Ancient psychology. The teachings of ancient doctors. Brain and thinking The organ of thinking and sensation is the brain

About the purpose of the brain. How many times have they told the world that the brain is neither an organ of thinking nor the seat of the mind and psyche: mental and mental processes take place not in the body, but in the soul. There have been documented cases more than once when, during post-mortem trepanation, in those who until the end of their days were not particularly different from those around them, a complete absence of the brain was discovered, instead of which a cloudy liquid was splashing. On such an occasion, the relatives of the unique person usually became indignant. Is it possible to control the body when the feedback system is not working and, in particular, in the absence of a brain? Certainly; and this is clearly confirmed by the cases mentioned above during post-mortem trepanations. True, with such control, all the subject’s life activity is purely reflexive, mechanical - although this is difficult to believe if the subject demonstrates good performance of complex professional skills. The brain, as a coding super-connector, is required to ensure the secrecy of access specifically to the conscious part of control over the body. As for unconscious, automatic control, here you can completely do without the brain. Literally, a brainless subject is a biorobot automaton; he cannot learn anything new, which means he is not viable. If the above is true, then it can be argued that such a subject should lack a wide range of altered states of consciousness, and is unlikely to even be able to sleep. Alas, alas - many have all these symptoms at the end of their days; They need the brain less and less.
Conclusion. A clear understanding that the brain is just a set of contacts through which the soul controls the state of the body makes it possible to realize the futility of attempts to heal mental and psychological disorders by influencing the brain by physical means. Disorders of this kind occur at the level of the soul, and to heal them you need to heal the soul. This is not what the current official, i.e., does. anti-national, medicine; and all she achieves through soulless physical influences on the brain is to induce in the patient certain altered states of consciousness, sometimes even irreversible.”
This explains in detail the callousness and cruelty of the Jewish leaders, stuffed with psychoactive substances about the Jewish leaders, killing, sparing no one, in the same brutal ways, which were treated by such biosurmans thousands and billions of years ago. Just earlier, enemies killed for the dark ones “of God,” but now for the money that they receive from the Semonago-Jews for the carved out internal organs. These fascists have been around since the very time when they separated from the Proto-Slavic degenerative branches, in which the dark forces found their support.

Biosubstances in tablets turn off the soul.

Temperaments

The word "temperament" (from Lat. temperans, “moderate”) translated from Latin means “proper ratio of parts”; the Greek word “krasis” (ancient Greek κράσις, “merging, mixing”), which is equal in meaning to it, was introduced by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates.

Let's try to define what "temperament" is.

First of all, temperament- biological , an innate, rather than acquired quality of a person . It's from dad and mom. Temperament determines and ensures the speed, strength and balance of reactions to a stimulus and to changed environmental conditions. From the point of view of neurophysiology, this is the relationship between the processes of excitation and inhibition in the central nervous system, their mobility and changeability.

Second, temperament has a close connection with emotions. Therefore, it can be understood as emotional reactivity and dynamics of an individual's activity . Thus, temperament colors all mental manifestations of a person, affects thinking, rate of speech, its rhythm, facial expressions, gestures, mobility, and manner of communication. But temperament does not affect interests, hobbies, motivation, or intelligence.

So, Ancient China 8-7 centuries. BC. Chinese doctors divide people into different types depending on the predominance of their air-like origin, bile or blood, and, finally, mucus. With a predominance of bile or blood - strong, brave, like a tiger; with a predominance of the air-like principle - unbalanced, mobile, monkey-like; with a predominance of mucus - slow, inactive. The great ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC). was an extraordinary person, highly educated, cultured, well-traveled, thoroughly knowledgeable about the medicine of many countries and peoples, brilliantly applied his knowledge in practice, and passed it on to young colleagues. From his own experience, he was convinced that the main method in medicine should be considered " thinking" observation. The ability to observe allowed him to describe the now well-known types of people : sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. In his opinion, the nature of the body consists of four liquids (blood, mucus, yellow bile and black bile), and through them it gets sick, and is most healthy when these parts maintain proportionality in mutual mixing in relation to strength and quantities and when they are best mixed."

