St. Augustine and Plotinus: The Human Mind as Image of the Divine

Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-38779-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 151, 492 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 816 g

Reihe: Vigiliae Christianae, Supplements

In Augustine and Plotinus: the Human Mind as Image of the Divine Laela Zwollo provides an inside view of two of the most influential thinkers of late antiquity: the Christian Augustine and the Neo-Platonist Plotinus. By exploring the finer points and paradoxes of their doctrines of the image of God (the human soul/intellect), the illustrious church father’s complex interaction with his most important non-biblical source comes into focus. In order to fathom Augustine, we should first grasp the beauty in Plotinus’ philosophy and its attractiveness to Christians. This monograph will contribute to a better understanding of the formative years of Christianity as well as later ancient philosophy. It can serve as a handbook for becoming acquainted with the two thinkers, as well as for delving into the profundity of their thought.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zwollo, Laela

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Antike Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Abbreviations

1 Augustine and Plotinus on Imaging the Divine
1 Introduction
2 A New Study on Augustine and Plotinus?
3 Key Aspects of This Study
4 The Multiple Accounts of a Status Quaestionis in an Interdisciplinary Research

2 Augustine’s Appraisal of Plotinus’ Philosophy
1 Augustine’s Accounts of Platonism in Confessions
2 Augustine on Plato and the Platonists in De civitate Dei and De Trinitate
3 Augustine as Christian Platonist: Synthesis

3 Plotinus: Imaging, the Soul and the Ascent
1 Introduction
2 Images and Imaging in Plotinus’ Theogony and Cosmology
3 The Human Soul as Image: f?s??, ????? and ????
4 The Ascent: Intellectual Contemplation and the Soul’s Ascent to Beauty

4 Augustine: the Image of God in His Genesis Commentaries
1 Introduction
2 Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation: Ideas and Images
3 The Soul-Intellect in Augustine’s Doctrine of the Imago Dei in De genesi ad litteram
4 The Ascent: the Soul’s Vision and Contemplation of the Ideas

5 Augustine: the Image of the Trinity in De Trinitate
1 Introduction: The Trinity
2 The Trinitarian Godhead and Christology
3 The Imago Trinitatis: Knowledge and Love
4 Augustine’s Account of the Ascent in De Trinitate

Prologue: Introduction to Chapters 6–9 on Augustine and Plotinus

6 Augustine and Plotinus on the Godhead
1 Introduction
2 The Triune Godhead: Similarities
3 Differences
4 Synthesis and Conclusions

7 Augustine and Plotinus on the Image-Intellect and Epistemology
1 Introduction; Definition of the Terms, Image and Intellect
2 Epistemology: Similarities
3 Differences
4 Synthesis and Conclusions

8 Augustine and Plotinus on Love
1 Introduction
2 Summaries of Plotinus and Augustine on Love
3 General Correspondences
4 General Differences
5 Synthesis

9 Augustine and Plotinus on the Ascent
1 Introduction
2 Plotinus: the Epistemological Ascent and the Ascent by Love
3 Augustine on the Ascent
4 General Similarities
5 Gray Areas
6 Major Differences
7 Synthesis

10 Plotinus in Augustine’s Doctrine of the Image of God
1 Introduction
2 The Plotinian Influence on Augustine: Marked Similarities
3 Major Differences
4 Augustine’s Critique of Platonism from Chapter 2: an Evaluation

11 Augustine’s Christian Platonism
1 How Can We Characterize Augustine as a Christian?
2 How as a Platonist?
3 Augustine’s Relationship to Platonism (Confessions and The City of God)
4 Conclusions

12 Epilogue

Primary Sources
Bibliography
Bible References
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Laela Zwollo, Ph.D. (2016) Tilburg University, School of Catholic Theology, is a researcher of Early Christianity, Platonism and Gnosticism. She is affiliated with i.a. the Centre of Patristic Research in Utrecht.