Providence and Agency in Plotinus

Abstract

Plotinus writes that providence determines one’s action the way a play written and taught by the author-director determines the performance of an actor. The metaphor opens a hierarchized metaphysical frame, offering an explanation to the role of evil in relation to providence and to the question of human autonomy and responsibility. Plotinus’s model combines philosophical tendencies of his age in a complex way, often providing original interpretations of them.