Open AccessPseudo-Denys the Areopagite on Divine Unity and Infinity : A Philosophical Analysis of On the Divine Names VIII and X-XII
Author(s) -
Miklós Vassányi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vallástudományi szemle
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2939-6336
pISSN - 1786-4062
DOI - 10.55193/rs.2021.1.84
Subject(s) - harmony (color) , infinity , philosophy , divine providence , creativity , context (archaeology) , statement (logic) , epistemology , theology , mathematics , history , law , art , mathematical analysis , archaeology , political science , visual arts
In this paper, I propose to philosophically analyze how Denys conceives especially of divine unity and infinity in some of the closing parts of his major work On the Divine Names. In particular, I will argue that Part VIII understands divine infinity in terms of unbounded creativity; that Part X views God as the principle of cosmic unity; that Part XI points us to God as the source of overwhelming harmony; while Part XII – leading the way to Denys’ ultimate statement on the insufficiency of the divine names – looks at God as “ever receding.” After spelling out in more specific terms what these insights reveal to us of the Areopagite’s philosophical theology, I will try to put that theology into the broader historical context of Denys’ complex relationship with Neoplatonism, hoping in this manner to contribute to a hypothetical reconstruction of his intellectual profile.