VI: Byzantine Philosophy. Section 1: The Aristotelian corpus and Christian Philosophy in Byzantium between the Ninth and Fifteenth Centuries. Readings and Traditions

Abstract

“The Aristotelian corpus and Christian Philosophy in Byzantium between the Ninth and Fifteenth Centuries: Readings and Traditions” is the topic of Section I of SIEPM Commission VIII: Byzantine Philosophy. Aristotle’s writings, which were assimilated variously, function as a meta-text of medieval intellectual culture. Between the nineth and fifteenth centuries Byzantine thinkers developed stable and functional strategies for integrating Aristotle’s philosophical methodology into different theological and philosophical contexts. The project will study the influence of Aristotle on Byzantine metaphysics, epistemology, physics and ethics. We shall attempt to reconstruct the Aristotelian roots of key conceptual models in Byzantine philosophy that played a major role in theological discussion and exposition, such as the metaphysical status of hypostasis, the paradigm of essence-energy, the use of the categories for developing the concept of the image, the transformation of Aristotle’s concept of the soul in light of a new concept of the will, the role of Aristotle’s syllogistics in the trinitarian debates between the Byzantine East and Latin West, etc. Furthermore, the project will investigate channels of dialogue and reciprocal influence between Byzantium and the Latin West and the debate with other cultures and religions, such as Islam or Latin Christianity.