Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite : an Introduction to The

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite : an Introduction to The PHILOSOPHY OF DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE PHILOSOPHIA ANTIQUA A SERIES OF STUDIES ON ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY PREVIOUS EDITORS J.H. WASZINK†, W.J. VERDENIUS†, J.C.M. VAN WINDEN EDITED BY K.A. ALGRA, F.A.J. DE HAAS J. MANSFELD, D.T. RUNIA VOLUME XCIX CHRISTIAN SCHÄFER PHILOSOPHY OF DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE PHILOSOPHY OF DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE an introduction to the structure and the content of the treatise on the divine names BY CHRISTIAN SCHÄFER BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2006 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is also available. ISSN 0079-1687 ISBN-13: 978-90-04-15094-2 ISBN-10: 90-04-15094-3 © Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands tÕn me\n oân poihthn; kaˆ pate/ ra toàde toà pantÕj eØre‹n te œrgon kaˆ eØrÒnta e„j p£ntaj ¢dÚnaton le/ gein (Timaeus 28c) CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................ ix Glossary .......................................................................................... xi Foreword (by Paul Rorem) .......................................................... xiii PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM §1. The ‘Churching’ of Platonism as a Philosophical Challenge .............................................................................. 3 §2. The Phantom Author .......................................................... 11 a. The Man and the Myth .................................................. 11 b. A Saint turned Forger (and What to do about It) .... 14 §3. The Status Quaestionis .......................................................... 23 a. Naming the Names ........................................................ 24 b. Von Ivánka’s Analysis ...................................................... 26 c. Aquinas’ Layout of DN .................................................. 28 d. Defence of the Interpretive Pattern ............................ 31 e. Von Ivánka’s Interpretation — Merits and Problems 31 f. Von Balthasar’s Interpretation. What It Tries to Accomplish and Where It is Found Wanting .............. 35 g. Abolishing Monopolies .................................................. 42 h. The Way of the Mystic .................................................. 44 i. Associative Composing .................................................. 50 PART II THE PHILOSOPHY OF DN §4. A Summary on the Philosophical Concern of DN .......... 55 §5. Structural Analysis of DN .................................................... 75 1. Chapters 1-3: The Theo-Methodological Basics ........... 76 2. Chapters 4-7: Levelled Extroversion ............................ 80 viii CONTENTS a. Being, Life, Wisdom (chs. 5, 6, 7) .......................... 84 b. A Summary on Procession and Differentiation ...... 88 3. Chapters 8-11: Dynamic Steadying ................................ 89 a. A Question of Justice ................................................ 94 b. Opus iustitiae pax ...................................................... 100 4. Chapters 12 and 13: e pluribus unum ............................ 111 a. Subsumption .............................................................. 116 b. Some Conclusions to Be Drawn from the Analysis ...................................................................... 120 §6. The Philosophical Perspective ............................................ 123 PART III THE TOUCH-STONE OF DIONYSIAN ONTOLOGY §7. The Problem of Evil ............................................................ 133 §8. What Evils are, and Whence .............................................. 137 §9. After ‘Evil’: The Structure of DN Reassessed .................. 155 Conclusion .................................................................................... 163 Appendix 1: Diagrams .................................................................. 175 Appendix 2: Concordance ............................................................. 181 Bibliography .................................................................................. 187 Indices ............................................................................................ 