ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that the experimentation with mnemonic signs prescribed in Giordano Bruno's mnemonic works implies that he conceived of mnemonic images as means of noetic ascent. It outlines Plotinus' discussion of Aristotle's account of sensation and memory, pointing out where sides with Plotinus and where with Aristotle. The chapter explains Plotinus' view of memory, taking into account his doctrine that imagination and memory in the human soul are twofold. This doctrine was central to Bruno's doctrines of memory and noetic ascent. The chapter examines the role of memory in Plotinus' account of noetic ascent and argues that this account of memory and noetic ascent may have influenced Bruno's theory of noetic ascent. It shows how this reading fits into Bruno's original interpretation of the traditional metaphor of the Golden Chain. Implied in Plotinus' theory of conceptual imagination is his re-interpretation of Plato's theory of knowledge as recollection.
