Inner Form divided
Reading Plotinus, treatise I.6[1]: On Beauty. Part III.
“For this reason being is longed for because it is the same as beauty, and beauty is lovable because it is being”
(Plotinus, V.8. 9.41 - 2)
I. §I.6.3.
I.1 The Architect
In chapter 3 of our treatise, Plotinus recaps what has been said before, and in doing so clarifies how beauty comes to be in matter. We read:
“The power in the soul that has been made to correspond to beauty recognizes it, and there is nothing more authoritative in judging its own concerns.”
(1.6.3. 1-2)
Because the soul corresponds to beauty, or even is beauty in its deepest essence, it can recognize beauty in the outside world. And because its (the soul’s) being is beauty, there is no better judge as to what is beautiful than the soul itself. How do we judge something as to its beauty? Listen to your soul, this is Plotinus’ answer. Of course, this is easier said than done. And as we will see, it takes work to be able to know the beauty of our soul, and thus, it takes work to become an adequate judge as to what constitutes beauty in the material world. Beauty is recognized in the material world, but in order to recognize, we must become familiar with what is recognized in it: with soul. And living as we are, attached to matter, barely conscious of the intelligible realm from which we came, the fact of recognition is not given in any straightforward manner.
Plotinus repeats a question already asked:
“But how does the beauty in the body harmonize with that which is prior to body? How can the architect, bringing into concord the external house with the form of the house internal to him, claim that the former is beautiful?”
(I.6.3. 6-7)
This is because the soul recognizes its inner form in the beauty displayed in the material. But how is the soul able to recognize its beauty in matter, what ensures this connection between the beauty of soul, and the beauty of matter? Plotinus answers:
“It is because the external house is — if you consider it apart from its stones — the inner form divided by the external mass of matter. Being in fact undivided, it appears divided into many parts.”
(I.6.3. 8-9)
As we saw, the Form of Beauty, residing in the Intelligible realm, and known to us because we ourselves emanate from this realm, is one and undivided. In the Intelligible realm, Beauty is beauty by itself and by itself only, mixed with nothing else. But in matter, where there is differentiation between parts, and a mixing of things with one another, Beauty is not self-same. Rather, in the material world, Beauty is always mixed with other things of a material nature. For example, in a person to which we attribute beauty, there are also characteristics mixed in that aren’t beautiful; perhaps a crooked limb, or the occasional vice. Or in a sculpture which we say is beautiful, Beauty is not one and unmixed, but mixed with all sorts of rough materials, and subject to decay over time. Beauty by itself is undivided and unmixed, but in the material world it is mixed and divided.
Plotinus now explains to us how this passage from the Beauty of the Intelligible realm to the beauty of the material realm takes place. For there is a problem; if Beauty is one and undivided, then how can we see it in this material world that is by essence mixed and divided? Because the material beauty, of a house for example, is the inner Form of Beauty divided by the external mass of the matter making up the house. And it is in this way that we will be able to recognize beauty in the material house. How, precisely? In seeing the house, the soul “gathers together that which was in many places and brings it back and collects it into the soul’s interior as something without parts, and at that moment gives it to that which is inside as something which has the harmony and concord that is dear to it.” (I.6.3. 13-15)
The beauty that we see in the house is the result of a perfect division of the inner Form of beauty divided by the material parts making up the house. And because the soul itself, in its deepest essence, knows the Forms as its own essence, by the directness of self-thinking thought known in the intelligible realm, the soul, when confronted with the material house, can retrace the division that dispersed Beauty into many parts by a direct act of pure intuition. This point is of great importance. We started of our treatise on Beauty by claiming that the soul intuitively recognizes what is beautiful, it is automatically drawn to it. And Plotinus has now given part of the answer as to how this is possible. The individual soul, living in this material world, is attached to matter. But in its deepest essence, the soul does not reside solely in the material world, but also in the Intelligible world. In this Intelligible world, the soul’s way of thinking is not discursive or characterized by intentionality. Rather, its way of thinking is intuitive and direct, it is ‘self-thinking thought’, in which there is no difference between what it thinks and what it is. And this self-thinking thought, in the Intelligible realm, produces the Forms; of Beauty, of Justice, etc. And it is this self-thinking thought of the Intelligible realm which by its own activity produces Soul, that in turn creates the material realm. The Forms are also the productive principles responsible for the many things we see in the material world. For example, we see many instances of beauty, in various degrees, because there is one Form of Beauty. What is important to recognize is that the individual soul, —in its deepest essence as Soul coming from Intellect— is the producer of these Forms, and thus of the many instances of beauty in the material world. And now, when the individual soul sees a beautiful house (which is the internal Form of Beauty divided by the external mass of matter), it immediately recognizes this house as beautiful. It recognizes the beauty in it immediately, without having to count all the parts and make the division to see clearly how Beauty was divided in its parts. No, it can immediately, without ‘thinking’, retrace this process of division and recognize the unity of Beauty in it. And the soul is able to do this, because in its deepest essence as Soul, it is the one who made this division in the first place. When we see something beautiful, we can ask ourselves: ‘how is it that I find this beautiful?’ and many poets will try to convince you that this is the great mystery of life. But Plotinus tells us that there is no mystery; the soul merely recognizes itself, and is able to recognize Beauty in the material world, because it itself has put it there to begin with. The Soul produces matter, so there is no one better fit to recognize it. Now, of course, as individual souls attached to matter, we are not conscious of this process. It takes philosophy and spiritual practice to realize that this is the case. But interestingly, in the mere fact that we intuitively recognize beauty, that we automatically turn to what is beautiful, and automatically turn away from what is ugly, we can divine that something like this must be the case; the soul recognizes beauty so intuitively, that it must have some intimate connection with it. And it is this intimate connection, which Plotinus’ metaphysics of the Intelligible lineage of the soul tries to explain. To say it in a different manner, we are unconsciously attracted to what is beautiful, and Plotinus tries to explain these unconscious processes that make us recognize beauty. What are these unconscious processes? This is the divine succession that connects the individual soul, Soul, the Forms, Intellect, and ultimately the One. This succession is what is unconscious to us as individual souls attached to matter, but through recognizing beauty, we can divine its presence. And the purpose of philosophy, for Plotinus, is to make us more and more aware of this divine lineage, to make the unconscious processes that make us recognize beauty (for example), conscious. This is why the Platonic philosophy has always stressed the importance of beauty as something that can guide the philosopher upward to the Divine. Because the seeing of beauty is an act in which what is truly Real shines through in material reality.
II. §1.6.4.
I.2 To those who have seen
“Now we ought to think of the most sovereign part of our soul as god’s gift to us, given to be our guiding spirit. This, of course, is the type of soul that, as we maintain, resides in the top part of our bodies. It raises us up away from the earth and toward what is akin to us in heaven, as though we are plants grown not from the earth but from heaven, the place from which our souls were originally born, that the divine part suspends our head, i.e., our root, and so keeps our whole body erect.”
(Plato, Timaeus, 90a)
We have mostly spoken about the beauty that we can come to see through our senses, and we have explained how this beauty can come about by referring to what is not of the senses: Intelligible reality. Now, Plotinus will speak about those beauties which are not perceived by the senses.
Now, to perceive the beauty of what is not of the senses, this is not a given. One has to train to ascend to this Beauty. In Plato’s Symposium, it is said that to perceive this Beauty, one must start out with the beauties perceived by the senses. When one has seen a lot of these, one must come to love all that is beautiful, and realize that seeking after one particular beauty is only “a small thing.” From here, one will realize that the beauty of a soul is much more valuable than the beauty of bodies. As a result, the seeker will gaze less at the beauties of bodies, and more at what makes a soul beautiful: activities, behaviour, character. And when one has done this, contemplating certain customs that make a soul beautiful, one will turn to different kinds of knowledge.
