Der Geist als Bild des Einen

What is it about?

On several occasions, Plotinus claims that Intellect, the second hypostasis, is an image of the transcendent One or Good. While this is no doubt an application of the paradeigmatist language inherited from the Platonic theory of Forms, it is far from obvious how this claim can be harmonized with the Neoplatonic axiom that the One transcends Being and Thought and is absolutely formless. In this paper I argue that Plotinus solves this dilemma by reinterpreting Plato’s characterization of Intellect and Being as “Good-like” in such a way as to refer to the goodness, desirability and unifying power Intellect receives from the One. While these are not reducible to Intellect’s essence, they are nevertheless an integral part of its being insofar as Intellect is fully real and intelligible only through the First Principle’s presence in it.

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