Plotinus

Plotinus (c. 204–270 CE) was an ancient Greek philosopher whose teachings founded Neoplatonism. He described reality as an emanation from the One through Intellect and Soul.

The One: In Plotinus’s philosophy, the utterly simple first principle from which all reality derives. It is the source beyond being and thought at the summit of his metaphysics.
Contemplation: A sustained, inward apprehension of intelligible reality rather than sensory particulars. For Plotinus, contemplation explains both the activity of higher realities and the soul’s ascent.
Plato: An ancient Greek philosopher whose dialogues shaped Western philosophy and provided the chief source for Platonism. Plotinus presented his own metaphysics as an interpretation of Plato’s teachings.
Neoplatonism: A philosophical tradition that develops Platonism through a hierarchical account of reality and the soul’s return to its source. Plotinus’s teaching established the tradition later thinkers developed.
Nous: The divine Intellect that contains the Forms and thinks itself in Neoplatonic metaphysics. It is the first reality to proceed from the One and the realm of intelligible being.
Soul in Neoplatonism: The principle that connects intelligible reality with embodied life in Neoplatonic philosophy. Plotinus distinguishes the soul’s higher orientation from its engagement with the body.
Ammonius Saccas: A philosopher in Alexandria under whom ancient accounts say Plotinus studied. He is the teacher linked to Plotinus’s early philosophical formation.
Proclus: A fifth-century Greek philosopher who systematized and expanded Neoplatonic metaphysics. His work shows how the tradition Plotinus founded became more elaborate.
World Soul: The universal principle that gives life and order to the cosmos in Platonist philosophy. It mediates between intelligible reality and the living, changing world.
Matter in Neoplatonism: The lowest, indeterminate limit of reality in Neoplatonic metaphysics. Plotinus associates matter with the furthest distance from the One and the least form.

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