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Emily asked:
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How satisfactorily does Plotinus distinguish between intellect and soul?
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Plotinus developed a system of 3 hierarchies, which are referred to as hypostases. This triad consists
of the One, the Nous (which is mind or intellectual principle), and the All Soul (World Soul Human
Soul). In his hypostases, the One is an eternal principle from which the Intellect (Nous) proceeds and
which in turn produces the All Soul. The two hypostases which concern us are the Intellect and the All
Soul.
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There is a clear distinction between these two emanations. The Intellect corresponds to the World of
Ideas first expressed by Plato. In Plotinus' system, the Intellect goes beyond the Platonic Idea in that
it is organic and not just a mathematical structure. For the individual, the Intellect becomes intuitive
thought, which does not require discursive reasoning. Its essence is more than rational thought, it is
being, that which comprehends all. Plotinus goes on to show that the Intellect contains no reflective
logical thought. From this hypostases, the Soul evolves as a product of the Intellect.
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It is the Soul which then becomes responsible for reflective or contemplative thought. The Soul
becomes the link between the intelligible world and the phenomenal world. Although both the Intellect
and the Soul contain images of the Idea, they are distinct. The reason for this distinction results from
the premise that through the process of emanation, you move from one stage to another, a process of
devolution. It becomes a procession from an eternal principle. The procession flows from the One to
the Nous to the All Soul. Each partakes of the whole (One), yet remains distinct.
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John Eberts
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According to Plotinus, Intelligence (nous) is the first emanation of "the One" and from intelligence in
its turn emanates the Soul (psyche). Plotinus considers these emanations to be necessary and
timeless. This means there is a logical dependence between the emanations, but being different
levels of emanation, Intellect and Soul are well distinguished from each other in their function in the
whole: the emanation of intelligence is similar to Plato's world of Forms (structure and essence of a
thing contrasted with its matter), while the Soul can be conceived as the active principle, that imposes
the rational structure of Intelligence on the world of matter, which is the emanation of the Soul. It is
hard to say, whether this distinction can be bindingly "satisfactory". It is at least to Neoplatonists.
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Simone Klein
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