Plotinus, Augustine, and Aquinas on God and Neoplatonism
This paper examines the Neoplatonist philosophical traditions of Plotinus, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas, tracing how each thinker built upon his predecessor's ideas about God, creation, and human intellect. Beginning with Plotinus' foundational concepts of the One and the Nous, the paper follows the development of these ideas through Augustine's emphasis on divine wisdom as the bridge between the spiritual and material worlds, and concludes with Aquinas' five arguments for God's existence and his doctrine of creation from nothing. Together, the three thinkers illuminate a shared conviction that human intellect and wisdom are the means by which humanity may draw closer to the divine.
- Introduction to Neoplatonism and Its Major Figures: Overview of three thinkers united by Neoplatonism
- Plotinus: The One and the Nous: Plotinus on the One, Nous, and divine hierarchy
- Augustine: Wisdom as the Bridge to the Divine: Augustine links divine wisdom to human life
- Aquinas: Divine Power and Creation from Nothing: Aquinas on God's power and creation ex nihilo
- Conclusion: The Shared Neoplatonist Vision: Synthesis of the three thinkers' shared worldview
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The paper traces a clear intellectual lineage — from Plotinus to Augustine to Aquinas — showing how each figure built upon the last, giving the comparative analysis a logical narrative arc.
- Direct quotations from primary scholarly sources (Lekkas, Kowalczyk, Schall) are integrated smoothly to support each philosopher's position without overwhelming the student's own analysis.
- The conclusion synthesizes the shared premise across all three thinkers rather than simply restating each individually, demonstrating genuine comparative thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates effective comparative philosophical analysis. Rather than treating each thinker in complete isolation, the student identifies a unifying theme — the ineffability of God and the role of human intellect in approaching the divine — and uses it as a through-line to connect all three philosophers. This technique gives a short comparative essay coherence and argumentative direction.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a straightforward five-paragraph structure: an introduction establishing the shared Neoplatonist framework, one dedicated body paragraph per philosopher (Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas) each with a focused claim and cited support, and a concluding paragraph that synthesizes the common worldview. This clear structure makes the comparative argument easy to follow.
Introduction to Neoplatonism and Its Major Figures
The school of thought known as Neoplatonism has had a profound influence on three major philosophical figures, all of whom engaged deeply with questions about the existence of God and his relationship to nature. Plotinus, St. Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas each developed distinctive reasoning about the nature of human existence and the hierarchies of creation. In their writings, the three men traced both direct and indirect links between the abstract form of existence and the concrete human world. Their ethical worldviews function within the shared prospect of humanity's closeness to the divine through the use of wisdom and intellect.
Plotinus: The One and the Nous
Plotinus was the founder of Neoplatonism, though he himself identified simply as a Platonist. In his philosophical studies, Plotinus focused on the concept of the One and the Nous, with the One ruling in a classical hierarchy. According to him, the One is the "source of all being," a "source of endless creation, charged with the task of eternally conserving Its own creations at the heart of the world" (Lekkas, 2005). Following the One is the Nous, which is the lesser "image" of the One and the archetype of all existing beings. For Plotinus, the One is the unprovable essence of the Good, which he characterizes as God. In a classical hierarchical sense, the One is ineffable — the One transcends all. The Nous, by contrast, corresponds to thought and being, to "idea and [the] ideal world" (Lekkas, 2005). The second highest sphere, in Plotinus' framework, becomes the human mind and the human intellect.
References
Kowalczyk, S. (2006). Topicality of St. Augustine's concept of wisdom. Dialogue & Universalism, 16(5/6), 83–89. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Lekkas, G. (2005). Plotinus: Towards an ontology of likeness (On the One and Nous). International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 13(1), 53–68. doi:10.1080/0967255042000324335
Schall, J. V. (1997). The uniqueness of the political philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. Perspectives on Political Science, 26(2), 85. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.