This treatise is a part of the larger treatise including 5.5 (32) and perhaps 3.8 (30) and 2.9 (33). In this part of the treatise, Plotinus explores the paradigmatic status of Intellect for the sensible world, including both its beauty and intelligibility. In addition, the activity of Intellect, non-discursive intellection, is a paradigm for all embodied discursive thinking and for cognition generally. Understanding of the paradigmatic status of Intellect is necessary for understanding that Intellect cannot be the first principle of all.
§1. The paradigmatic status of Intellect.
§2. The beauty of nature and moral beauty have their paradigms in Intellect.
§3. The ascent to Intellect through its images.
§4. The life of Intellect and of the Forms identical with it.
§5. The non-propositional cognition in Intellect.
§6. Egyptian hieroglyphics as an analogy to non-propositional thinking.
§7. Intellect is not only paradigm but producer of its image, the sensible world.
§8. The beauty of the intelligible world.
§9. The method for eliminating materiality from our thought and so of ascending to the intelligible.
§10. The contemplation of intelligibles by Intellect.
§11. The sense in which the soul is unified with Intellect.
§12. The myth of Kronos and Zeus as analogies for the intelligible and sensible worlds.
§13. The extension of the myth, including Ouranos and Aphrodite, to the three fundamental hypostases. Transition to 5.5.