205 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The present book owes much to the help and support of many per- sons and institutions. My first serious interest in Dionysius and the plan for this book ripened some eight years ago in Quito, Ecuador where I was teaching philosophy at the Universidad Católica at the time. I finally began writing the book some years later at the Universität Regensburg, and the half-finished draft accompanied me through a lectureship in Bogotá, Colombia sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in 2001 and a subsequent sabbatical replace- ment at the Justus Liebig-Universität Gießen, before I could take it with me to my present position at the Ludwig-Maximilinas-Universität München. A research fellowship at Princeton University’s Program in Hellenic Studies in 2003-2004 and a generous scholarship of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation enabled me to finish my work on the yellowing manuscript. My thanks go to all the aforementioned institutions, their staff and faculties for their support, financial and other. During all these years, I benefited greatly from the good advice and encouragement from many scholars, whom I met at different stages of this academic odyssey and many of whom I am proud to call my friends now. But it is above all to Paul Rorem of the Princeton Theological Seminary that I wish to express my debt. I learned much about Dionysius from his publications and our long conversations about theological and philosophical matters. Like Dionysius, I therefore would like to consider myself ‘Paul’s disciple’ in these matters. I feel honoured that Paul consented to write a foreword to this book. I have profited from the observations and suggestions of Philosophia Antiqua’s knowledgeable anonymous reader, whose advice to rearrange the order of chapters I followed (pages 28-51 of §3 having originally been conceived as succeeding §5), and from the kind assistance of Brill’s Assistant Editor of Classical Studies, the gracious Regine Reincke, who took interest in publishing the book from the moment we met at a crowded Classics conference in Boston. Finally, I must not forget to thank Joseph Hampel of the Catholic University of America at Washington D.C. and Angela Lehner, who corrected the penultimate and ultimate drafts respectively, gave good counsel and helped me with the English, and Eleni Gaitanu for her x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS work on the bibliography and the indices. As to any remaining mis- takes or faults, I can but repeat the Poet’s words: aÙtÕj ™gë tÒde g'”hmbroton — oÙde/ tij ¥lloj a‡tioj. My odyssey has come to an end in yet another sense, and I owe this to my lovely wife Jana, whom I met during the unsettled years of writ- ing and re-writing the manuscript and to whom I dedicate this book. Thanks to her love and care I learned to be at home where my heart is. It is with her. GLOSSARY Greek words or expressions are explained and translated when first mentioned in the text. Yet, it might be helpful to have a compilation of them at hand. The following Greek words are used terminologically: ¢g£ph, agape love ¤plwsij, haplosis ‘simplification’(as the way to the final ‘divinisation,’ qe/wsij) ¢rc», arkhe principle, origin, or beginning ¢sqe/neia, astheneia deficiency or weakness dÚnamij, dunamis power dÚnasqai, dunasthai ‘potential’, ‘disposition’ e„r»nh, eirene peace œlleiyij, elleipsis deficiency ›n, hen the One ™ne/rgeia, energeia ‘energy’, being continuously at work intrinsically (which ™n ™rgù e„^nai, and hence ‘energy’ originally mean) ›nwsij, henosis (final) union with the One ™pistrof», epistrophe (re)turning, reversal zw», zoe life qe/wsij, theosis the ‘divinisation’ at the end of the epistrophic ascent kaq' aØtÒ(n), kath’ hauto(n) in itself, nothing else considered, per se kaq' h` m©j, kath’ hemas as to us, quoad nos (aÙto)kakÒn, (auto)kakon evil (in itself) me/son (plural me/sa), midst or centre meson (mesa) me/tron, metron measure mon», mone ‘halt’, ‘abiding’, or ‘staying in itself’ noàj, nous mind, intelligence o„ke…a fÚsij, oikeia phusis a thing’s ‘proper natural definition’ o„ke…wsij, oikeiosis the act ‘to take housing’ (o„k…a mean- ing ‘house’), or ‘to make oneself at home’ xii GLOSSARY Ôn and mh; Ôn, on and me on being and non-being (hence the adjec- tive ‘meontic’) (Ôntwj) Ôn, ontos on (real) being oÙs…a, ousia substance para; thn; ØpÒstasin, ‘contrary to substance’ para ten hupostasin prÒodoj, prohodos procession sof…a, sophia wisdom st£sij (synonym of mon»), the ‘stand-still’ stasis t£xij, taxis (ontological) order tele…wsij, teleiosis fulfilment teleut», teleute perfection or fulfilment te/loj, telos the ultimate destination, goal, or purpose tÕ e„^nai kata; sumbebhkÒj, accidental being to einai kata sumbebekos FOREWORD by Paul Rorem
Recommended publications
  • Angels in the Christian Tradition
    Christian Angelology Angels in the Christian Tradition Apostolic Fathers to Early Church (70 – 150AD Epistle of Barnabas (c.75 - 135) Barnabas’ comments on angels are in relation to an evil angel who deceived Israel, (9:4) and reflect the Apostolic Fathers' general mild-dualism worldview between light and darkness. (18:1) 1 Clement (c.95) Angels are mentioned a few times in his argument for Church order. He cites the holy angels for an example of obedience to God’s order, (34:5) while pointing out that some angels chose differently and were condemned. (39:4) One interesting note is his quotation of Deuteronomy 32:8 where he, not surprisingly, follows the LXX reading of “number of the angels”. (29:2) Fragments of Papias (c.100 - 125) Only in one small fragment do we have anything of Papias on angels. The quotation directly relates to the idea of an original angelic rulership of God’s creation. Papias thus speaks, word for word: To some of them [angels] He gave dominion over the arrangement of the world, and He commissioned them to exercise their dominion well. And he says, immediately after this: but it happened that their arrangement came to nothing. (7:1) Letters of Ignatius (c.110) Refers to them as both “angels” and “rulers”. ( Smyrnaeans 6:1) He also holds that there are places and hierarchies of them, but does not elaborate. ( Trallians 5:2) Ignatius states that he knows very little about these due to him still being a learner. Whether this means others may know, or that no one truly knows, is a bit unclear.