SIGNIFICATO E FUNZIONE DELLA TRIADE ΟΥΣΙΑ – ΔΥΝΑΜΙΣ – ΕΝΕΡΓΕΙΑ NEL NEOPLATONISMO GRECO PAGANO

In the Neoplatonic tradition, the most consistent references to the triad οὐσία - δύναμις - ἐνέργεια can be found above all in relation to the fundamental characteristics of intelligible reality as a whole, which originally depends on the First Principle, placed above being itself. Based on this perspective of thought, if the First Principle can in some respects be considered as a form of authentically original and absolute potentiality, prior to any determination, it nevertheless, precisely because of its absolute ulteriority, completely transcends both the notion of οὐσία and that of ἐνέργεια implying in itself a form of relation. From the analysis of some texts, in particular, by Plotinus, Proclus and Damascio, it is possible to understand how the triadic relationship between οὐσία – δύναμις – ἐνέργεια in Neoplatonic thought can connote and express the intrinsically dynamic and relational nature of the intelligible dimension in its unfolded totality, while the First Principle necessarily remains above any form of determination.