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Fleeing the Stadium: Recovering the Conceptual Unity of Evagrius’ Acedia
Author(s) -
Aijian J. L.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the heythrop journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.127
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1468-2265
pISSN - 0018-1196
DOI - 10.1111/heyj.13175
Subject(s) - contemplation , epistemology , ideal (ethics) , stadium , philosophy , conceptual schema , state (computer science) , sociology , conceptual history , computer science , law , mathematics , political science , linguistics , politics , algorithm , recall , geometry
The definition of acedia presents unique conceptual problems among the eight Evagrian logismoi . Its descriptions are so complex and varied as to render the concept seemingly incoherent. This article argues that the conceptual unity of acedia has been obscured by the translation of Evagrian logismoi into the ‘deadly sins’ tradition, resulting in a category error. Acedia is more properly understood, not as a psychological state or a sin, but rather as an array of demonic temptations with the unifying end‐goal of interrupting the anchoritic ideal of sustained contemplation.