The terms of a theoretical approach of the natural and divine world in George Pachymeres

Lydia Petridou,Christos Terezis

doi:10.5209/dmae.72855

Abstract

In this article, we are investigating the methods in which George Pachymeres, the commentator of the De divinis nominibus of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, epistemologically approaches the natural and the divine reality. It becomes clear that every judgement on God starts from the sensible world, so a reversed induction is revealed. Although the existence of God is never questioned, no final conclusion about his self-founding way of existing can be drawn. Considering the substantial difference between the two levels, two are the ways in which the natural world and the divine transcendent reality are approached. In the first case, the thinking subject functions mostly in natural-empirical terms, while in the second one it follows a mystical-intuitive course. Nevertheless, the context is consistently realistic.

Highlights

For George Pachymeres, the first level of Epistemology is associated with the cosmic science and appears in clear conceptual outlines, for it depends on concrete and provable sensible evidence
From an anthropocentric point of view, the starting point of the Logia is human religiosity, in the sense of a state of consciousness that develops into theology, which is considered to be the word for God, which, as a discussion on the supernatural projections, requires expanding our existential horizon
George Pachymeres, by adopting the main principle of Christian Ontology that the world consists of two levels, the natural and the supernatural, tends to select the appropriate cognitive course according to the particular experiences that a thinking subject accepts

Summary

Introduction

George Pachymeres (1242-ca.1310) is considered to be one of the leading exponents of the Palaiologian Renaissance in the fields of literature and the arts. He was an erudite man with broad research and instructional interests. He dealt with most branches of sciences and areas of knowledge and delivered a highly multidimensional work, often impressive for its innovation, based on the requirements of both a general and focused epistemology One of his main contributions lies on the fact that he established the appropriate philosophical and theological terms and conditions, which, through their composition, could lead to a scientific logical and clearly compatible with the principles of the Christian faith understanding of the sensible world, in the sense that it has been formed by a principle and that it is as a theophany which is constantly rejuvenated. This is not just an apodeictic process but a productive cognitive method which combines Platonism with Aristotelianism –in the Neoplatonic sense–, which constantly remains open to new approaches regarding the unutterable mystery of the divine reality. From a Christian point of view, this mystery is approached by man only in a mystical way, which intensively expresses existential conditions

Theoretical approaches of the natural world

Theoretical approaches of the divine world

The ‘Logia’ as the source of the two theoretical approaches

Epilogue