Plotinus on the One: Beyond Thinking

Abstract

The article addresses the question of why the One, or the Good, according to Plotinus, does not think. While scholarly literature widely discusses the issue of the One supposedly possessing some form of thinking, Plotinus’ fundamental position that the One does not think remains overlooked. The author seeks to clarify why Plotinus maintains that the One does not think and how exactly the third-century philosopher argues this point. The article consists of three parts. In the first section, the author examines Plotinus’ philosophical motivation in two aspects: internal (relative to his metaphysical system) and external. The internal aspect relates to the theoretical content of the question about the absence of thinking in the One and concerns the hierarchy of the One, Intellect, and Soul. The external aspect emerges from the historical-philosophical context and consists in Plotinus’ rejection of anthropomorphizing the divine. In the second section, the author identifies the most important treatises and passages from the Enneads where Plotinus argues that the One does not think. Special attention is given to the final chapters of treatise VI.7 [38]. The author then summarizes all of Plotinus’ arguments explaining why the One does not think. In the third section, the author determines the place of Plotinus’ position in the history of ancient philosophy and concludes that the absence of thinking in the One and the possibility of its attainment by the sage only through mystical experience stem from Plotinus’ adherence to the tradition of Greek rational thought, which originates from the historical Parmenides and Plato’s Parmenides.