Likewise, pin his opinion, the organ of thinking and sensation is the brain. Based on this humoral principle gave a description of various emotional manifestations. In particular, according to his ideas, when mentally excited, some people tend to behave manic type of behavior, other - according to depression. Believed there was some influence climatic-geographical conditions on the properties of a person’s character and his social organization. According to his teaching, the general behavior of a person depends on the ratio of four juices (liquids) circulating in the body - blood, bile, black bile and mucus (phlegm, lymph)

Predominance bile (Greek χολή, hole, “bile, poison”) makes a person impulsive, “hot” - choleric .

Predominance of mucus ( Greek φλέγμα, reflux, “phlegm”) makes a person calm and slow - phlegmatic .

Predominance blood (lat. sanguis , sanguis, sangua, “blood”) makes a person active and cheerful - sanguine .

Predominance black bile (Greek μέλαινα χολή, Melena Hole, “black bile”) makes a person sad and fearful - melancholic .

“Now we can clearly see how the Greek genius in the person of Hippocrates caught the fundamental features in the mass of countless variants of human behavior,” we read from the great Russian physiologist I. Pavlov. Many elements of Hippocrates’ teachings, either modified or in their original form, can be traced in the views of subsequent generations of scientists, and practically, to this day, his classification of temperaments has not lost its significance.

Where did the expressions come from?"hot blood", "cold blood"? We often use them to characterize the people around us. The origins of these expressions come from the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle (384-322 BC), no less famous than Hippocrates. He also spoke about the four temperaments. Aristotle distinguished hot and cold, light and heavy temperaments.

Let us give a modern description of the types of temperament. Choleric Characterized by increased excitability, actions are intermittent. He is characterized by sharpness and swiftness of movements, strength, impulsiveness, and vivid expression of emotional experiences. Due to imbalance, carried away by a task, he tends to act with all his might and become more exhausted than he should. Having public interests, his temperament shows initiative, energy, and integrity. In the absence of spiritual life, choleric temperament often manifests itself in irritability, affectivity, incontinence, hot temper, and inability to self-control under emotional circumstances. Sanguine. Quickly adapts to new conditions, quickly gets along with people, and is sociable. Feelings arise and change easily, emotional experiences are usually shallow. Facial expressions are rich, mobile, expressive. He is somewhat restless, needs new impressions, does not regulate his impulses sufficiently, and does not know how to strictly adhere to the established routine of life or work system. In this regard, he cannot successfully carry out work that requires an equal expenditure of effort, prolonged and methodical tension, perseverance, stability of attention, and patience. In the absence of serious goals, deep thoughts, and creative activity, superficiality and inconstancy develop. Phlegmatic person. It is characterized by a relatively low level of behavioral activity, new forms of which are developed slowly, but are persistent. Possesses slowness and calmness in actions, facial expressions and speech, evenness, constancy, depth of feelings and moods. Persistent and stubborn, he rarely loses his temper, is not prone to emotions, calculating his strength, brings things to the end, is even in relationships, moderately sociable, and does not like to chat in vain. Saves energy and doesn’t waste it. Depending on the conditions, in some cases a phlegmatic person may be characterized by “positive” traits - endurance, depth of thoughts, constancy, thoroughness, in others - lethargy, indifference to the environment, laziness and lack of will, poverty and weakness of emotions, a tendency to perform only habitual actions. Melancholic. His reaction often does not correspond to the strength of the stimulus; there is depth and stability of feelings with weak expression. It is difficult for him to concentrate on anything for a long time. Strong influences often cause a prolonged inhibitory reaction in melancholic people (“give up”). He is characterized by restraint and muted speech and movements, shyness, timidity, and indecisiveness. Under normal conditions, a melancholic person is a deep, meaningful person who can be a good worker and successfully cope with life’s tasks. Under unfavorable conditions, he can turn into a closed, fearful, anxious, vulnerable person, prone to difficult internal experiences of life circumstances that do not deserve it.

G. Aizenkov’s factorial concept of temperament is based on three fundamental dimensions - extroversion-introversion, neuroticism(emotional stability - emotional instability) and psychoticism.

extroversion as the dependence of mental activity on the existing objective situation;

psychodynamic anxiety as a predisposition to an avoidance reaction in anticipation of a threatening situation;

reactivity as the intensity of the reaction in response to incoming stimulation;

impulsiveness as the speed with which emotion becomes the motivating force of action;

emotional stability as the ability to control emotions;

emotional excitability as the intensity of emotional experiences;

activity as a purposeful activity;

rigidity as an inability to adjust the program of activities in accordance with the requirements of the situation.

