We first discuss Plotinus, who is a bit later than some of …

We first discuss Plotinus, who is a bit later than some of Plato's other influences but he is the easiest to analyze. A mystic from late antiquity, Plotinus is the profit of an intellectual quasi-religious philosophical trend that today is called "neoplatonism", although he was not a true Platonist by the way I understand it. Instead, Plato would likely consider him to be a kind of nerd or useful idiot who takes all the metaphysical stuff seriously, not as a kind of noble lie, not as political propaganda, but as a genuine insight into the nature of the universe. He is perhaps the prototypical autist who fails to recognize double talk and deception in other people. Plotinus did not claim divine revelation but presented his results into the nature of God and the soul in terms of logical arguments, however, his thought is very much a rationalization of mystical ideas of the day and was especially influenced by Gnosticism. Although not terribly political, he did request of the emperor Gallienus to found a city that was to be called Platonopolis that would implement Plato's republic. This idea does not seem to have gotten off the ground, but it shows the degree to which he misunderstood Plato; a true Platonic system would masquerade as something else.