“The result is that he will see the beauty of knowledge and be looking mainly not at beauty in a single example —as a servant would who favored the beauty of a little boy or a man or a single custom— but the lover is turned to the great sea of beauty, and, gazing upon this, he gives birth to many gloriously beautiful ideas and theories, in unstinting love of wisdom, until, having grown and been strengthened there, he catches sight of such knowledge, and it is the knowledge of such beauty.”
(Plato, Symposium, 210 c-d)
In Plotinus’ system, this means that one should first contemplate the beauties given to the senses, to then realize that what makes them beautiful is the one Beauty given by soul. Following this, one will be more interested in the dispositions of soul that make a soul beautiful, than in the material things that make a soul beautiful. Having realized this, one will eventually come to love not certain customs of individual souls, but come to love Soul as such. And loving Soul as such, one will come to love the self-knowing knowing of Intellect, which is akin to Beauty. And it is from this place, that “he gives birth to many gloriously beautiful ideas and theories.” Why? Because Beauty is always produced from within the Intelligible realm, and only later descends into matter. And when the seeker has identified himself with the part of him that rests in the Intelligible realm, only then will he become a true creator —no longer just participating in Beauty, but being Beauty itself, and thus being able to give birth to beautiful things, ideas, and actions.
But this process of ascent —from the sensible beauties to the Intelligible beauty, and then back down as a creator— is a hard task, and only fully completed by a few. Through theoretical philosophy, we can get a glimpse of true Beauty, we can get a vague idea of its existence. But to truly know, this is only for the few. Plotinus warns that there is little sense in speaking about these non-sensible things to those who have not seen them, or who cannot even divine their existence:
“Just as in the case of the beauties perceived by the senses it is not possible to speak about them to those who have not seen them or to those who have never grasped them for what they are, for example, those who have been blind since birth.”
(I.6.4. 5)
Should we then stay silent? Not at all. For you have, in all likelihood had a glimpse of what true Beauty might be like. If you are drawn to Plotinus’ philosophy, in all likelihood, you have an idea, however vague it might be, even if you have not had direct vision. Or maybe you are like the seeker in Plato’s Symposium, having seen many beautiful things, but no longer interested in one thing in particular, you have started yearning for Beauty as such. Also, have we not seen that the function of sensible beauties is precisely to remind us of Beauty as such? And have we not said, that in your deepest essence, you carry Beauty, allowing you to recognize beauty in the world? You carry this Beauty in you, as this imperceptible yet ever-present feeling, this itch, an intuition you could say, that there is something in you, and that has attracted you to Plotinus. If so, you are right in being here. And if not, being here might be even more beneficial.
We read:
“But such a sight must be reserved for those who see it with that in the soul by which it sees such things, and seeing it are delighted and shocked and overwhelmed much more than in the previous cases, inasmuch as we are now speaking of those who have already got hold of true beauties.”
(I.6.4. 11-14)
We see the beauty not grasped by the senses, with “that in the soul by which it sees such things.” What is this ‘that’? It is precisely the part of our soul that is connected to Soul, and not to matter. For it is Soul that is connected to the Form of Beauty, whereas the individual soul only sees particular instances of beauty. Plotinus now sums up the states that one is in when one grasps intelligible beauty, what it ‘feels’ like, to grasp non-sensible beauty:
“astonishment, and sweet shock, and longing, and erotic thrill, and pleasurable excitement.”
