Concerning the Proclean Understanding of the One itself

Abstract

The One is conceived by Proclus as completely excluding any kind of multiplicity. Thereby, it reveals itself as the exclusive, pure One. Such a type of One remains totally transcendent and ineffable in its own nature. Hence, it cannot be a cause and producer of everything  properly. This does not deter Proclus from describing the causative activity of the One. From the position of lower realities, the One is regarded by him as a cause. On the other hand, in itself the supreme One transcends all discourse and all knowledge. Hence, Proclus does not attempt to clarify its selfhood. In the end, the One as a cause and the One as absolutely transcendent and ineffable are brought into combination with one another. Unlike Iamblichus and Damascius, Proclus prefers to combine ineffability and causality within one single principle – the exclusive One. He articulates systematically the One’s ineffable causality (ἄρρητος αἰτία). Based on the following triadic schemes – μονή-πρόοδος-ἐπιστροφή, ἕνωσις-ὕφεσις-ἔφεσις, ἄρρητον-ἕν-ἀγαθόν – Proclus provides a firm combination of the ineffability and causality. Furthermore, the One’s pure unity and ineffable causality are practically actualized with the help of the One-Limit and the Unlimited.