Platonismus und Christentum: Ihre Beziehungen und deren Grenzen (original) (raw)
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For anyone reflecting seriously on the tradition of Christian mysticism in the medieval West, it is hard not to notice the hold that Platonism has exercised on that tradition throughout much, if not all, of the period. Upon closer inspection, it appears there are actually two divergent, be it equally central ways-which I shall call below the inherent and the forensic-in which Platonism has left a lasting imprint on the Christian mystical tradition. The aim of this particular essay on Platonism, which for me will include the wider Platonic influence, is first of all to survey and analyze this twofold impact of Platonism, dwelling on the different approaches to the mystical quest which it yields.
Platonism and Christianity: Different Approaches
The relation between Greek philosophy and Christian theology has, so to say, from 1 st till 21 st century remained unclarified, producing thereby, all over again, very important and sometimes remarkably subtle controversies. Thinking about this forever challenging problem, those who have bravely endeavoured to solve it often confused (1) the relation theology during certain epochs or in the writings of a specific theologian de facto had towards the dominant or preferred philosophy with (2) the relation which, in their opinion, theology should have towards philosophy as such. The inability to distinguish between these two aspects of theoretical speculation blurred even further historically anyhow not always clear relation between these two spiritual disciplines. Whereas for the former, i.e. grasping some specific link between someone's theological thought and particular philosophy (e.g. Aristotelianism or stoicism), it is necessary to thoroughly know each, for the latter, i.e. abstract theorizing about the general relation between theology and philosophy, it is often thought that a thorough insight into someone's theological, and even less philosophical thought is not required. Certainly, this approach could not be more wrong in itself, but, unfortunately, it is more widespread than one would expect. Exactly this, on the ignorance of particular theological or philosophical thought based prejudice considering the desirable or allowed relation between theology and philosophy, necessarily leads to the misunderstanding of the relation that these two disciplines de facto have in a particular historical situation. The power with which such prejudices affect the process of making judgements (even among very famous authors) is so great, that they fail to notice obvious influences in situations where, in their opinion, these influences must not exist. In cases like this, the logic of their argument is the following: Given that philosophy must not influence theology (an axiom based on prejudice), this influence (in some specific case) does not exist (an inferred judgment which is either (1) false-in case when certain philosophy indeed influenced certain theology, or (2) true-yet not because it was correctly inferred from a true axiom, but because of the real absence of such influence in that particular situation). Therefore, even when their conclusion is sometimes true, it is not so because it was inferred from the true assumption. Although it would worth the effort to address this problem with respect to all the relevant philosophical orientations of the Antiquity (and then also of the later periods of the history of philosophy and theology, up to the present day), mostly Platonism will be considered here. This choice, however, is not accidental. Namely, it would be very hard to document any important influence that, for example, Scepticism or Epicureanism had on the theology of the early Church. This task would be much easier when it comes to Aristotelianism and Stoicism (but this will not be elaborated in this article).
Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity
2019
Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity examines the various ways in which Christian intellectuals engaged with Platonism both as a pagan competitor and as a source of philosophical material useful to the Christian faith. The chapters are united in their goal to explore transformations that took place in the reception and interaction process between Platonism and Christianity in this period. The contributions in this volume explore the reception of Platonic material in Christian thought, showing that the transmission of cultural content is always mediated, and ought to be studied as a transformative process by way of selection and interpretation. Some chapters also deal with various aspects of the wider discussion on how Platonic, and Hellenic, philosophy and early Christian thought related to each other, examining the differences and common ground between these traditions. Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity offers an insightful and broadranging study on the subject, which will be of interest to students of both philosophy and theology in the Late Antique period, as well as anyone working on the reception and history of Platonic thought, and the development of Christian thought.