Nous
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOU : Nous
Nous (Νους) is a Greek word (pronounced "noose"), that corresponds to the English words intelligence, intellect, or mind. It signifies a search for order by the part of the soul or mind that knows and thinks. In some forms of Greek mythology, order was imposed by an anthropomorphic father of all things, the Demiurge. In philosophy, there were three ordering principles:
- arche - the source of all things,
- logos - the underlying order that is hidden beneath appearances,
- harmonia - numerical ratios in mathematics.
History
The word Nous signifies more than one concept. It is therefore ambiguous. This is a result of the word being appropriated by successive philosophers to designate very different attributes.- James used Nous to signify mental activities in general.
- Anaxagoras's Nous was a mechanical ordering force that formed the world out of an original chaos. It began the development of the cosmos.
- Plato described it as the immortal, rational part of the soul. This section of the soul of the world is the component that brings reasoned order to the universe. It is a godlike kind of thinking in which the truths of conclusions are immediately known without having to understand the preliminary premises.
- Aristotle asserted that Nous was the intellect, as distinguished from sense perception. He divided it into an active and passive Nous. The passive is affected by knowledge. The active is an immortal first cause of all subsequent causes in the world.
- To the Stoics, it was the same as Logos. This is the whole cosmic reason. It contains human reason as a part.
- Plotinus described Nous as one of the emanations from divine being.
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