Plotinus' Noology and Ancient Skepticism

The correlation of the basic concepts of Neoplatonism, its epistemological, noological ideas and its apophatics with ancient skepticism is encountered from time to time in modern studies. This article aims to discover the reasons for this phenomenon: historical (related to the evolution of interpretations of Plato’s legacy), substantive (related to the theme of the mind in ancient philosophy), and formal-discursive (related to the mechanisms of transmission of various discourses between schools and generations of thinkers). A study of Plotinus's noology allows us to see the innovations he introduced into the understanding of the intellect and the reality of intelligible being, which turned out to be relevant for the subsequent tradition, both medieval (Augustine Aurelius) and modern (Descartes). It should be noted that in verifying the nature and status of intelligence, Plotinus turns to a number of skeptical arguments, which are also discussed in the article.