Abstract

Plotinus describes sensible objects as conglomerations of qualities and matter. However, none of these ingredients seems capable of accounting for the structure underlying the formation of each sensible object so as to constitute an identifiable and discrete entity. This is the effect of the logos, the organizing formative principle inherent in each object, which determines how its qualitative constituents are brought together to form a coherent unity. How the logos operates differs in various kinds of entities, such as living organisms, artefacts and inanimate objects; however, some basic characteristics render its contribution to reality both coherent and rationally accessible. It further indicates how the various constituents of the sensible universe combine so as to form a unified cosmos