Nous (νοῦς) — “Intellect,” “reason,” or “mind.” In Anaxagoras, the Nous is the ordering principle of the cosmos, pure and separated from matter. In Plato, the highest faculty of the soul that contemplates the Ideas. In Aristotle, the nous poietikos (active intellect) renders objects intelligible and is impassive and separable from the body. Plotinus elevates Nous to the second hypostasis of reality, an emanation of the One.
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