Metaphysics

“Plotinus (204-270 AD) is considered to be the founder of Neoplatonism. Taking his lead from his reading of Plato, Plotinus developed a complex spiritual cosmology involving three foundational elements: the One, the Intelligence, and the Soul. It is from the productive unity of these three Beings that all existence emanates, according to Plotinus. The principal of emanation is not simply causal, but also contemplative. In his system, Plotinus raises intellectual contemplation to the status of a productive principle; and it is by virtue of contemplation that all existents are said to be united as a single, all-pervasive reality.”

The following OntoUML diagram shows the main entities in the metaphysical scheme of Plotinus.

Class/(Package)	Description
TheOne_ TheGood	“the One, which is neither being nor essence, but the source, or rather, the possibility of all existence. In this capacity, the One is not even a beginning, nor even an end, for it is simply the disinterested orientational ‘stanchion’ that permits all beings to recognize themselves as somehow other than a supreme ‘I’…”	Is in 1:1 relation with the Intellect;
Intellect	“The Intelligence (Nous) is the true first principle — the determinate, referential ‘foundation’ (arkhe) — of all existents; for it is not a self-sufficient entity like the One, but rather possesses the ability or capacity to contemplate both the One, as its prior, as well as its own thoughts, which Plotinus identifies with the Platonic Ideas or Forms (eide)… The Intelligence may be understood as the storehouse of potential being(s), but only if every potential being is also recognized as an eternal and unchangeable thought in the Divine Mind (Nous). Plotinus states that “to think and to be are one and the same”	Existentially depending on the TheOne_ TheGood; contains a multitude of Forms(p).
Form	“The Ideas (Forms) reside in the Intelligence as objects of contemplation. Plotinus states that: “No Idea is different from The Intelligence but is itself an intelligence”
HigherSoul	“The Soul, like the Intelligence, is a unified existent, in spite of its dual capacity as contemplator and actor. The purely contemplative part of the Soul, which remains in constant contact with the Intelligence, is referred to by Plotinus as the ‘higher part’ of the Soul”	1:1 relation with Intellect; on which existentially depends. Contains LogoiSpermatikoi.
Logoi Spermatikoi	“through the contemplation of the One via the (Forms) Ideas, the Intelligence produces the logoi spermatikoi (‘seminal reasons’) that will serve as the productive power or essence of the Soul, which is the active or generative principle within Being.”	LogoiSpermatikoi are a combination of Forms (many:many – 0..:1.. relation).
Human	“What Plotinus calls the “living being” (zoon) is what we would refer to, roughly, as the human being, or the individual possessed of a distinct personality. This being is the product of the union of the lower or active part of the soul with a corporeal body… Each “particular being” is the product, as it were, of an intelligence (a logos spermatikos)”
LowerSoul	“that part which actively descends into the changeable (or sensible) realm in order to govern and directly craft the Cosmos, is the ‘lower part (of the Soul),’ which assumes a state of division as it enters, out of necessity, material bodies… Yet the lower (or active), governing part of the Soul, while remaining, in its essence, a divine being and identical to the Highest Soul, nevertheless, through its act, falls into forgetfulness of its prior, and comes to attach itself to the phenomena of the realm of change, that is, of Matter.”	Is part of the HigherSoul; associated with a CorporealBody.
CorporealBody	CorporealBody is part of the Matter, made of Matter.
Matter	“Matter, for Plotinus, may be understood as an eternally receptive substratum (hupokeimenon), in and by which all determinate existents receive their form. Since Matter is completely passive, it is capable of receiving any and all forms, and is therefore the principle of differentiation among existents.”

OBSERVATION: according to my sources Plotinus’s thinking about the granularity of Forms/Ideas is not clarified, meaning if there is a different Form for any specific Particular, like any human being or not. (E.g.: is there a separate Form for Socrates or not?).
To overcome this issue I set one-one multiplicity for the LogoiSpermatikoi-LowerSoul_IndividualSoul relation, presuming that the HigherSoul is the level where the individual LowerSouls for different LivingBeings are created; and I used many-many multiplicity for the Form-
LogoiSpermatikoi relation, supposing that the Intellect thinks in higher categories (e.g. Humans, Genders etc.)

You can find a related post about [1.2.1] Plato’s Forms here. It is interesting to observe the increased complexity of Plotinus’s system.

