IPT Talk Series 2025-26

Gabriel Martino

(CONICET, UBA, USAL, IPT)

14 November 2025, 19:00 to 20:00 (Athens Time, GMT+2) – Online (MS Teams)

In Potency and in Actuality:
A Discussion of Dialectical and Psychological Aspects of Plotinus’ Philosophy of Mind

Plotinus is arguably the most influential philosopher of Late Antiquity, and one of his greatest contributions lies in the field of the philosophy of mind. This dimension of his thought is both innovative and deeply rooted in the achievements and aporiai of his predecessors. In this talk, we examine the human intellective faculty in Plotinus’ philosophy, focusing on how he develops the concept of the undescended soul as a response to problems previously posed within the Platonic tradition. In particular, we contrast his views with those found in the Didaskalikos of Alcinous, an early attempt to systematize Plato’s thought with a distinctly Aristotelian imprint. Alcinous’ Didaskalikos presents two conflicting Platonic models regarding the soul’s relationship with the intelligible: one presupposes direct contemplation of the Ideas prior to embodiment, while the other appears to permit an ascent to the Good even while the soul is embodied. Plotinus, in turn, proposes a reconciliatory and innovative solution through his doctrine of the undescended soul, which involves an inward turn, not toward individual subjectivity, but toward a shared and stable truth. Through this inward movement, the human soul gains access to the universal Intelligence (nous), which is identical in all and common to everyone. Plotinus’ approach seeks to resolve a major interpretative tension within (Middle) Platonism, while also rejecting the exclusivist soteriology of contemporary religious movements. Although it establishes an epistemological framework fully consistent with his metaphysical and psychological doctrines, it challenges earlier understandings of Plato and would later be questioned by his successors.

Gabriel Martino holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Buenos Aires, where he completed his postdoctoral studies, and carried out a postdoctoral research stay at Rutgers University (USA) under a Fulbright scholarship. He is currently an Associate Researcher at the National Research Council (CONICET) and a Visiting Research Associate at the IPT. Martino teaches Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, History of Ancient and Late Ancient Philosophy and Indian Philosophy and Literature at the university level. He has published numerous book chapters and articles in specialized journals on Indian, Greek, and comparative philosophy. He is the co-author, with Dr. Adrián Muñoz, of the book A Short History of Yoga (COLMEX, 2019), which received the Teaching Tool Accolade from the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS), and Enneadic Mysticism: Genealogy, Analysis, and Comparison (TeseoPress, 2020).
https://conicet-ar.academia.edu/GabrielMartino

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