active reason

American  

noun

Aristotelianism.

1. an activity of intellect, embodying universal truth, potentially present in the mind of every individual, and when present, forming the only immortal part of the individual.

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Example Sentences

But to this doctrine Aristotle makes an exception in favour of the active reason.

From A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by Stace, W. T. (Walter Terence)

In subordination to the passive intellect, the external faculty, the active reason, is also to be cultivated; it deserves care, like the skin.

From History of Modern Philosophy From Nicolas of Cusa to the Present Time by Falckenberg, Richard

The active reason is a much higher faculty, which exists by participation in the divine mind, "as the air is light by participation in the sunshine."

From Light, Life, and Love : selections from the German mystics of the middle ages by Inge, William Ralph

These two systems, the purely spiritual and the sensuous—which last may consist of an immeasurable series of particular lives—exist in me from the moment when my active reason is developed and pursue their parallel course....

From Reincarnation A Study in Human Evolution by Rothwell, Fred

He seems to waver about identifying the "spark" with the "active reason," but inclines on the whole to regard it as something even higher still.

From Light, Life, and Love : selections from the German mystics of the middle ages by Inge, William Ralph