Como ser feliz: Plotino e o tratado 5 [36] da Enéada I

Abstract

The object of investigation of this philosophical research was the concept of happiness (εὐδαιμονεῖν) in treatise 5 [36] - On whether well-being increases with time - of Plotinus' Ennead I. The question that guided this investigation was how to be happy. In Plotinus, the One is the beginning and end of all things. In this sense, there is a relationship between happiness and the intelligible world. The aim of this dissertation is to set out Plotinus' arguments for those who seek to be happy, taking Treatise 5 [36] as the main reference. Treatise 5 [36] is a short treatise compared to Plotinus' other treatises. In this treatise, the explanations about the relationship between happiness and time may seem obscure or difficult to understand, since it is in other treatises that Plotinus gives more detailed explanations of the concepts mobilized in treatise 5 [36]. It was therefore necessary to investigate other treatises in order to understand concepts such as beauty, virtue, eternity, the soul, the Intellect, and the One, so as to be able to explain the arguments about how to be happy in treatise 5 [36]. In Plotinus, happiness is measured in relation to eternity. To understand happiness in Plotinus in treatise 5 [36], we need to understand what the effects of time are and what the effects of eternity are on human beings. According to Hadot, ancient philosophy is a way of life. Therefore, time and eternity should be interpreted in such a way as to understand how these concepts impact the life of the human being. The word ἡσυχία, translated as quietude, silence, tranquility, absence of agitation or serenity, is an essential word for understanding happiness. In Plotinus, one is in quietude (ἡσυχία) when one is in eternity. The human being has one part of the soul always in the sensible and the other always in the intelligible. Happiness occurs when the intelligible part of the soul is stronger than the sensible part in a lasting way. This occurs through the development of virtues, and as a consequence, human beings experience the effects of eternity in themselves. In short, when human beings are happy, their souls are more beautiful, more virtuous, they enjoy greater tranquillity (ἡσυχία) and are able to turn inward. In Plotinus, happiness happens in the now, in the present; happiness is not sought in memories of the past or with desires for the future. Being happy sounds like strengthening one's presence, not letting oneself be carried away by memories or thoughts that distance the human being from their interiority.