How can one understand the philosophy of Plotinus, specifically the absolute and the idea of “transcending being”?
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Are you asking about “the One” and how it relates to transcendental being or more like how it is a transcendental being? If yes, I’ll try explaining here, and if I got your question wrong sorry about it~
So, “the One” is something we can’t understand through words or by simply thinking about what it is, Plotinus wrote even the name “the One” isn’t doing a good job describing it, but it is the least destructive name we can give it because this name (the One) is simple and reflects unity. That’s why it wouldn’t be called “the absolute” I think, but in its nature it is absolute.
The One is like the essence of things, it’s what things are made of but also what things are connected to, it has power but it’s not like a concept of god. It’s a unity. Non-materialistic existence that contains everything… Hmm.
Think about it this way, remember that white light hitting a prism visual (Pink Floyd? Or physics lessons?) We know that white light contains all visible colors, colors of the rainbow 🌈 So on the outside the light doesn’t seem to have these colors, we can’t observe a rainbow by watching white light. But when the white light reflects through a prism, we can observe rainbow colors. The colors are there, they are a part of what makes the visible light.
The One is similar to this I think, the way I understand it the One has the essence of existence in it, like the white light has colors inside. That’s why it is transcendental, it transcends concepts like time, or material existence, it’s not observable but Plotinus argued we can feel its effects
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