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Dyad (philosophy)

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The Dyad is a title used by the Pythagoreans for the number two, representing the principle of "twoness" or "otherness".

Numenius of Apamea, a Neopythagorean philosopher in the latter 2nd century CE, said that Pythagoras gave the name of Monad to God, and the name of Dyad to matter.[1][need quotation to verify] Aristotle equated matter as the formation of the elements (energies) into the material world as the static material was formed by the energies being acted upon by force or motion.[citation needed] Later Neoplatonic Philosophers and idealists like Plotinus treated the dyad as a second cause (demiurge),[citation needed] which was the divine mind (nous) that via a reflective nature[clarification needed] (finiteness) causes matter to "appear" or become perceivable.

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References

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  1. ^ Chalcidius r.52, 5–24, as cited in Kahn, Charles N. (2001). Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans: a brief history. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. p. 172. ISBN 0-87220-575-4.