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses The Christology of nestorius and the chalcedonian settlement Fletcher, Stanley P. How to cite: Fletcher, Stanley P. (1972) The Christology of nestorius and the chalcedonian settlement, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9976/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk THE REVEREND STANLEY P. FLETCHER, B.A. THE CHRISTOLOGY OP NESTORIUS AND THE CHALCEDONIAN SETTLEMENT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. THE GHRISTOLOGY OF NESTORIUS AND THE CHALCEDONIAN SETTLEMENT - ABSTRACT The assessment of Nestorius1 Christology begins with a consideration of his indebtedness to Paul of Samosata, Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia.
    [Show full text]
  • Repentance As Divine Communion in St. Symeon the New Theologian´S Hymns of Divine Love
    International Journal of Orthodox Theology 11:1 (2020) 7 urn:nbn:de:0276-2020-1025 John Anthony McGuckin Repentance as Divine Communion in St. Symeon the New Theologian´s Hymns of Divine Love Abstract Much English language scholarship on St. Symeon the New Theologian has, perhaps understandably, been intri- gued by and focused on the saint's narrative of his luminous visions of the Lord. But this has often served to Archpriest John Anthony distract readers from the primary McGuckin is the Nielsen thrust of the most rhapsodic and ec- Professor of Byzantine static of all his writings, the Hymns Theology Emeritus at Uni- of Divine Love. This paper argues that on Theological Seminary, New York, Professor of this major teaching is the doctrine of Early Christian Thought in radical repentance that the saint the Theological Faculty of espouses: and he does it in such a way Oxford University, Rector as to redirect the flow of earli- of St. Gregory's Orthodox Mission in St. Anne's on er Christian teaching on the develop- Sea in England, and a ping stages of the spiritual life in a Fellow of the British Royal profoundly innovative manner. Historical Society. 8 John Anthony McGuckin Rather than seeing re-pentance as a 'beginner's stage' in spiri- tuality, to be succeeded by 'unitive' and 'contemplative' stages (as in many manuals of spiritual theology which suppose they thus reproduce Pseudo-Dionysios) Symeon appears to pro- ject radical and heartfelt repentance as the royal road to the deepest level of communion with Christ. For him, repentance is one of the highest spiritual states, not the lowest.
    [Show full text]
  • "Breaking Ground" a Look at the Impact of the Cappadocian Fathers on the Establishment of the Doctrine of the Holy
    Verbum Volume 7 Issue 1 Article 11 December 2009 "Breaking Ground" A look at the Impact of the Cappadocian Fathers on the Establishment of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit During the Transition Between the Council of Nigeria (325) and the Council of Constantinople (381). Frederick J. Flo St. John Fisher College Follow this and additional works at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/verbum Part of the Religion Commons How has open access to Fisher Digital Publications benefited ou?y Recommended Citation Flo, Frederick J. (2009) ""Breaking Ground" A look at the Impact of the Cappadocian Fathers on the Establishment of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit During the Transition Between the Council of Nigeria (325) and the Council of Constantinople (381).," Verbum: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 11. Available at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/verbum/vol7/iss1/11 This document is posted at https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/verbum/vol7/iss1/11 and is brought to you for free and open access by Fisher Digital Publications at St. John Fisher College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "Breaking Ground" A look at the Impact of the Cappadocian Fathers on the Establishment of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit During the Transition Between the Council of Nigeria (325) and the Council of Constantinople (381). Abstract In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph. "At the center of Christian dogma lies the worship of the Holy Trinity. Naturally, with every central focus comes controversy. Throughout history, the interpretation of the Trinity has created a tremendous amount of debate.
