Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BCE)

Anaxagoras introduced the concept of nous (mind or intellect) as a cosmic ordering principle that organizes all matter. Although not structured as a triad and fourth, his view of nous as a unifying force has Pythagorean resonances in its role as a transcendental unifier.

Influence from Pythagorean Structure

Anaxagoras may have been inspired by the Pythagorean search for a transcendent principle, even though his focus on nous as singular rather than arising from multiplicity marked a shift.