Sede Amministrativa: UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA Dipartimento di: FILOSOFIA, SOCIOLOGIA, PEDAGOGIA E PSICOLOGIA APPLICATA Scuola Di Dottorato Di Ricerca in: FILOSOFIA Indirizzo: UNICO Ciclo: XXVIII The topic of the universal in the thought of the Cappadocian Fathers and in the Arian debate of the 4th century AD: philosophical and theological perspectives Direttore della Scuola: CH.MA PROF.SSA FRANCESCA MENEGONI Supervisore: CH.MA PROF.SSA MARIA GRAZIA CREPALDI Dottorando: DMITRII BIRIUKOV ABSTRACT Nella tesi si dimostra come il tema dell’universale si sia manifestato principalmente nelle controversie ariane del quarto secolo e nei lavori dei padri cappadoci, come anche nella filosofia antica e nella tradizione orientale cristiana filosofica e teologica. Parlando dell’“universale”, intendo realtà universali di ogni tipo (incluse le proprietà comuni a molti individui come i principi trascendentali applicati ai tipi di essere ad essi partecipanti, i legami della gerarchia dell’essere tra cui la moltitudine degli individui ecc.) e non solo i termini di κοινόν e καθόλου o la nozione di un universale inteso nel senso tecnico normativo dal punto di vista dell’uso del termine nel discorso storico e filosofico. Nella tesi possono essere individuati tre temi principali. In primo luogo, il tema della partecipazione. Distinguo tre paradigmi della partecipazione rispetto al problema dell’universale caratteristici della filosofia antica: il paradigma platonico, aristotelico e neoplatonico. Dimostro che il paradigma platonico trova espressione in Origene, Ario e Gregorio di Nissa, quello aristotelico in Origene e Gregorio di Nissa e quello neoplatonico, come propongo, in Ario. In secondo luogo si tratta il tema dell’applicazione della divisione genera-species all’essere intelligente. Ricostruisco la storia intellettuale della seconda tappa delle controversie ariane per cui, in risposta alla dottrina di Vasilio di Cesarea sul fatto che la comunanza dell’identità della Trinità sarebbe analoga alla comunanza dell’aspetto rispetto agli individui, Eunomio, al fine dei confutare questa dottrina, avrebbe insistito che la divisione genera-species non sia applicabile all’essere immateriale. Ricerco le origini di questo concetto nel platonismo antico e cristiano. In terzo luogo, si affronta il tema della gerarchia dell’essere. Secondo la mia visione nella dottrina di Gregorio di Nissa questo tema ha un ruolo fondamentale. Dimostro che Gregorio di Nissa prese in prestito l’ordine dei componenti della gerarchia dell’essere dal cosiddetto albero di Porfirio, nello sviluppare questo argomento vi introdusse elementi platonici, aristotelici e stoici e cambiò l’ordine dei componenti in relazione all’ordine biblico della creazione. Inoltre analizzo lo sviluppo del tema della gerarchia dell’essere nel conseguente pensiero orientale cristiano e l’influenza di Gregorio di Nissa in questo senso. Mi soffermo inoltre sul tema dell’individuazione attraverso la convergenza delle proprietà nel pensiero di Vasilio di Cesarea e studio lo stato delle proprietà comuni nell’ambito del concetto di individuazione. This dissertation has demonstrated how the topic of the universal was manifested mainly in the Arian controversy of the fourth century and the works of the Cappadocian Fathers, as well as in the Ancient philosophy and the previous and late Eastern Christian philosophical and theological tradition. By speaking of the “universal,” I mean the universal realities of any type (including the properties common to many individuals such as transcendental principles applied to the types of beings participating in them, the links in the hierarchy of beings encompassing the multitude of individuals, etc.), and not only the terms of κοινόν and καθόλου or the notion of a universal understood in the normative technical sense from the viewpoint of the use of the term in the historical and philosophical discourse. The dissertation focuses on three main topics. Firstly, it is the topic of participation. In a wider context of analyzing the role of universals, I distinguish three paradigms of participation, typically used in classical philosophy: the Platonic, the Aristotelian, and the Neoplatonic paradigms. It is demonstrated how the Platonic paradigm found its expression in Origen, Arius, and Gregory of Nyssa; the Aristotelian paradigm – in Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, and the Neoplatonic paradigm, as I am suggesting, in Arius. Secondly, the dissertation addresses the topic of applicability of individuals / species division to rational beings. From that perspective, I reconstruct the intellectual history of the second phase of the Arian controversy. In response to the doctrine of Basil of Caesarea that commonness in the Persons of