    [Show full text]
  • The Well-Trained Theologian
    THE WELL-TRAINED THEOLOGIAN essential texts for retrieving classical Christian theology part 1, patristic and medieval Matthew Barrett Credo 2020 Over the last several decades, evangelicalism’s lack of roots has become conspicuous. Many years ago, I experienced this firsthand as a university student and eventually as a seminary student. Books from the past were segregated to classes in church history, while classes on hermeneutics and biblical exegesis carried on as if no one had exegeted scripture prior to the Enlightenment. Sometimes systematics suffered from the same literary amnesia. When I first entered the PhD system, eager to continue my theological quest, I was given a long list of books to read just like every other student. Looking back, I now see what I could not see at the time: out of eight pages of bibliography, you could count on one hand the books that predated the modern era. I have taught at Christian colleges and seminaries on both sides of the Atlantic for a decade now and I can say, in all honesty, not much has changed. As students begin courses and prepare for seminars, as pastors are trained for the pulpit, they are not required to engage the wisdom of the ancient past firsthand or what many have labelled classical Christianity. Such chronological snobbery, as C. S. Lewis called it, is pervasive. The consequences of such a lopsided diet are now starting to unveil themselves. Recent controversy over the Trinity, for example, has manifested our ignorance of doctrines like eternal generation, a doctrine not only basic to biblical interpretation and Christian orthodoxy for almost two centuries, but a doctrine fundamental to the church’s Christian identity.
    [Show full text]
  • The Christological Function of Divine Impassibility: Cyril of Alexandria and Contemporary Debate
    The Christological Function of Divine Impassibility: Cyril of Alexandria and Contemporary Debate by David Andrew Graham A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Wycliffe College and the Theological Department of the Toronto School of Theology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theology awarded by the University of St. Michael's College © Copyright by David Andrew Graham 2013 The Christological Function of Divine Impassibility: Cyril of Alexandria and Contemporary Debate David Andrew Graham Master of Arts in Theology University of St. Michael’s College 2013 Abstract This thesis contributes to the debate over the meaning and function of the doctrine of divine impassibility in theological and especially christological discourse. Seeking to establish the coherence and utility of the paradoxical language characteristic of the received christological tradition (e.g. the impassible Word became passible flesh and suffered impassibly), it argues that the doctrine of divine apatheia illuminates the apocalyptic and soteriological dimension of the incarnate Son’s passible life more effectively than recent reactions against it. The first chapter explores the Christology of Cyril of Alexandria and the meaning and place of apatheia within it. In light of the christological tradition which Cyril epitomized, the second chapter engages contemporary critiques and re-appropriations of impassibility, focusing on the particular contributions of Jürgen Moltmann, Robert W. Jenson, Bruce L. McCormack and David Bentley Hart. ii Acknowledgments If this thesis communicates any truth, beauty and goodness, credit belongs to all those who have shaped my life up to this point. In particular, I would like to thank the Toronto School of Theology and Wycliffe College for providing space to do theology from within the catholic church.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020-2021 Bulletin
    2020-2021 BULLETIN His Eminence Cardinal Blase Cupich, S.T.D. Archbishop of Chicago Chancellor Rev. Brendan Lupton, S.T.D. President Table of Contents Introduction……………….…………………………….………… 3 Mission and Objectives…………….……………………………... 3 Degree Programs…………………………….…………………… 5 Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.)………….……….. 6 Admission Requirements………………………………… 6 Program Requirements………………………………….. 7 S.T.B. Core Curriculum …………………………………. 7 Topics of S.T.B. Exam ..………………………………… 8 Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.)……..…..…………… 13 Admission Requirements….…………………………… 13 Length of Program and Residency Requirement……….. 14 Program Requirements………………………………… 15 Licentiate Thesis……………..………………………… 17 Course Descriptions…………………….……………….. 19 Reading List for S.T.L. Exam………….………………… 23 Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)………….....……….… 35 Admission Requirements…………………………………. 35 Program Requirements…………………………………...... 36 Dissertation ………………………………………...…..… 37 General Information Admission Policies and Procedures……...…….………..……… 40 Transfer of Credits ……..………….…………..……………… 40 Academic Integrity…………………………….……....………. 40 Grading System………………………………...……………… 41 Financial Policies …..………………………….….…………… 42 Expenses Not Covered ...………….……………………… 42 Housing on Campus……………..……………….………… 42 Administration and Faculty ……………………………..……… 43 Introduction On September 30, 1929, the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities (now known as the Congregation for Catholic Education) established a Pontifical Faculty of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of