As a result of an empirical study, 9 properties of temperament were identified:

• activity - level of physical activity and the ratio of physical activity and passivity;

  rhythm - predictability of the time of occurrence of behavioral reactions associated with biological needs (does the child fall asleep easily, eat, etc. at the same time);

  zoom in/out - immediate reaction to new stimuli (approach is associated with the manifestation of positive emotions, and removal is associated with the manifestation of negative emotions);

  adaptability - ease of adaptation to new conditions;

  reactivity threshold - the level and intensity of exposure necessary for a reaction to occur (for example, how noisy should it be for a child to get tired);

  mood - the relationship between a joyful state and a state of dissatisfaction;

  distractibility - the effectiveness of new stimuli in changing behavior (for example, is it easy to calm a child if he cries);

  intensity of reactions - the energy level of the reaction, regardless of its quality and direction;

  attention span - how long the child can do the same thing and whether he is inclined to continue the activity if difficulties arise.

Analyzing individual clinical cases, A. Thomas and S. Chess came to the conclusion that various temperament properties tend to form property syndromes. In total, three property syndromes were identified:

• Easy temperament characterized by rhythm in the emergence of biological needs, a positive reaction to new stimuli (approach), rapid adaptation to changes, the predominance of positive emotions and the low intensity of their expression. Children quickly get used to feeding and sleep times and are not afraid of strangers. Adults are sociable and easily get used to new work.

  Difficult temperament characterized by irregularity in the emergence of biological needs, a negative reaction to a new situation, long-term adaptation to changes, and a predominance of negative emotions with increased intensity.

  Temperament with long habituation characterized by slow adaptation and a negative, but weak in intensity reaction to new situations. People with this type of temperament do not like unusual food or new people, but their negative reaction has a weak external expression and gradually changes to a positive one.

Extraversion (Latin exter - external + versare - to turn) - personal orientation in the theory of analytical psychology K.G. Jung, which acts as one of two integral attitudes and characterizes an intuitive, feeling, perceiving individual. Eysenck's theory of personality.

One of the components of extraversion is impulsiveness(Latin impulsus - push) - a tendency to act without sufficient conscious control, under the influence of external circumstances or due to emotional experiences.

Introversion(comes from Latin intro – inside + versare – to turn) - a personal variable that is characterized by a number of characteristics. Among them - persistence, rigidity, subjectivity, modesty, irritability.

An introvert is shy, introspective, does not follow sudden impulses, loves order, and can be relied upon. He is cold and performance-oriented. It is the opposite of extraversion.

One of the components of introversion is schizothymia(Greek schizo - split) - a personal variable that is characterized by a high personal pace, strong perseveration (perseveration of associations, reactive irritability, long-term affective perseveration), good dissection (analytical perception, G - answers to the Rorschach test, abstract abilities, independence), strong intrapsychic tension, etc. For an individual with a high schizothymia characterized by abstraction, analytical thinking, poor switchability, irritability, duration of affect.

The identification of body types and mental make-up was of practical importance: establishing the type was associated with the diagnosis and choice of treatment method for patients, since according to Hippocrates, each type is predisposed to certain diseases, Angela will tell you more about this 

Philosophy of consciousness distinguishes between the concepts of mind and brain and notes controversies regarding their precise relationships, which lead to the mind-body problem.[

The brain is defined as the physical and biological matter contained within the skull and responsible for basic electrochemical neural processes. From the point of view of modern science, the brain is a complex neural network that produces and processes a huge number of logically connected electrochemical impulses, and the inner world of a person, including his mind, is the product of this work.

In the modern scientific community, the view that the mind is a product of the brain is dominant. Supporters of artificial intelligence also believe that the mind is computer-like and algorithmic. The points of view – the generation of the mind by the brain and the computer-like nature of the mind – do not necessarily accompany each other.

There are different opinions about the interpenetration of the brain and such concepts as consciousness, mind, intelligence, reason, spirit, soul, memory, some even suggest that the mind exists in some way independently of the brain or is related to paraphenomena.