(I.6.4. 15)
This is interesting, it is not because we are departing from our senses, that we can not experience such strong states of emotion. Rather, when we extricate ourselves from the beauties of the senses, and come to see non-sensible beauties, the excitement is that much more intense. Why? Because we are getting closer to Beauty. And the closer we get to Beauty, the closer we get to ourselves. And it is always “the internal that moves us.”(Plotinus, 5.8.2.) Matter does not form Soul, it is Soul that forms matter. And thus, the closer we get to Soul, the more we are connected with true movement and activity, with true life, which in its powers to astonish, shock, and ignite beauty, is much more powerful than anything sensible beauty could give us. Plotinus affirms that it is very much possible to have these strong emotions when it comes to things not of the senses —be it virtuous actions, or the contemplation of Beauty itself—, “and all souls do have them in regard to all the unseen beauties, so to say, but in particular those souls who are more enamoured of these.”(I.6.4. 20) Everyone has these emotions, for if we dig deep enough, everyone’s essence is the same, and everyone’s essence is moved by what is internal to it —Beauty.
But not everyone is enamoured as much as everyone else, some have more of a taste for it. In the same way that everyone can appreciate art, but only few people go on to become artists, feeling drawn to devote their lives to the search for the essence of artistic beauty. In the same way, everyone appreciates knowledge, but only few people feel themselves driven to become philosophers.
“Those who are stung especially are those who are called ‘lovers’.”
(I.6.4. 21)
If you are a lover to someone, you see this person as particularly expressive of beauty, and you love this person more than anything else. If you love literature, you see literature as particularly expressive of beauty, and you love it more than anything else. And if you love Beauty as such, having seen all the beauties of the world, but no longer interested in any particular instance of beauty, it is then that you are a lover of Beauty. It is then that the lover, as Plato said, is
“turned to the great sea of beauty, and, gazing upon this, he gives birth to many gloriously beautiful ideas and theories, in unstinting love of wisdom, until, having grown and been strengthened there, he catches sight of such knowledge, and it is the knowledge of such beauty.”
(Plato, Symposium, 210 c-d)
Here, we are given a preliminary definition of philosophy. It is commonly said that philosophy is interested in the ‘whole’. The physicist is interested in physical reality, the politician in politics, the artist in art, etc. But the philosopher, he is interested in the entirety of reality. But what does it mean to be ‘interested in’? It means to be attracted to something. In a sense, it is to love something. To see something as more worthy of your attention than something else. And thus, the artist sees art as more worthy of his attention than anything else. Plotinus told us that we naturally turn to what is beautiful to us, because we recognize ourselves in it. And because our bodies are constituted differently, and our souls disposed in different manners, some are drawn more to art, others more to chemistry, and others to still other things.
In Was heißt Denken?, Heidegger reminds us that ‘interesting’ means ‘inter-esse’, it means to want to be in the middle of things. If I am interested in art, I desire to throw myself in the middle of it, to delve into its essence, to get to know it in the most intimate manner possible. If I am interested in physics, I desire nothing more than to arrive at the essence of physical reality, to live there, to be in it, to be it. In this way, we are interested in many things, we love many things. But the philosopher, Plotinus tells us, is no longer interested in loving one particular thing. He has seen the beauty of many beautiful things, and has come to divine the existence of a Beauty in which all these beautiful things participate. And the philosopher, the lover of wisdom, now comes to desire this Beauty as such. This is what it means to be a philosopher, to not love this or that, but to love Being as such. To not seek for the essence of this or that, but to seek for the essence of what ‘is’, as such. A desire for the nature of what is, and as like is known by like, a desire to become this nature. This is then Plotinus’ characterization of the philosopher as he relates to beauty: someone who is no longer satisfied with recognising himself in the beautiful things of the world, like Narcissus in love with his reflection, but interested in seeing himself as such. No longer interested in re-cognising his soul, but in gaining pure cognition of his Soul.
We have shown that in perceiving sensible beauty, the Soul recognizes itself, seeing itself reflected in matter. But what would it be like, to perceive Intelligible Beauty, to gain sight of Beauty as such?
Sources:
Plato. Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper. Cambridge: Hackett, 1997.
Plotinus, The Enneads. Edited by Lloyd P. Gerson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.