Sources:

Edward Moore, Plotinus, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

First published: 23/02/2019

Updated: 03/07/2019 Diagram modified to OntoUML standard.
Updated: 10/01/2022

Class	Description	Relations
Universe	“Epicurus held that the elementary constituents of nature [universe] are undifferentiated matter, in the form of discrete, solid and indivisible particles (“atoms”) below the threshold of perception, plus empty space, that is, the complement of matter or where matter is not… an infinite number of solid and therefore indivisible atoms of finitely many kinds, such as Epicurus’ theory provides, are enough to avoid the possibility of the universe crumbling into nothing.” The universe is infinite end eternal; more than that, more universes can co-exist.
MacroscopicObject	“Macroscopic objects [or bodies], of course, do not move at a uniform and very great speed… In the case of compound objects that are completely at rest, the resultant of internal atomic motions is zero, relative, at least, to the earth, which may have an average motion of its own.”	is exclusive part of the Universe
Atom	“Epicurus held that the elementary constituents of nature are undifferentiated matter, in the form of discrete, solid and indivisible particles (“atoms”) below the threshold of perception… All secondary properties, such as color and taste, will be explained as epiphenomena of atomic combinations… atoms can come in different shapes and sizes (though never large enough to be seen) “ Atoms are eternal.	is exclusive member of the MacroscopicObject
EmptySpace	“empty space, that is, the complement of matter or where matter is not… Void must exist, in turn, if bodies are to be able to move, as they are seen to do. Thus motion is the counterwitness to the non-existence of void — an indirect argument is required since one cannot perceive empty space.”	is contained in the Universe
Human	Human being	is MacroscopicObject
SoulAtoms	The soul “consists of atoms: first, there is nothing that is not made up of atoms and void.., and second, an incorporeal entity could neither act on nor be moved by bodies, as the soul is seen to do (e.g., it is conscious of what happens to the body, and it initiates physical movement). Epicurus maintains that soul atoms are particularly fine and are distributed throughout the body, and it is by means of them that we have sensations (aisthêseis) and the experience of pain and pleasure, which Epicurus calls pathê (a term used by Aristotle and others to signify emotions instead). Body without soul atoms is unconscious and inert, and when the atoms of the body are disarranged so that it can no longer support conscious life, the soul atoms are scattered and no longer retain the capacity for sensation. There is also a part of the human soul that is concentrated in the chest, and is the seat of the higher intellectual functions. The distinction is important, because it is in the rational part that error of judgment enters in.”	is Atom; is exclusive member of the Human
NotSoulAtoms	Not soul atom: other atom than soul atoms in the human body.	is Atom; is exclusive member of the Human

Class

Description

Relations

Universe

“Epicurus held that the elementary constituents of nature [universe] are undifferentiated matter, in the form of discrete, solid and indivisible particles (“atoms”) below the threshold of perception, plus empty space, that is, the complement of matter or where matter is not…
an infinite number of solid and therefore indivisible atoms of finitely many kinds, such as Epicurus’ theory provides, are enough to avoid the possibility of the universe crumbling into nothing.”
The universe is infinite end eternal; more than that, more universes can co-exist.

MacroscopicObject

“Macroscopic objects [or bodies], of course, do not move at a uniform and very great speed… In the case of compound objects that are completely at rest, the resultant of internal atomic motions is zero, relative, at least, to the earth, which may have an average motion of its own.”

is exclusive part of the Universe

Atom

“Epicurus held that the elementary constituents of nature are undifferentiated matter, in the form of discrete, solid and indivisible particles (“atoms”) below the threshold of perception… All secondary properties, such as color and taste, will be explained as epiphenomena of atomic combinations… atoms can come in different shapes and sizes (though never large enough to be seen) “
Atoms are eternal.

is exclusive member of the MacroscopicObject

EmptySpace

“empty space, that is, the complement of matter or where matter is not… Void must exist, in turn, if bodies are to be able to move, as they are seen to do. Thus motion is the counterwitness to the non-existence of void — an indirect argument is required since one cannot perceive empty space.”

is contained in the Universe

Human

Human being

is MacroscopicObject

SoulAtoms

The soul “consists of atoms: first, there is nothing that is not made up of atoms and void.., and second, an incorporeal entity could neither act on nor be moved by bodies, as the soul is seen to do (e.g., it is conscious of what happens to the body, and it initiates physical movement). Epicurus maintains that soul atoms are particularly fine and are distributed throughout the body, and it is by means of them that we have sensations (aisthêseis) and the experience of pain and pleasure, which Epicurus calls pathê (a term used by Aristotle and others to signify emotions instead). Body without soul atoms is unconscious and inert, and when the atoms of the body are disarranged so that it can no longer support conscious life, the soul atoms are scattered and no longer retain the capacity for sensation. There is also a part of the human soul that is concentrated in the chest, and is the seat of the higher intellectual functions. The distinction is important, because it is in the rational part that error of judgment enters in.”

is Atom; is exclusive member of the Human

NotSoulAtoms

Not soul atom: other atom than soul atoms in the human body.

is Atom; is exclusive member of the Human

Philosophy Models

Notes on philosophy presented in OntoUML, UML, OWL/BFO, OWL/GUFO diagrams and codes

[2.4.2] Plotinus: Neoplatonist Metaphysics

[2.1.2] Epicurean Cosmology

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