The emergence of consciousness in humans as the highest degree of known forms of mental development became possible due to the complication of the structure of the brain. The level of development of brain structures and the ability to perform complex labor operations are closely related. Therefore, it can be argued that the emergence of consciousness in humans is due to both biological and social factors. With the advent of consciousness, man immediately stood out from the animal world, but the first people, in terms of the level of their mental development, differed significantly from modern people. Thousands of years passed before man reached the level of modern development. Man gradually moved from the simplest labor operations to more complex types of activity, which entailed the progressive development of the brain and consciousness.

Thinking is a human cognitive activity. The product or result of thinking is thought. Thinking is contrasted with “lower” ways of mastering the world in the form of sensation or perception, which are also characteristic of animals. Many philosophers called thinking an essential property of man. So Descartes argued: “I think, therefore I exist.” Pascal called man a thinking reed.

A feature of thinking is the ability to obtain knowledge about such objects, properties and relationships of the surrounding world that cannot be directly perceived. This property of thinking is carried out through such conclusions as analogy and deduction. Thinking is the highest cognitive process. It is a form of creative reflection by a person of reality, generating a result that does not exist in reality itself or in the subject at a given moment in time.

Human thinking can also be understood as the creative transformation of ideas and images existing in memory. The difference between thinking and other psychological processes of cognition is that it is always associated with an active change in the conditions in which a person finds himself. Thinking is always aimed at solving a problem. In the process of thinking, a purposeful and expedient transformation of reality is carried out.

Intelligence is a mental quality consisting of the ability to adapt to new situations, the ability to learn from experience, understand and apply abstract concepts, and use one's knowledge to control the environment. The general ability to cognition and solve difficulties, which unites all human cognitive abilities: sensation, perception, memory, representation, thinking, imagination.

INTELLIGENCE (from Latin intellectus - knowledge, understanding, reason), the ability of thinking, rational cognition, in contrast to those eg, mental abilities such as feeling, will, intuition, imagination, etc. The term "I." represents lat. translation of other Greek nous concepts (mind) and in its meaning is identical to it. In scholasticism it was used to designate the highest poyanavat. capabilities (supersensible comprehension of spiritual entities) as opposed to reason (ratio) as a lower cognizant. capabilities (to elementary abstraction). These terms were used in the opposite sense by Kant: I. (German Verstand - reason)- as the ability to form concepts, and the mind (German: Vernunft)– as the ability to form metaphysics. ideas. This usage became widespread in later German philosophy and was finally consolidated by Hegel in his concept of reason (AND.) and reason.

The influence of intelligence extends beyond the life of one person. The development of intelligence in humans distinguished them from animals and became the beginning of the development of society, and then of human civilization.

Intelligence as an ability is usually realized with the help of other abilities. Such as: the ability to cognize, learn, think logically, systematize information by analyzing it, determine its applicability (classify), find connections, patterns and differences in it, associate it with similar ones. The parameters that form the distinctive features of the human intellectual system include: the volume of working memory, the ability to predict, disinterested help, instrumental activity, logic, multi-level layers of neurons) hierarchy of systemic selection of valuable information, consciousness, memory.

The biophysical parameters of “smart energy” are highlighted: the amount of information, acceleration (frequency, speed) and the distance of its transmission, combining them into the “formula of intelligence”.

Science 20th century. expanded and enriched the concept of intelligence with a number of new meanings. Research began on the intelligence of animals, such reactions as reproducing an already found solution, transferring it to another situation, the ability to solve “two-phase problems,” etc. Quantitative methods began to be used in the study of intelligence. Back in mid. 1920s French psychologists Bino and Simon proposed determining the level of intelligence using special tests - IQ. Among the psychological concepts of intelligence, the theory of J. Piaget stands out, according to which intelligence is the highest form of spiritual adaptation to the environment through the instant organization of stable space-time logical structures. Finally, various research programs for “artificial intelligence” arose: 1) the creation of computers capable of performing functions traditionally attributed to the field of human intellectual activity; 2) attempts to model human intelligence itself based on modeling the brain substrate (neurocomputers); 3) creation of artificial self-learning devices capable of evolving. Thus, animal psychology, psychology and cybernetics gave a strong impetus to the scientific study of intelligence.

Doctor and philosopher Alcmaeon of Croton (VI century BC) for the first time in the history of knowledge put forward the position of the localization of thoughts in the brain.

Hippocrates(460 -377 BC) - “father of medicine.”

