Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) Jean-Marc Narbonne on Plotinus in Dialogue with the Gnostics
May 4, 2021
Leading scholar Jean-Marc Narbonne discusses the interconnections between Plotinus' thought and the Gnostics. Topics include tensions within Plotinus' doctrine, Plotinus as a mystic drawing from various traditions, the evolution of Plato's view on evil, and Plotinus' critique of the Gnostics.
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Plotinus Actively Responded To Gnostic Literature
- Plotinus wrote an explicit treatise (Ennead 3.33) arguing directly against Gnostic thinkers, so dialogue is documented not merely speculative.
- Porphyry reports Plotinus and his pupils (Amelius, Porphyry) composed many responses, showing sustained engagement with Gnostic texts circulating in Egypt and Rome.
Undescended Soul As Polemic Against Gnostic Election
- Plotinus' doctrine of the undescended soul argues all souls remain in potential contact with the Intellect and the One, countering Gnostic claims of fixed elect/non-elect classes.
- He uses the Gnostic term omohusian and 'sungenia' to frame a shared ancestry idea, indicating conceptual borrowing and a silent polemic across treatises.
Plotinus' Rare First Person Ascent Narrative
- Plotinus gives first-person ascent narratives describing how the soul 'leaves the body' and experiences union with the One, a rare phenomenological account in Greek texts.
- Narbonne links these narratives to Gnostic revelation-style accounts, suggesting shared experiential language though different literary genres.