    [Show full text]
  • Iamblichus and Julian''s ''Third Demiurge'': a Proposition
    Iamblichus and Julian”s ”Third Demiurge”: A Proposition Adrien Lecerf To cite this version: Adrien Lecerf. Iamblichus and Julian”s ”Third Demiurge”: A Proposition . Eugene Afonasin; John M. Dillon; John F. Finamore. Iamblichus and the Foundations of Late Platonism, 13, BRILL, p. 177-201, 2012, Ancient Mediterranean and Medieval Texts and Contexts. Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the Platonic Tradition, 10.1163/9789004230118_012. hal-02931399 HAL Id: hal-02931399 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02931399 Submitted on 6 Sep 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Iamblichus and Julian‟s “Third Demiurge”: A Proposition Adrien Lecerf Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France [email protected] ABSTRACT. In the Emperor Julian's Oration To the Mother of the Gods, a philosophical interpretation of the myth of Cybele and Attis, reference is made to an enigmatic "third Demiurge". Contrary to a common opinion identifying him to the visible Helios (the Sun), or to tempting identifications to Amelius' and Theodorus of Asine's three Demiurges, I suggest that a better idea would be to compare Julian's text to Proclus' system of Demiurges (as exposed and explained in a Jan Opsomer article, "La démiurgie des jeunes dieux selon Proclus", Les Etudes Classiques, 71, 2003, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Pythagorean Music in Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy
    32 RAMIFY 8.1 (2019) “How Pythagoras Cured by Music”: Pythagorean Music in Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy KIMBERLY D. HEIL Interpretive schemata for reading Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy are plentiful. Some of the more popular of those schema read the work along the divided line from Plato’s Republic, taking as programmatic the passage from Book Five in which Boethius discusses the ways in which man comes to know through sensation first, then imagination, then reason, and finally understanding.1 Others read the work as Mneppian Satire because of its prosimetron format. Some scholars study character development in the KIMBERLY D. HEIL is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophic Studies at the University of Dallas; she received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and an MA in Philosophy from the University of South Florida. She is currently a Wojtyła Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Dallas, where she teaches core curriculum philosophy classes. She is writing a dissertation on the relationship between philosophy and Christianity in Augustine of Hippo’s De Beata Vita. The title of this piece is taken from a section subtitle in the work The Life of Pythagoras by the second-century Neopythagorean Iamblichus. 1 See, for instance, McMahon, Understanding the Medieval Meditative Ascent, 215. He references two other similar but competing interpretations using the same methodology. “How Pythagoras Cured by Music” : HEIL 33 work as it echoes Platonic-style dialogues. Still others approach the work as composed of several books, each representing a distinct school of philosophy.2 Furthermore, seeing it as an eclectic mixture of propositions from various schools of philosophy re-purposed and molded to suit Boethius’s own needs, regardless of the literary form and patterns, is commonly agreed upon in the secondary literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Filip Ivanovic
