Nous (Νους) is a Greek word (pronounced "noose"), that corresponds to the English words intelligence, intellect, or mind. It signifies a search for order by the part of the soul or mind that knows and thinks. In some forms of Greek mythology, order was imposed by an anthropomorphic father of all things, the Demiurge. In philosophy, there were three ordering principles: The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... Intelligence is a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... Mind refers to the collective aspects of human intellect and consciousness that originate in the brain and which are manifest in some combination of thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination. ... // Order may refer to: Religious Holy Orders, the rite or sacrament in which clergy are ordained The monastic orders, originating with Anthony the Great and Benedict of Nursia from circa 300 the military orders of the crusades the various chivalric orders established since the 14th century Honors Order (decoration) Legal... The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... // Greek mythology consists in part in a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the world and detail the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines. ... Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification or prosopopeia, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. ... It has been suggested that Nebro be merged into this article or section. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt. ...

1. arche - the source of all things,
2. logos - the underlying order that is hidden beneath appearances,
3. harmonia - numerical ratios in mathematics.

In the ancient Greek philosophy, arche is the beginning or the first principle of the world. ... The Greek word λόγος or logos is a word with various meanings. ... Harmonia may refer to: Harmonia (Greek goddess), the goddess of harmony and concord Harmonia (genus), a genus of lady beetles Harmonia (band), a 1970s German band Harmonia Ensemble, an Italian chamber music group Harmonia Sacra, a music textbook Harmonia research project, building programming tools at the University of California, Berkeley... In algebra, a ratio is the relationship between two quantities. ... Euclid, a famous Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry, is shown here in detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ...

History

The word Nous signifies more than one concept. It is therefore ambiguous. This is a result of the word being appropriated by successive philosophers to designate very different attributes.

• James used Nous to signify mental activities in general.
• Anaxagoras's Nous was a mechanical ordering force that formed the world out of an original chaos. It began the development of the cosmos.
• Plato described it as the immortal, rational part of the soul. This section of the soul of the world is the component that brings reasoned order to the universe. It is a godlike kind of thinking in which the truths of conclusions are immediately known without having to understand the preliminary premises.
• Aristotle asserted that Nous was the intellect, as distinguished from sense perception. He divided it into an active and passive Nous. The passive is affected by knowledge. The active is an immortal first cause of all subsequent causes in the world.
• To the Stoics, it was the same as Logos. This is the whole cosmic reason. It contains human reason as a part.
• Plotinus described Nous as one of the emanations from divine being.