Friday, March 26th, 1982

Precis of Edward W. Warren's "Consciousness in Plotinus"

by Anthony J. Damiani

Book Notes with Typist Edits V09BN

3-LETTER CODE: PLO

TOPIC: Plotinus

SUBJECT: Soul

ORIGINAL LOCATION & FILE NAME (of PDF used for typing): 1982 0326PC-16R15.PDF (pp. 3-4)

CONTENTS:

Man is ambivalent, straddles appearance and reality

Dianoia, our substantial activity; at times unaware of body

Antilepsis vs. dianoia; involves noeta and aistheta

Absorbed thinking vs. presentative image; lessening of I and not-I distinction; ontological damage in imagination

Habitual activity as fall into the inferior; sinking into physis

Conscious activity without dianoia

Sensitive power of soul distinguished from antilepsis; presence in body; no knowledge at this level

Parakolouthein; parakolouthesis as human consciousness; self-consciousness proper to Nous

Characteristics of parakolouthesis

BOOKS / ARTICLES QUOTED FROM OR REFERENCED:

• Edward W. Warren, "Consciousness in Plotinus," in Phronesis, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1964), pp. 83-97

• Plotinus, The Enneads (MacKenna translation, 4th ed.)

PLOTINUS QUOTES REFERENCED: IV.4.4, IV.4.5

AD HANDWRITING: Typewriter typed, no AD edits, dictated to JF

COMPLETENESS: Full Paper, precis of part of an article

PUBLISHABILITY: No, already published

DATE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE BOOK NOTES: 1982 0326

RETYPED AND REFORMATTED by IT 2022

NOTES:

• RETYPED BOOK NOTES (V09BN).

• This is 1982 03/26b, "Consciousness in Plotinus" Book Notes, and the second entry associated with this date. 1982 03/26a = Plotinus; Nature Class. 1982 03/26c = Six Levels of Awareness Paper. 1982 03/26d = Nature Outline. 1982 03/26e = Astronoesis Introduction Paper. 1982 03/26f = Astrology, Classifying the Types, for which there is no audio or notes — might refer to something misdated.

• This is a precis of a portion of "Consciousness in Plotinus," an article by Edward W. Warren in Phronesis, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1964), pp. 83-97, published by Brill. See also https://fdocuments.in/document/consciousness-in-plotinus.html.

• All spelling, punctuation, and other mistakes corrected. Slightly edited by IT to conform to the article.

precis of Edward W. Warren's "Consciousness in Plotinus"

by Anthony J. Damiani

[File 1982 0326PC-16R15.PDF Begins (p. 3)]

Therefore man is ambivalent [Note: Original typed paper has "Man is amphibious".] -- straddling appearance and reality. This becomes obvious when describing the powers of the soul. Our substantial activity is dianoia -- this essence escapes us often. Also, although connected with our body, we are at times unaware of our body.

All states we normally call conscious occur when reason or sensation reaches imagination. The process or (power) whereby the soul acts so that it forms an image in the imagination is called antilepsis. This conscious apprehension is to be distinguished from dianoia. It is a power of intellectual imagination and may form an image in the sensible imagination and make the soul conscious of these images. So antilepsis involves both noeta and aistheta.

The thinking which is absorbed in the meaning of the words ignores the presentative image and as such is not apprehended in the conceptual imagination. The distinction between I and not-I is lessened and the activity of reading has not traversed the whole soul, a sort of abandonment of sensation -- the object if grasped by imagination experiences ontological damage. For the imagination transforms its object. And Plotinus can not be understood unless we follow his path (IV.4.5). Habitual activity is a fall into the inferior (IV.4.4) identity with pathemata = corporeal. For the human soul to be unaware that it is operating according to dispositions is for it to sink down into physis.

Plotinus allows for conscious activity without dianoia -- this is not human cognition but animals operate with innate knowledge. Antilepsis is a power that can go back and forth between sensation and reason. If there be no image of thought it escapes us.

There may be no dianoia yet need not deny antilepsis towards sensible = rudimentary conscious experience. The sensitive power of soul must also be distinguished from antilepsis. It is soul as present in body. In the organs it is active in noting the body's affections. At this level of the sensitive power there is no knowledge. For besides sensitive activity there must be antilepsis, which is not the same as it or dianoia.

Parakolouthein is "to follow along with," a kind of consciousness peculiar to humans, the accompaniment of thought or sensation by an image. A sensation which ends in the imagination becomes conscious to humans. The process by which an image is made = antilepsis. Parakolouthein focuses sharply on the duality of imagination and the imaged object.

Consciousness is proper to the human soul -- this is parakolouthesis, par excellence -- and self-consciousness is proper to Nous.

Parakolouthesis 1) is proper to human knowing; 2) derives from the notion of "following along with"; 3) emphasizes the dual character of the subject-object relation.

[File 1982 0326PC-16R15.PDF Ends (p. 4)]