Byzantine Philosophy

A Systematic Perspective

Series: 

Author:
Georgi Kapriev
The book is the result of thirty years of Georgi Kapriev's work in the field of Byzantine philosophy. Contrary to long-held opinions that no authentic philosophy existed in Byzantium, the fullness and complexity of this philosophical tradition are offered. The subject is its context and its main themes, presented in their systematic framework. The areas in which this tradition differs from the Latin tradition and which constitute its contribution are highlighted. Among these are the focus on being as a dynamic network, on teachings on natural and creative activities, on divine logoi and the self-existence of things, and on freedom.
Copyright Year:
2025
E-Book (PDF)
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-72937-7
Publication:
28 Apr 2025
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-72896-7
Publication:
08 May 2025
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Georgi Kapriev, D.Sc. (1960), St. Kliment Ochridski University, Sofia, Bulgaria, is a professor of ancient and medieval – Latin and Byzantine – philosophy. He is author of numerous books and articles, and editor of a number of volumes, including The Dionysian Traditions (Brepols, 2021) and (as co-editor and author) Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie: Die Philosophie des Mittelalters, Bd. 1: Byzanz, Judentum (Schwabe, 2019).
Preface

Part1 The Context



Introduction
 1 Byzantium and the Byzantine Commonwealth
 2 The Emergence of Byzantine Philosophy
 3 The Patristics
 4 Theology
 5 Philosophy
 6 Periodization of Byzantine Philosophical Culture
 1 Byzantium and the Byzantine commonwealth
 8 Rationality and Thirst for Knowledge
 9 Philosophy in Byzantium and Byzantine philosophy
 10 Conclusion

Part2 Main Topics and Concepts



1 Teachings on the Energies
 1 The Teaching of Aristotle
 2 The Interpretation of the Theory of Energies by Martin Heidegger
 3 Hellenic Reception
 4 Beginning of the Christian Reception of the Doctrine of Energies
 5 The Doctrine of Energies in Christian Thinkers of the 4th Century
 6 Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite
 7 Maximus the Confessor
 8 John Damascene
 9 An Intermediate Balance
 10 The Doctrine of Energies and Western Philosophical Thought
 11 Photius of Constantinople
 12 Michael Psellus
 13 Nicetas of Maroneia
 14 George of Cyprus (GregoryII)
 15 Gregory Palamas
 16 Barlaam, Acindynus and Gregoras
 17 Prochorus Cydones
 18 The Doctrine of Energies in the Works of the next Palamite Generation
 19 Essential Energy and Accident
 20 The Lack of Correctly Formulated Logical Distinction between Essence and Energy
 21 George Scholarius and the Definition of the Distinction
 22 Perichoresis and Synergy
 23 Callistus Angelicudes: Essential Energy and Hypostasis
 24 Hexis—the Hypostasizing Factor

2 The Principles of Being
 1 Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite
 2 Maximus the Confessor
 3 Metaphysics of the Concrete
 4 The Analogous Independence of Being
 5 Logos/Principle of Essence and Tropos/Mode of Existence
 6 Being—Well/Bad-Being—Eternal-Being
 7 The Co-Creator

3 Nature and Hypostasis
 1 Nature/Essence
 2 Hypostasis
 3 Hypostasis and Person
 4 Relation and Synergy
 5 Individual

4 The Human Being
 1 The logos of Man
 2 Image of God, Microcosm and Ancestral Sin
 3 The Psychosomatic Unity of the Human Being
 4 The Human Body
 5 The Soul

5 Human Knowledge
 1 Rational Knowledge
 2 Experiential Knowledge

6 Will and Freedom
 1 John Cassian’s Doctrine of Freedom
 2 The Cappadocians
 3 Nemesius of Emesa
 4 Maximus the Confessor
 5 John Damascene
 6 Photius of Constantinople
 7 Michael Psellus
 8 Providence and Fortune in Historiography
 9 The Debate about Fate in the 15th Century
 10 Deification and Freedom according to Gregory Palamas
 11 Concluding Remarks

7 Time, Aeon, Eternity
 1 Hellenic Tradition
 2 Basil the Great. The Cappadocians
 3 Maximus the Confessor
 4 Michael Psellus
 5 System of the Interaction of Structures
 6 Concluding Observations

8 History and metaphysics
 1 Political Thought and Historiography
 2 Historicity as a Foundational Element of Byzantine Philosophy

Bibliography
Indices
Sspecialists in Byzantine philosophy, medieval and European philosophy, from undergraduate level up in a wide range of disciplines.
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