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Select Works of Plotinus · 409 of 752 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Select Works, Section 386

Section 7 7. We come to the same result by examining the sense of pain. We say there is pain in the finger: the trouble is doubtless in the finger, but our opponents must admit that the sensation of the pain is in the centre of consciousness. The suffering member is one thing, the sense of suffering is another: how does this happen? By transmission, they will say: the psychic pneuma [= the semi-material principle of life] stationed at the finger suffers first; and stage by stage the trouble is passed on until at last it reaches the centre of consciousness. But on this theory, there must be a sensation in the spot first suffering pain, and another sensation at a second point of the line of transmission, another in the third and so on; many sensations, in fact an unlimited series, to deal with one pain; and at the last moment the centre of consciousness has the sensation of all these sensations and of its own sensation to boot. Or to be exact, these serial sensations will not be of the pain in the finger: the sensation next in succession to the suffering finger will be of pain at the joint, a third will tell of a pain still higher up: there will be a series of separate pains: The centre of consciousness will not feel the pain seated at the finger, but only that impinging upon itself: it will know this alone, ignore the rest and so have no notion that the finger is in pain. Thus: Transmission would not give sensation of the actual condition at the affected spot: it is not in the nature of body that where one part suffers there should be knowledge in another part; for body is a magnitude, and the parts of every magnitude are distinct parts; therefore we need, as the sentient, something of a nature to be identical to itself at any and every spot; this property can belong only to some other form of being than body.
Themes
◆Demiurgecosmology

A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.

A directing Cause is described as fashioning the order of material bodies, functioning as a secondary creator principle.

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◆Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The text posits a regulating Cause necessary to direct the admixture of material entities.

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◆Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text distinguishes between a 'sovereign principle' and the 'soul,' hinting at a hierarchical structure of being without detailing the full chain.

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◆Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

A Reason-Principle is explicitly identified as directing the admixture of bodies and originating from the soul.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The text defines the principle's nature by negating material attributes and composite structures rather than affirming positive qualities.

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◇Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] A clear ontological distinction is drawn between the living soul and the soulless material elements like fire, air, water, and earth.

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◇Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

[auto] The passage argues that the sovereign principle cannot be material because material entities are composite and fall apart, implying a simple nature.

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◇Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

[auto] The inquiry into the nature of a 'sovereign principle' that is not composite aligns with the concept of an undivided first principle.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 7 (part 6)
“2.) There existed in man also the third principle, wherein resides sensual desire. He was not endowed with this principle for the purpose of surrendering himself to it, but that he might introduce it into the light of God, and glorify Him…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body and the divine. They discuss the soul as a guiding principle and the need for harmony and order, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 6)
“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter. Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i. 9.) "But in the earth we fi…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the material and the spiritual, discussing how life and soul are inherent in the material world. They both delve into the idea of a higher principle or cause that governs the material, though they use different metaphors and frameworks.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 9 (part 1)
“p. 180 CHAPTER IX. GENERATION. "Let every Brahman, with fixed attention, consider all nature, both visible and invisible, as existing in the Divine Spirit. For when he contemplates the boundless universe in the Divine Spirit, he cannot…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to a higher principle or divine spirit. They discuss the inherent life and reason within the soul and its connection to a transcendent reality, though they use different metaphysical frameworks and terminology.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 7)
“48.) "The soul and the Word are not one or one being. The soul is born from the centre of nature, from the essences, and belongs to the body, for she issues from the essences of the body, and attracts to herself the body; but the Word is f…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul and a higher principle (Reason-Principle in Plotinus, the Word in Jakob Boehme). They discuss the nature of the soul, its connection to a divine or rational principle, and the idea that the soul is illuminated or guided by this higher principle. The conceptual parallel lies in their exploration of the soul's relationship to a transcendent reality.
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 14 (part 2)
“2.) During his terrestrial existence man can remain consciously in the three worlds, and by the power of the will with which he is endowed penetrate into either one or the other; but after the separation of the soul from the body has taken…”
Both passages explore the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body, discussing the soul's existence and function after the body's dissolution. They both delve into the idea of the soul's governing principles and its state after death, though from different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter I (part 3)
“______ Since the remotest antiquity the question of our relation to the true causes of our sensations has constituted the main subject of philosophical research. Men have always felt that they should have some solution for this question, s…”
Both passages explore the nature of sensation and consciousness, discussing how the experience of pain or sensation is not localized in the affected body part but is rather processed and perceived by a central consciousness or intellect. They both delve into the idea that the true nature of external reality is mediated by our cognitive faculties.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter VIII (part 1)
“p. 80 CHAPTER VIII Our receptive apparatus. Sensation. Perception. Conception. Intuition. Art as the language of the future. To what extent does the three-dimensionality of the world depend upon the properties of our receptive appara…”
Both passages explore the nature of sensation and consciousness, discussing how sensations are perceived and transmitted. They both delve into the distinction between the physical experience of pain or sensation and the conscious awareness of it, though from different philosophical and mystical perspectives.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter VIII (part 3)
“In addition to the simple sensations of these sense organs (color, sound, touch, smell and taste), in addition to the simple emotions of pleasure, pain, joy, anger, surprise, wonder, curiosity and many others, there is passing through our c…”
Both passages explore the nature of sensation and consciousness, discussing how sensations are transmitted and perceived. They share a focus on the distinction between physical sensation and the conscious experience of pain or emotion, though they come from different philosophical and mystical traditions.