Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas

Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas PDF Author: O'Rourke
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004451773
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In Aquinas' encounter with Pseudo-Dionysius can be discovered an integral philosophy of reality — a comprehensive vision of existence, depicting the universe in its procession from and return to the Absolute, according to each grade of reality, including man, its place in the hierarchy of being. The point of divergence is the primacy attributed, in turn, by the authors to the Good or to Being as a universal principle. Against this background the present work investigates the influence of Dionysius with respect to the central themes of Aquinas' metaphysics: knowledge of the Absolute, and its nature as transcendent; Being as primary and universal perfection; the diffusion of creation; the hierarchy of creatures and return of all to God as the final end. This is one of the few studies to date which considers in a comprehensive way the relation between these remarkable thinkers. By concrete example and continual reference it illustrates both the pervasive influence of Pseudo-Dionysius and the profound originality of Aquinas.

Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas

Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas PDF Author: O'Rourke
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004451773
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In Aquinas' encounter with Pseudo-Dionysius can be discovered an integral philosophy of reality — a comprehensive vision of existence, depicting the universe in its procession from and return to the Absolute, according to each grade of reality, including man, its place in the hierarchy of being. The point of divergence is the primacy attributed, in turn, by the authors to the Good or to Being as a universal principle. Against this background the present work investigates the influence of Dionysius with respect to the central themes of Aquinas' metaphysics: knowledge of the Absolute, and its nature as transcendent; Being as primary and universal perfection; the diffusion of creation; the hierarchy of creatures and return of all to God as the final end. This is one of the few studies to date which considers in a comprehensive way the relation between these remarkable thinkers. By concrete example and continual reference it illustrates both the pervasive influence of Pseudo-Dionysius and the profound originality of Aquinas.

Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas

Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas PDF Author: Fran O'Rourke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789004094666
Category : Church history
Languages : de
Pages : 300

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Book Description


An Introduction to the Metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas

An Introduction to the Metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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The God Who Is Beauty

The God Who Is Beauty PDF Author: Brendan Thomas Sammon
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1620322455
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
When in the sixth century Dionysius the Areopagite declared beauty to be a name for God, he gave birth to something that had long been gestating in the womb of philosophical and theological thought. In doing so, Dionysius makes one of his most pivotal contributions to Christian theological discourse. It is a contribution that is enthusiastically received by the schoolmen of the Middle Ages, and it comes to permeate the thought of scholasticism in a multitude of ways. But perhaps nowhere is the Dionysian influence more pronounced than in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. This book examines both the historical development of beauty's appropriation as a name for God in Dionysius and Thomas, and the various contours of what it means. The argument that emerges from this study is that given the impact that the divine name theological tradition has within the development of Christian theological discourse, beauty as a divine name indicates the way in which beauty is most fundamentally conceived in the Christian theological tradition as a theological theme. As a phenomenon of inquiry, beauty proves itself to be enigmatic and elusive to even the sharpest intellects in the Greek philosophical tradition. When it is absorbed within the Christian theological synthesis, however, its enigmatic content proves to be a powerful resource for theological reasoning.

Re-thinking Dionysius the Areopagite

Re-thinking Dionysius the Areopagite PDF Author: Sarah Coakley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444356453
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Dionysius the Areopagite, the early sixth-century Christian writer, bridged Christianity and neo-Platonist philosophy. Bringing together a team of international scholars, this volume surveys how Dionysius’s thought and work has been interpreted, in both East and West, up to the present day. One of the first volumes in English to survey the reception history of Dionysian thought, both East and West Provides a clear account of both modern and post-modern debates about Dionysius’s standing as philosopher and Christian theologian Examines the contrasts between Dionysius’s own pre-modern concerns and those of the post-modern philosophical tradition Highlights the great variety of historic readings of Dionysius, and also considers new theories and interpretations Analyzes the main points of hermeneutical contrast between East and West

Commentary on the Book of Causes

Commentary on the Book of Causes PDF Author: Saint Thomas (Aquinas)
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 9780813208442
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Thomas's Commentary on the Book of Causes, composed during the first half of 1272, offers an extended view of his approach to Neoplatonic thought and functions as a guide to his metaphysics. Though long neglected and, until now, never translated into English, it deserves an equal place alongside his commentaries on Aristotle and Boethius. In addition to the extensive annotation, bibliography, and thorough introduction, this translation is accompanied by two valuable appendices. The first provides a translation of another version of proposition 29 of the Book of Causes, which was not known to St. Thomas. The second lists citations of the Book of Causes found in the works of St. Thomas and cross-references these to a list showing the works, and the exact location within them, where the citations can be found.

