness) and the means for attaining it. As the return of the soul to the One (the absolute Good), this involves the practice of virtue and of philosophical argument, soul thus becoming Intellect, a state that must be transcended in a union with the One. Plotinus’ ‘mysticism’ is discussed, as is an ethics of giving, in which soul, united to the Good, gives of its goodness to others.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |