Byzantine Philosophy Research Articles

МАТЕРИЯ – ΔYΝΑΜΙΣ ИЛИ ΦANΤΑΣΜΑ? ПОНЯТИЕ МАТЕРИИ В ФИЛОСОФИИ МИХАИЛА ПСЕЛЛА И ИОАННА ИТАЛА

. In this article, I discuss the concept of matter - both the first matter and the physical matter of the world, that is, elements - in Byzantine philosophy of the 11th century, namely, in the works of Michael Psellos and John Italos. In particular, I am interested in how the concept of matter is interpreted in connection with the idea of Creation and the finiteness of the world. I trace the connection between the philosophy of the 11th century and the late ancient discussions about matter. I focus on Philoponus' arguments against the eternity of the world and his definition of matter as a three-dimensional extension as well as on the Simplicius' analysis of matter as a principle of corporality. However, it is important for me to show not only the dependence of the Byzantine philosophers on Philoponus and Simplicius, but also their autonomy in defining philosophical terms. The intellectual horizon of Michael Psellos' and John Italos' thought, which influences the approach of these philosophers to the discussion of physical concepts, differs from the horizon of late ancient philosophy.

The fabric of creation: theories of place and space in sixth to ninth-century Byzantine philosophy

ABSTRACT This article examines the definitions of place or location (topos) and as a consequence, space, in Byzantine philosophy, from Maximos the Confessor to Photios. These philosophers draw, on one hand, on the Aristotelian, Platonic, and Neoplatonic sources, and on the other hand, on the Judeo-Christian tradition. Firstly, Maximos the Confessor sets out a novel definition in which place is conceptually inseparable from time, is needed for substances to exist, and in which place is the boundary between the created and uncreated. In Anastasios of Sinai’s writing, God is the archetypical place for all things and is likewise necessary for substances. John of Damascus, in contrast, extends Aristotle’s definition of place in the Physics in new directions, by investigating the place of angels, which is determined by their incorporeal limits. Finally, Photios produces a systematic and astute account of how the properties of the containing and contained bodies come together to make places. The article concludes with an evaluation of these theories, and briefly considers their relationship to theories of place and location in modern physics.

New Books across the Disciplines

New Books across the Disciplines

A Byzantine Metaphysics of Artefacts? The Case of Michael of Ephesus’ Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics

The ontology of artefacts in Byzantine philosophy is still a terra incognita. One way of mapping this unexplored territory is to delve into Michael of Ephesus’ commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Written around 1100, this commentary provides a detailed interpretation of the most important source for Aristotle’s ontological account of artefacts. By highlighting Michael’s main metaphysical tenets and his interpretation of key-passages of the Aristotelian work, this study aims to reconstruct Michael’s ontology of artefacts and present it as one instance, which is perhaps exemplary, of the Byzantine ontology of artefacts. In particular, the study shows that this commentary holds a definite position on the nature of artefacts, according to which they are neither substances nor hylomorphic compounds. Indeed, artefacts lack a form altogether and their forms exist only in thought. As a result, Michael’s commentary provides an ontological interpretation of artefacts as accidental beings, i.e., as matter which acquires a mere property as opposed to a substantial form. While such an interpretation shows originality when compared to the Aristotelian text, it also indicates adherence to the reading established by Alexander of Aphrodisias, despite important departures concerning the status of natural forms.

La Russie - un pays qui transcende l'Europe

Elmar HOLEN STEIN, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich : «Russia's Contribution to European Culture»
 In a paper written in 1944/45, Jakobson shows that the idea of national auto-determination is not a Western European concept, but an Eastern European one, of biblical inspiration. This idea is linked to another one : no world state has the right to hegemony. With such political ideas, Russia works as the go-between for a Byzantine philosophy. But Russia is not only, as an Eastern European country, an intermediary of Byzantine culture, but also, as a Eurasian country, a go-between of East Asian culture. According to Fernand Braudel, the civilizing role of Mongolia in Russia could be compared to the role played by Muslim Spain vis-a-vis Christian Spain.
 Trubetzkoy would probably have agreed with such a judgment, and would probably have sought evidence to back it up with.

Византийская философия в современной греческой истории философии

The article summarizes the main achievements of the historical and philosophical thought of Greece (XX-XXI centuries) in the study of Byzantine philosophy. Modern Greek researchers make a significant contribution to the formation of a theoretical and methodological basis for the study of Byzantine philosophy. Based on this basis, we can discover the origins, essential features and characteristic antinomies of Byzantine philosophy. The article examines the generalizing works of Greek scientists, in which Byzantine philosophy is presented as a holistic phenomenon. Greek scholars perceive Byzantine philosophy as an integral part of the history of national philosophical thought. Therefore, the position of modern Greek thinkers is interesting and has a special heuristic value

Development of rationalistic tendencies in Byzantine philosophy during the Hesychast controversy

Development of rationalistic tendencies in Byzantine philosophy during the Hesychast controversy

Glimpses into Byzantine Philosophy and Art

Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, Michelangelo, the Byzantines and Plato, Independent Publishing Network, Oxford, 2021, 116 pp, ISBN 978-180049-879-2 Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, Creation and Time. Byzantine and Modern, Independent Publishing Network, Oxford, 2021, 178 pp, ISBN 978-80049-881-5 Elena Ene D-Vasilescu, Glimpses into Byzantium. Its Philosophy and Arts, Independent Publishing Network, Oxford, 2021, 159 pp, ISBN 978-80049-880-8

Editorial

The editorial introduces the special issue in the memory of Dr. Amfilohije Radović (+2020), Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral, by giving brief notes on Radović's life, education, and thought, with special reference to his interest in Byzantine philosophy and theology, and contemporary philosophical anthropology. In addition, the editorial gives a panoramic view of articles contributed to the special issue.

Eastern Patristics on Human’s Free Will and Divine Predestination: Conceptual Continuity in the Contemporary Russian Culture

This article deals with the most crucial philosophical and theological issue of correlation of freedom, freedom of will, and Divine predestination, which arose in shaping the Christian doctrine and remains emergent for contemporary Russian culture and society. This problem permeated all the centuries of Christianity’s formation, beginning with the period of apologetics, but it reached its climax in the classical Patristics epoch during the Byzantine Trinity and Christological theological disputes between the Western and Eastern Church Fathers. In theological discussions, they formed subtle differences, characterizing the discrepancy between Eastern and Western Patristics representatives’ views. We analyze the creative heritage of Greek-Byzantine (Eastern) Patristics, influencing the relationship between human freedom and Divine predestination, also conducting some comparative analysis with Western Patristics. The attention is also focused on the subtleties mostly of the Greek Church Fathers’ comprehension of connections between free will and freedom of choice, which correlates with human rationality, high morality, and choice of deification as a movement towards God. Philosophical reflection of described ideas of Eastern Patristics is also carried in conjunction with Christian soteriology, that is, the doctrine of spiritual salvation and eternal life. A prominent place in the article is given to some ideas of deification, the moral perfection of personality, and the Absolute spiritual ascent. The article stands on the original teachings of prominent Saints of Eastern Christianity—Maximus the Confessor, Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, John of Damascus, and Justin Martyr as a predecessor for both the Eastern and Western Patristics. This article also examines the refraction of the ideas of Church Fathers in contemporary Russian culture and philosophical studies of Patristics and Byzantine philosophy. Adhering to the Russian academic tradition of Byzantology, we present some implementations of Greek Church Fathers’ ideas, particularly on free will and Divine predestination, in the works of gifted Russian Byzantologist scholars. We try to attract the reader’s attention to the valuable Byzantine heritage in order to continue the tradition of studying the Church Father’s legacy in our country.

Incorporeals in the Ontology of Created Beings in the Byzantine Philosophy of Michael Psellos

"In this contribution I tried to show that Psellos has a complex understanding of the ontology of the being of incorporeal entities that is shaped mainly from a Christian position but also supplemented by the methodological use of positions from ancient philosophy. There is surely a lot more to say about this problem, but I think the classical notions of soul or forms cannot be very easily included into Psellos philosophical framework. His discussion with the pagan philosophy is not only complex but depends also on the circumstance and context of the problems he is discussing in specific texts. Regarding incorporeal beings, he seems to advocate the existence of angels and souls while forms do not seem to have an own ontological realm between God and sensible cosmos. The question of Platonic forms as the thoughts of gods is tricky. On the one side Psellos points to God as direct cause of creation, on the other side he holds back on characterizing God’s thoughts. Keywords: forms, incorporeals, creation, ontology, Platonism. "

La catégorie de l’éthicoesthétique dans l’étude de la philosophie byzantine

The category of the Ethico-Aesthetics, introduced by Søren Kierkegaard, was applied to the study of Byzantine Philosophy by the Greek philoso­pher and theologian Nikolaos Matsoukas (1934–2006). Matsoukas vehe­mently rejected the identification of Byzantine philosophy with a strict Christian moralism. Rather, he viewed it as an ethos which did not lead the ascetics to display Manichean contempt for the body. It was thus a kind of ‘mild asceticism’. This ethical acceptance of the body turns against Neoplatonic speculation and cultivates the habitus that leads to artistic creativity. Byzantine philosophy is thus situated at the midpoint between nominalism and realism, but standing against the realism of the archetypal ideas. The paper concludes with some considerations on the pragmatics of Byzantine philosophy in a Christian world.