He collected and systematized almost all scientific views on medicine of his and previous times. The main thing that Hippocrates defended was the empirical nature of medical knowledge. He argued that it cannot be built without experimental research, based on reasoning alone, that abstract concepts of cold or warm, good or bad are not applicable to medicine. There is no concept of heat at all; there are more or less warm or cold substances that bring benefit or harm to a sick person in different situations.

In philosophy he followed the line of Democritus and acted as a representative of materialism in medicine. Laid down the principles of scientific knowledge and scientific research. He recognized experience and observation as the only fruitful path to knowledge in medicine. He explained all diseases by natural causes, the identification of which allows us to develop the correct treatment methods. He required an individual approach in each specific case: the doctor does not know cold and warm in general, but there are many remedies whose actions are different in each individual case; it is necessary to determine a quantitative measure appropriate to each specific case. Like Alcmaeon, Hippocrates believed that The organ of thinking and feeling is the brain.

“And it is with this very part (the brain) that we think and understand, see, hear and recognize shameful and honest, bad and good, as well as everything pleasant and unpleasant... pleasures and burdens... From this same part of our body we we go mad, and fears and horrors appear to us... as well as dreams. And all this happens to us from the brain, when it is unhealthy and turns out to be warmer or colder, wetter or drier than its nature, or in general when it feels some other suffering incompatible with its nature and usual state - then a person thinks sensibly.”

The most famous doctrine of temperaments , based on a combination of 4 types of fluid in the body.

According to Hippocrates, The basis of the human body is made up of four juices:

mucus (produced in the brain)
blood (produced in the heart),
yellow bile (from the liver),
black bile (from the spleen).

As Hippocrates believed, “the nature of the body consists of them and through them it both gets sick and is healthy.”

Differences in juices among different people also explain differences in morals, and the predominance of one of them determines a person’s temperament.

The predominance of blood is the basis of the sanguine temperament (from the Latin sanquis - blood),
mucus - phlegmatic (from the Greek phlegma - mucus),
yellow bile - choleric (from the Greek choie - bile),
black bile - melancholic (from the Greek melaina choie - black bile).

An important point in his theory was concept of measure , which he considered leading in empirical medicine, proving that, although the abstract concept of a measure does not exist, an experienced and observant doctor can derive this measure in each specific case and for each patient. The concept of measure (krasis) also became the main one in the concept of temperament, while it was believed that deviation from the norm, a violation (akrasia) of the combination of four types of liquid leads to vivid manifestations of one or another temperament.

Studying the manifestations of temperament, Hippocrates raised the question of its connection with a person’s way of life, understood in the broadest sense - from food and drink to natural conditions and characteristics of communication. Thus, in the teachings of Hippocrates, thoughts about differentiation, the variety of individual variations of the general concept of man, first appeared. Therefore, to a certain extent, we can say that Hippocrates was the first psychologist to talk about individual differences, about differential psychology.

Hippocrates formulated the basic principles of medical ethics. The “Hippocratic Oath” still retains its significance today.

Hippocrates and Aristotle were among the first to connect psychology with natural science. This connection was strengthened during the Hellenistic period in the works of Galen, and in the medieval period in the studies of many Arab thinkers who were not only philosophers and psychologists, but also doctors - Ibn Sina, Ibn al-Haytham and others.

Ancient medicine received especially intensive development during the Hellenistic period in connection with the growth of ancient science as a whole and its differentiation into separate sciences. Large scientific centers emerge: in Pergamon (Asia Minor), on the island. Rhodes, in Alexandria (Egypt), which in the 3rd century. BC e. under the Ptolemies, due to historical circumstances, it became the main center of ancient culture. This is where positive knowledge begins to develop. The founder of geometry, Euclid, the brilliant mathematician Archimedes, the geographer Eratosthenes, the explorer of wildlife Strato, and the creator of the geocentric system, the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, worked at the Alexandria Museum - essentially the Academy.

In Alexandria, for some time, autopsy of the corpses of “rootless” people was allowed. This contributed to important discoveries related to the names of two Alexandrian medical scientists - Herophilus and Erasistratus.

Herophilus, commentator of Hippocrates, physician of Ptolemy II, first established the difference between nerves, tendons and ligaments. He described the meninges and ventricles of the brain, which he attached great importance to. He also gave a description of the structure of the eye, described its membranes and lens.

