Plotins Philosophie: ein systematischer Überblick

This chapter attempts a systematic overview of Plotinus’ philosophy. It begins with a sketch of the system of the three hypostases and then characterizes the Plotinian principles Soul, Intellect and the One in some detail. Soul is an immaterial reality vivifying and governing the body but independent of it and rooted in the intelligible world. Self-thinking Intellect is the unity of intelligible Being and intellective Thought and the principle of all reality and cognition. The One or the Good is the ultimate cause that transcends even intelligible Being and Intellect; at the same time, it is the ultimate goal every being strives for. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of Plotinus’ philosophy of the self or ‘we’, its desire for the One or the Good and its ascent to and mystical union with it.