The Philosophical Tradition

This chapter traces the development of the image and use of the mythological figure of Heracles in philosophical contexts. Heracles’ mythology is notoriously amoral, but the figure gets drawn into moral roles over time, in tandem with the development of virtue from a heroic to a civic value. Pindar employs him as an example of attaining immortality through virtuous actions and Prodicus’ tale implies that his deeds were the result of autonomous moral choice. Antisthenes and Cynic tradition elevate him to the paradigm for the Cynic way in opting for action (above theory), itinerancy, training of body and soul, and toil. Others also claimed Heracles to have philosophized through his deeds, but prefer an allegorical interpretation of the mythology, a tradition of interpretation that ran from Herodorus through the Stoics Cleanthes, Cornutus and Seneca, and into early Christian apologetics.

historiografía apologética en el Discurso Contra los griegos de Taciano el Sirio.

En este trabajo nos proponemos poner de manifiesto un aspecto poco estudiado del Contra los griegos de Taciano (circa 170); nos referimos a la introducción del discurso historiográfico en la apologética cristiana. En cumplimiento de nuestro objetivo daremos cuenta, por una parte, del carácter idiosincrático de la producción de este apologista en el contexto de la defensa de la fe cristiana en el s. II y analizaremos, por otra, lo que de acuerdo con nuestra línea de investigación es lo más relevante de su controvertido modus cogitandi: el rechazo de la Filosofía como via regia de acceso al Cristianismo para las gentes de alta cultura y la introducción del discurso historiográfico como garantía de veracidad. In this paper we propose to highlight a little studied aspect of the Discourse Against the Greeks of Taciano (circa 170); we refer to the introduction of historiographical discourse in Christian apologetics. In fulfillment of our objective we will give account, on the one hand, of the idiosyncratic character of the production of this apologist in the context of the defense of the Christian faith in the s. II and we will analyze, on the other hand, what according to our line of research is the most relevant of his controversial modus cogitandi: the rejection of Philosophy as a way of access to Christianity for people of high culture and the introduction of the historiographical discourse as a guarantee of truthfulness.

Philosophy and Psychology in the Service of the Catholic Faith: Paweł Siwek, SJ and His Legacy

Fr. Paweł Siwek, SJ may be considered the only Polish Jesuit philosopher of the 20th century to have achieved worldwide recognition. This article surveys his work from a broad perspective reflecting philosophy, psychology and theology as pursued in Catholic circles in the 19th and 20th centuries. We review his achievements, while also offering an interpretation. We put forward the thesis that he found his own way of practising neo-Thomism in the spirit of Pope Leo XIII’s Aeterni Patris. To substantiate our claims, we first briefly sketch his biography, providing a synthetic overview of the relevant contexts for his philosophical oeuvre. We then identify his four main areas of interest: namely, the history of philosophy (combined with his translation activities), systematic philosophy (especially his work on the soul-body problem and Baruch Spinoza), the scientific psychology of religion and spirituality, and Christian apologetics in the face of world religions and spiritual movements. In our conclusion, we discuss the main traits of his intellectual work, along with its impact.

Gregory Thaumaturgus and Early Christian Apologetics

Gregory Thaumaturgus has only occasionally been discussed in relation to early Christian apologetics. The paper provides a new step in this direction by exploring the points of contact between Gregory’s Address to Origen and previous apologetic literature. As the analysis below will indicate, the Address shows parallels with several apologetic texts from the second and early third century, both in terms of content and style. By discussing the apologetic topics and strategies found in the Address, I will argue that Gregory intended to respond, at least indirectly, to some of the main charges raised against Christians by their pagan opponents. Such an approach not only sheds light on the content and purposes of the Address, but also illuminates the historical and literary background against which Gregory wrote his text.

Philosophical Insights on the Human Being in Greek-Byzantine Patristics

The article traces the formation of a new religious and philosophical tradition of consideration of the human being. It was formed in the texts of representatives of Eastern Patristics at the epoch of Trinity and Christology theological discussions in Byzantium from the 4th to 7th centuries. The author presents the early Church Fathers’ ideas of the period of Christian apologetics, who laid the foundation for early medieval Christian anthropology. The work analyzes the significant issues, the solution of which allowed Greek-Byzantine Church Fathers to shape the an­thropological tradition of Eastern Christianity. In particular, the author notes the differences in the justification of the Eastern Church Fathers’ Old Testament point on the creation of man in the God’s image and likeness. The researcher stresses the diversity of concepts about the contradictory nature of the human as­sociated with the confrontation of the soul (spirit) and body. In this context, the principle of antinomianism is deduced as the primary method of theorizing about the person in their relationship with God and the created world. Special at­tention is paid to the Patristics interpretation of the idea of deification, compre­hended as the life goal of an individual, and, at the same time, as a process of re­alization of the highest purpose by unifying two contradictory worlds – Divine and earthly – into one harmonious Universe. Deification is derived as an oppor­tunity to overcome man’s duality and as his righteous path guiding each individ­ual to self-improvement, self-knowledge, and spiritual unity with the Creator. The article is based on the analysis of the sacred texts of Eastern Christianity, specifically by Irenaeus, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Maximus the Confessor.

From Idolatry to Religions: the Missionary Discourses on Hinduism and Buddhism and the Invention of Monotheistic Confucianism, 1550-1700

The emergence of a European discourse to distinguish, analyze, and historicize various non-Biblical religious traditions within Asia involved a significant amplification of the concept of idolatry. The Jesuit experience of Japanese Buddhism in the second half of the sixteenth century posed a particular challenge, because of its overt atheism. The patristic models of Christian apologetics, based on distinguishing elite monotheism from popular religion in ancient paganism, had been useful in India, but in Japan had to be replaced by a system where the elite cultivated an atheistic form of esoteric monism. When focusing their dialectical firepower upon the doctrines of double truth and non-theistic monism, the Jesuits, led by Alessandro Valignano, were in fact responding to the doctrinal distinctiveness of East Asian Buddhism, notably the emphasis on provisional teachings, on the one hand, and Buddha-nature, on the other. When in China Ricci decided to classify the Confucian literati as civil philosophers rather than as a religious elite, he also transferred Valignano’s critique of Buddhist pantheism to specifically Neo-Confucian doctrines, distinct from the supposed monotheism of the original Confucians.

Religion

Two-thirds of Hegel’s Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion are given over to ‘finite’ or pre-Christian religions, but surprisingly little attention has been paid to them. This is particularly surprising given the importance that he gives to the Greek ‘religion of beauty’ and Roman ‘religion of expediency’, for along with the Jewish ‘religion of sublimity’, they form the immediate historical precedents and preparation for Christianity, which Hegel’s teleological history accepts as the final, ‘true’, and ‘infinite’ religion. This chapter seeks to help to remedy the scholarly gap, not only by summarizing Hegel’s understanding of Greek and Roman religions in themselves, in relation to each other, to Christianity and previous ‘Oriental’ religions, and in relation to Hegel’s conception of religion as such. In addition, it seeks to juxtapose some of Hegel’s remarks with those of more recent scholars, to suggest that in general his approaches to Greek and Roman phenomena remain insightful. Although his strong judgments may offend many (for a variety of reasons), his comparative architectonic can be exhilarating: his juxtaposition of Greek anthropomorphism and the Christian Incarnation is challenging for Hellenists and Christian theologians; and his argument that Christianity is fundamentally a product of the Roman world, with Roman religion as its immediate predecessor, is a thought-provoking blend of Christian apologetics and proto-sociological historicism.