Metaphysics of Light in the Hexaemeral Literature - From Philo of Alexandria to Gregory of Nyssa

This volume critically re-evaluates the received interpretation of the nature of light in the ancient sources. The view that vision had priority over light is rejected in favour of a luminocentric reading of philosophical and theological cosmology in late antiquity.

List of contents

• Introduction


• 1: 'From Sight to Light': A Hexaemeral Guide for the Perplexed


• 2: The Light of the World: Hexaemeral Physics and Anti-Physics


• 3: The Nature of Light: The Dawn of the First Material Form


• Conclusions


• Appendices

About the author

Isidoros Charalampos Katsos studied law in Athens, Paris, and Berlin, where he acquired a PhD in Human Rights, Environmental Law, and Sustainable Development (Dr. Jur.). He then studied theology in Athens and Cambridge, where he acquired a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Patristics under the supervision of Rowan Williams. He has held academic positions in Cambridge and Jerusalem, and is currently a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford and a Junior Research Fellow at Campion Hall, Oxford. He has worked as a lawyer in Athens and Brussels, and is a Greek-Orthodox priest bearing the title of Archimandrite.

Summary

This volume critically re-evaluates the received interpretation of the nature of light in the ancient sources. The view that vision had priority over light is rejected in favour of a luminocentric reading of philosophical and theological cosmology in late antiquity.

Additional text

This thoughtful book results from a doctoral dissertation supervised by Rowan Williams and analyses a smallbut widely connected part of the intellectual trajectory of the 'metaphysics of light', starting from Philo andproceeding with Origen and his admirers, Basil of Caesarea and Gregory Nyssen.

Product details

• Authors: Katsos , Isidoros C. Katsos, Isidoros C. (University of Oxford) Katsos
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2022
• EAN: 9780192869197
• ISBN: 978-0-19-286919-7
• No. of pages: 262
• Series: Oxford Early Christian Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; PHILOSOPHY / Religious, SCIENCE / History, PHILOSOPHY / Metaphysics, RELIGION / Christianity / History, RELIGION / Philosophy, RELIGION / Christianity / General, Christianity, History of Religion, History of Science, Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology, Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology, Philosophy of religion