the Holy Trinity was similar to the commonness of the species in respect to their constituent individuals, and attempting to refute this doctrine, Eunomius insisted that individuals / species division was inapplicable to immaterial beings. I trace the origins of this concept in the Platonism of Antiquity and in Christian Platonism. Thirdly, the dissertation analyzes the topic of the hierarchy of beings. In my opinion, this topic played a paramount role in the teaching of Gregory of Nyssa. I demonstrate that Gregory of Nyssa adopted the order of the levels in his hierarchy of beings from the so-called Tree of Porphyry, in the process introducing some Platonic, Aristotelian, and Stoic elements, and changing the order of the levels in accordance with the Scriptural order of creation. I also trace how the topic of the hierarchy of beings evolved in the subsequent Eastern Christian thought, and what was the impact of Gregory of Nyssa in this regard. In addition, I address the topic of individuation through the convergence of properties in Basil of Caesarea, and discuss the status of general properties in his concept of individuation. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1 “The paradigms of participation in the context of the topic of universals in Ancient philosophical tradition” Chapter 2 “The scientific knowledge and the universal in Clement of Alexandria” Chapter 3 “The paradigms of participation in the context of the topic of universals in Origen” Chapter 4 “Participation and universals in the doctrine of Arius” 4.1. The doctrine of Arius 4.2. Language of Participation and Universal Realities in God and in the Created Realm in Arius and the Arians 4.3. Paradigms of Participation and Universals in Arius and Origen 4.4. Neoplatonism of Arius? Chapter 5 “Participation and universals in the Eunomian controversies” 5.1. The Eunomian controversies: the context 5.2. Description of a Human Being through the “Concurrence of Properties” in Basil of Caesarea and its Theological and Philosophical Context 5.3. The discussion on application of the principle “greater-lesser” to essence, and problem of universals 5.4. The principle "greater-lesser": the themes of participation and universals Chapter 6 “The specifics of Gregory of Nyssa’s theaching of the universal and the particular, and its philosophical context” Chapter 7 “Synthesis of Biblical and Logical-Philosophical Descriptions of the Order of Natural Beings in De opificio hominis 8 by Gregory of Nyssa” 7.1. Hierarchies of Beings in Gregory of Nyssa 7.2. The context of the topic of the order of natural beings in De opificio hominis 8 of Gregory of Nyssa 7.3. The Historical and philosophical context of the order of natural beings in De opificio hominis 8: Posidonius or Porphyry? 7.4. The Order of Natural Beings in Gregory of Nyssa and the Tree of Porphyry 7.4.1. Genera-Species Division in Authors Prior to Gregory of Nyssa 7.4.2. Genera-Species Division in Gregory of Nyssa and Porphyry: Similarities 7.4.3. Genera-Species Division in Gregory of Nyssa and Porphyry: Differences 7.5. Conclusion Chapter 8 “Reconstruction of Eunomius’ doctrine of universals and of its theological and philosophical context” Chapter 9 “Hierarchies of Beings in the Patristic Thought. Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus, and the Palamites” Bibliography 1 Introduction In the first centuries after its emergence, the Eastern Christian civilization developed a rich intellectual tradition which made a significant impact on the subsequent periods. On the one hand, the Eastern Christian philosophical thought of the first centuries A.D. addressed problems common for the history of philosophy (the problem of universals, the psychophysical problem, the topic of the ontological hierarchy of beings, etc.), while, on the other hand, it dealt with fairly narrow issues specific for the Early Christian thought (Trinitarian doctrine, Christology, Pneumatology, etc.). The presence of circle of specific subjects playing a particularly important role in Christian thought resulted in the emergence of the phenomenon of dogmatic (in a technical sense of the word) thinking within the Christian civilization. From the viewpoint of that paradigm, religious and philosophical doctrines which developed over the course of numerous and intense debates, received their authorized formulations in the conciliar decrees and became largely “dogmatized” in the process. In the course of this dogmatization, certain trends and traditions which had existed in the Eastern Christian philosophical tradition, went out of sight or entirely disappeared; other traditions remained on the surface and were actively elaborated. At the same time, Eastern Christian philosophical thought was in close contact with the non-Christian classical