Erasistratus, a native of the Knidus school, described in detail the different parts of the brain. He paid attention to the convolutions and connected the richness of the convolutions of the cerebral hemispheres in humans with his mental superiority over animals. The name of Erasistratus is associated with the first mention of the pathogenic role of delayed emotional experiences.

The anatomical and physiological information of the Hellenistic period was combined and supplemented by the famous Roman physician Claudius Galen (c. 130-200), author of a summary work on medicine, anatomy and physiology, which was a reference book for doctors until the 17th century. He called pneuma, a special life-giving substance, the material basis of qualitatively dissimilar processes (nutrition, growth, reproduction, sensation, thinking). He distinguished two types of pneuma: animal, its source in the heart gives rise to physiological functions, and mental, its source in the brain controls voluntary movements and mental experiences. Pneuma moves along the nerves.

Galen made discoveries related to the elucidation of the structure and functions of the brain and spinal cord. Having undertaken a series of experiments with cutting the nerves supplying various muscles, Galen came to the conclusion: “ ...doctors have definitely established that without a nerve there is not a single part of the body, not a single movement called voluntary, and not a single feeling" Galen also experimentally established the functions of the spinal cord. With a transverse section of the spinal cord, voluntary mobility and sensitivity of all parts of the body lying below the section were destroyed, while paralysis occurred from a violation of the anterior roots, and loss of sensitivity - from the posterior ones. Thus, Galen distinguished the anterior and posterior roots of the spinal cord by function.

Galen dedicated a number of his works to the brain. He criticized the Aristotelian understanding: the brain is not the refrigerator of the heart, as Aristotle thought: it is the seat of the intellect and feelings.

Of Galen’s more than 400 works on medicine, philosophy and psychology, the treatise “On the Parts of the Human Body”, which describes the relationship between the vital functions of the body and the nervous system, is of greatest importance to the latter. Galen believed that the organs of the psyche are the brain, heart and liver. At the same time, based on the parts of the soul identified in Plato’s teaching, he argued that the liver is connected with lust, the heart with passions, and the brain with reason. Galen also expressed the idea that it is the ventricles of the brain, and not the cortex, that play the leading role in brain activity, since it is in them that psychic pneuma is stored. The posterior and anterior roots of the brain that he discovered were also of great importance, the study of which for the first time showed the existence of different, special fibers connecting the brain with the muscles and sensory organs. All these data later helped to reveal the laws of brain regulation of the psyche, reflex, etc.

Galen also, developing Hippocrates' ideas about akrasia and its role in the formation of temperament, hypothesized that there are not four temperaments, but many more, depending on different combinations of body juices. He identified four principles of all things - warm, cold, dry, wet - and four juices as the building material of the body of animals and humans. The mental properties and even the gender of a person depend on the combinations of juices and principles. In total, he identified 13 temperaments, of which only one is normal, and 12 are some deviation from the norm. Describing warm (courageous) or cold (slow) types, Galen emphasized that temperament has not only medical, but also psychological significance, revealing the specifics of human behavior in a certain situation. The predominance of certain juices, warm and cold, is, in his opinion, also associated with the development of affects.

Thus, he describes anger as an increase in cardiac warmth, which leads to the emergence of a certain emotional state, recognized as anger. Thus, we can say that Galen’s theory laid down a peripheral view of the origin of emotions, which would later be embodied in the James-Lange theory of emotions.

Roman doctor Aetius(V B. H. E.) described four temperaments, which are traditionally called Hippocratic.
The natural science section also includes knowledge about visual perception. I gave them a summary Alexander of Aphrodisias(end of the 2nd - beginning of the 3rd centuries), peripatetic, teacher of philosophy in Athens.

In the psychological systems of Antiquity, the soul was identified with the life principle: The sphere of mental phenomena included all processes that ensure the coordinated functioning of all body systems, including digestion, breathing, etc. The inner world has not yet been singled out as an independent subject of research.

In Neoplatonism, its founder Plotinus (205 - 270) the doctrine of the origin of the individual soul from the world soul is developed in the process of emanation (from Latin - outflow, outflow), radiations of the creative activity of God, which form the visible world with its sequential - descending - ladder of stages of perfection. One of the steps on this ladder is the soul as an intermediary principle between the supernatural world and material phenomena, which are the last stage of emanation. Plotinus points to the peculiar nature of the soul, which manifests itself in knowledge about itself. This is a sign of the human spirit.