    C u r r i c u l u m v i t a e FILIP IVANOVIC Address: Ivana Vujosevica 19, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro Phone: +382 69 498 468 E-mail: [email protected] EDUCATION PhD (2010-2014) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology MA (2007-2009, score 110/110 cum laude) Department of Philosophy, University of Bologna BA (2004-2007, score 110/110) Department of Philosophy, University of Bologna APPOINTMENTS 2017-2018 Onassis International Fellow, Norwegian Institute at Athens 2016–2017 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Greek Studies, University of Leuven 2015-2016 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Polonsky Academy for Advanced Studies, The Van Leer Institute – Jerusalem 2015-2016 Visiting Researcher, Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2010-2014 Research Fellow, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology – Trondheim 2010 Fellow, Centre for the Study of Antiquity and Christianity, University of Aarhus LANGUAGES Serbian (native), English (fluent), Italian (fluent), French (fluent), Spanish (reading and good communication skills), Norwegian (basic reading skills), Ancient/Byzantine Greek (reading and research skills), Modern Greek (reading and basic conversation skills) SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS 2017-2018 International Postdoctoral Fellowship, Onassis Foundation, Athens 2016–2017 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, University of Leuven 2015-2016 Polonsky Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, The Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem 2012-2013
    [Show full text]
  • Trans. Greek Thot Handout
    11/14/19 TRANSMISSION OF GREEK THOUGHT TO THE WEST PLATO & NEOPLATONISM Chalcidius (late 3rd-early 4th cent. Christian exegete): incomplete translation & commentary of Timeaus Henricus Aristippus in Sicily (12th c.): translated the Meno and Phaedo Leonardo Bruni (c. 1370-1444/Florence) translated a selection of Plato’s dialogues (from Greek to Latin). Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499/Florence): 1st complete translation into Latin of Plato’s works (publ. 1496), and translation of Plotinus’s Enneads into Latin (1492). Neoplatonic thought was transmitted in the following: (a) Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy (written 524, in prison) (b) Macrobius’ Commentary on Cicero’s Dream of Scipio (written c. 400 CE). (c) Pseudo-Dionysius. A collection of writings attributed to Dionysius the Aeropagite (see Acts 17:34), but 19th century scholarship determined to be written c. 500 by a disciple of Proclus, held considerable authority throughout the middle ages and was a Christian Neoplatonism. (d) Theologica Aristotelis: this summary of Books 4-6 of Plotinus’s Enneads had been wrongly attributed to Aristotle (until 13th century) (e) Liber de Causis: this work based on Proclus’s Elements of Theology was wrongly attributed to Aristotle (until 13th century). ARISTOTLE Victorinus (4th century): Latin translations of Aristotle’s Categories and De interpretatione, as well as of Porphyry’s Isagoge. Boethius (470-524/Padua?): translated the entire Organon and wrote commentaries on all but the Posterior Analytics), as well as a translation of Porphyry’s introduction (Isagoge) to the Categories, but only De Interp. and Categories were readily available until 12th century. James of Venice (c.1128): translated Posterior Analytics; with the rediscovery of other translations by Boethius, this completed the Organon.
    [Show full text]
  • The Postmodern Retrieval of Neoplatonism in Jean-Luc Marion
    The Postmodern Retrieval of Neoplatonism in Jean-Luc Marion and John Milbank and the Origins of Western Subjectivity in Augustine and Eriugena Hermathena, 165 (Winter, 1998), 9-70. Neoplatonism commanded important scholarly energy and poetic and literary talent in the later two-thirds of our century. Now it attracts considerable philosophical and theological interest. But this may be its misfortune. The Dominican scholar M.-D. Chenu judged the Leonine utilization of St. Thomas to have been detrimental for our understanding of his doctrine. Thomas was made an instrument of an imperialist Christianity. The use of Aquinas as a weapon against modernity required a “misérable abus.” The Holy Office made Fr. Chenu pay dearly enough for attempting accurate historical study of the Fathers and medieval doctors to make us give him heed.1 The present retrieval of our philosophical and theological past has a very different relation to institutional interests than belonged to Leonine Neothomism. The problems intellectuals now have with truthfulness come more from within themselves than from outside. There is, nonetheless, much in the character of the postmodern turn to Neoplatonism by Christian theologians to cause concern that the ecclesiastical subordination of theoria to praxis which distorted the most recent Thomism may have an analogue for Neoplatonism recovered to serve our desires.2 And if, in fact, our eye has become self-distorting, the problem in our relation to our history will be worse than anything external pressures can cause. This paper aims to begin assessing the character of this distortion in respect to a central question, our understanding of the history of western subjectivity.
    [Show full text]