Thomas Aquinas in Translation

Thomas Aquinas in Translation PDF Author: Saint Thomas (Aquinas)
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813217989
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Divine Light

Divine Light PDF Author: William Riordan
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681491400
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
In his missionary journeys, St. Paul spoke in a number of cities in the Greek peninsula including Athens, renowned for its philosophical heritage. He addressed to them the message of the One, Unknown God (Acts 17:22ff). Among those present in the Areopagus (the open city center of Athens) on that day was a certain Denys (Dionysios) who eventually became a disciple of Paul. Centuries later, a corpus of writings appeared bearing the name of the Denys the Areopagite. These texts were considered to be the writings of the first century disciple of the Apostle Paul and thus achieved almost immediate prominence, strongly influencing the lives of St. Maximus the Confessor (d. 662) and St. John Damascene (d.749) in the East and Eriugena (d. 877), St. Bede (d. 735), St. Bernard (d.1153) St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1272) Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464), St. John of the Cross (d. 1591), and many other great minds in the West. Later historical studies of Denysಙ texts, especially during the 19th century, showed conclusively that the writings are of a later date (5th century) than had generally been thought. Hence, the appending of ಜPseudo-ಝ before the name of Denys (Pseudo-Denys, Pseudo-Dionysius) became common place. The extraordinary brilliance of the texts themselves, however, has been in no way dimmed. The late Holy Father John Paul II in his monumental encyclical Fides et Ratio warns insistently against an approach to Revelation that shuns metaphysics. The texts of Denys provide a majestic and profound metaphysical perspective. Deeply formed by the Divine Liturgy and the Sacred Scriptures, this mysterious author uses the great insights of Plato and his later disciples, expressing the deepest profundities of the faith in stunningly beautiful writings. In Denys, readers past, present, and future find a penetrating contemplative vision into the Mystery of the Trinity and its creation. This book is a focused exposition of Denysಙ theological understanding with particular attention to the illuminating metaphysical depth of his insight. Care has been taken to prepare a text that is readable for the serious laymen accompanied with footnotes to provide a more detailed background for the scholar. To befriend the saints is to learn how to be the friend of God. In this beautifully written book, William Riordan offers a model of scholarly theology that strives not merely to get the concepts right, but to get the friendship right. Inspired by Denys, Riordan teaches us how to re-think our reductionist understanding of the world, so as to discover afresh the cosmic, liturgical, and Christological path by which God makes us his friends (what the Greek Fathers called "divinization"). By exploring Denys's contemplative wisdom in an manner that restores Denys to us as a great friend in Christ, this much-needed book exemplifies Newman's motto, "Heart speaks to heart." - Matthew Levering, Associate Professor of Theology, Ave Maria University ಜThe figure of Dionysius (Denys) the Areopagite continues to be surrounded in controversy and misunderstanding. In Divine Light William Riordan offers us a reasoned and passionate defense of Denyಙs Christian orthodoxy, and shows how important Denyಙs theology of beauty and divinization is for us today. This study persuasively demonstrates that Denyಙs theology is not Neo-Platonism dressed up in Christian clothing, but rather that Denys makes use of categories drawn from Neo-Platonism to express a truly biblical and liturgical Christian theology. Divine Light is more than just a scholarly study of a noted theologian. It is a work of spiritual theology itself,

Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation

Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation PDF Author: Gaven Kerr OP
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190941324
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
In this book, Gaven Kerr expands on the brief treatment of creation offered in his 2015 volume, Aquinas's Way to God: The Proof in De Ente et Essentia. Aquinas does not offer one cohesive treatment on the issue of creation; Kerr synthesizes discussions from across his works in order to present a unified Thomistic metaphysics of creation. Kerr argues that Aquinas's metaphysics of creation, wherein God is conceived as the absolute source of all that exists, is the backbone of his philosophical theology. Throughout his writings, the framework of the absolute dependence of creatures on God and of the independence of God as existence itself is ever present. Without understanding this aspect of Aquinas's philosophical thought, Kerr suggests, it is impossible to understand his philosophy of God. When it comes to metaphysics, Thomas is committed to thinking through the issues involved therein on the basis of natural reason. Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation demonstrates Aquinas's belief that we must arrive at an affirmation of the existence of God on the basis of a wider metaphysical view as to the constitution of reality, a view that does not presuppose divine truths but can indeed establish them.

Theophany

Theophany PDF Author: Eric D. Perl
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 079148002X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
The work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite stands at a cusp in the history of thought: it is at once Hellenic and Christian, classical and medieval, philosophical and theological. Unlike the predominantly theological or text-historical studies which constitute much of the scholarly literature on Dionysius, Theophany is completely philosophical in nature, placing Dionysius within the tradition of ancient Greek philosophy and emphasizing, in a positive light, his continuity with the non-Christian Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus. Eric D. Perl offers clear expositions of the reasoning that underlies Neoplatonic philosophy and explains the argumentation that leads to and supports Neoplatonic doctrines. He includes extensive accounts of fundamental ideas in Plotinus and Proclus, as well as Dionysius himself, and provides an excellent philosophical defense of Neoplatonism in general.