The Modern Historiography of Byzantine and Islamic Philosophy: A Comparison

ABSTRACT The article examines parallel developments in the study of Byzantine and medieval Islamic philosophy and identifies trends in modern Western thought that led to similar assessments. Debates on “faith and reason” and secularism as a social and political ideal have exerted major influence on both fields of study. However, Islamic philosophy has been granted a role in shaping modern Western philosophy, while Byzantine philosophy has not. The article argues that the concurrent examination of Byzantine and Islamic philosophy can help elucidate the modern concerns that drive the assessment of both and improve our understanding of their history and interaction during the medieval period.

Probing the value platform of Byzantine philosophy and its message for a modern European value orientation

The proposed study presents the problems of the value platform of Byzantine philosophy. The article begins with a controversy about the very possibility of opening this topic. In general, attention is focused on the limits and difficulties of searching for the value platform of Byzantine philosophy and at the same time on searching for opportunities to discover it. Attention is also drawn to the field of culture and semantics of the conceptual apparatus. At the forefront is a reflection on the philosophical expression of the cosmos, as well as on what the terms "synergetic" and "ecumenical" are. At the end of the article, some assumptions are made about the importance of the value platform of the Byzantine philosophy for the modern European value orientation and its direction.

Kata Christon, Mataia, and Physikē Philosophia in Gregory Palamas’s 14th Century Byzantine Philosophy of Education

Kata Christon, Mataia, and Physikē Philosophia in Gregory Palamas’s 14th Century Byzantine Philosophy of Education

Parallel, additional or alternative histories of philosophy? Questions on the theory and methodology of the history of philosophy

ABSTRACTMethodologies and theories for writing histories of philosophy are particularly relevant today due to the abounding challenges to the discipline that have emerged: e.g. the problem concerning the precise mode of the inclusion of non-Western philosophies in the history of philosophy, the response to postcolonial considerations at large, the transformative impact of new media and the question whether the history of philosophy is primarily a philosophical, rather than merely historical, enterprise. À propos the relative scarcity that is to be witnessed in explicit articulations of methodologies and theories for writing histories of philosophy, in this note I focus on certain spontaneous, rather than theoretically planned, responses that have emerged to the above challenges – in particular, Peter Adamson’s History of Philosophy without any gaps – and in conclusion, as an example of methodological development, I touch on some of the problems we encounter in the case of the inclusion of Byzantine philosophy in the history of philosophy.

A Historical Outline of Byzantine Philosophy and Its Basic Subjects

The article seeks to present an overview of the history of Byzantine philosophy. It takes its point of departure in the most important factors that influenced and shaped the Patristic thought. Subsequently, the paper considers the relative autonomy of Byzantine philosophy and offers a brief profile of major philosophers that contributed to the stream in the period from 9th to 15th century. From the numerous subjects that were taken into account by the most prominent Byzantine philosophers, the article discusses such issues as: the view of God, the problem of ‘conceptual realism’, the relationship between such ‘disci plines’ as logic, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics and philosophical anthro pology. Furthermore, such questions as the place of man in the world, the scope of their freedom and the problem of evil are also touched upon here. The paper concludes with some remarks on the develop ment of Byzantine philosophy after the fall of Byzantium.

Aristotelian Ethics in Byzantium

This paper argues that research in the primary sources must precede the investigation of Byzantine philosophy. Two points are to be considered, on the one hand, the gathering of texts, and, on the other hand, the study of texts in relation to their sources. Thus the external evidence as well as the internal evidence of texts should be examined. In this double regard, the manuscripts containing Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics are considered. Their authors are Michael of Ephesos, Eustratios of Nicaea, “Anonymus”, Heliodoros of Prussa, Georgios Pachymeres, Michael Psellos, John Italos, Nikephoros Blemmydes, George Gemistos Plethon.

Philoponus’ Dispute Against the Eternity of the World and Its Influence on the Byzantine Philosophy

The article deals with the philosophical and theological context of the dispute against the eternity of the world and studies how Philoponus’ arguments against the eternity of the world were seen in Byzantine philosophy and theology. Special attention is paid to Philoponus’ influence on Byzantine philosophy in such aspects as the concept of matter, the doctrine of the logoi and the relation of the finite to the infinite. In order to demonstrate the influence of Philoponus’ arguments against the eternity of the world the article compares his doctrine with the doctrines of John Damascene and Maximus the Confessor.

ŠTÚDIUM BYZANTSKEJ FILOZOFIE V EURÓPE A NA SLOVENSKU

ŠTÚDIUM BYZANTSKEJ FILOZOFIE V EURÓPE A NA SLOVENSKU