Deification in Classical Greek Philosophy and the Bible

To be human is to strive to be better, and we cannot be better without knowing what is best. In ancient Greek philosophy and the Bible, what is best is god. Plato and Aristotle argue that the goal of human life is to become as much like god as is humanly possible. Despite its obvious importance, this theme of assimilation to god has been neglected in Anglo-American scholarship. Classical Greek philosophy is best understood as a religious quest for divinity by means of rational discipline. By showing how Greek philosophy grows out of ancient Greek religion and how the philosophical quest for god compares to the biblical quest, we see Plato and Aristotle properly as major religious thinkers. In their shared quest for divine perfection, Greek philosophy and the Bible have enough in common to make their differences deeply illuminating.

List of contents

Introduction: Why better implies best; 1. Theology as anthropology, anthropology as theology; 2. Heroic deification in Ancient Greek religion; 3. Ironic deification in Socrates; 4. Civic deification in Plato; 5. Developmental deification in Aristotle; 6. Deification as loving union with God in the Bible; Conclusion: Athens and Jerusalem.

About the author

JAMES BERNARD MURPHY is Professor of Government at Dartmouth College. He is also the author of How to Think Politically (with Graeme Garrard, 2019) and Haunted by Paradise: A Philosopher's Quest for Biblical Answers to Key Moral Questions (2021).

Product details

• Authors: James Bernard Murphy, James Bernard (Dartmouth College Murphy, Murphy James Bernard
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.07.2024
• EAN: 9781009392921
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0939292-1
• No. of pages: 378
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; PHILOSOPHY / Religious, BIBLES / General, RELIGION / Christianity / History, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, RELIGION / Christian Theology / General, RELIGION / Philosophy, Theology, Christian theology, History of Religion, Philosophy of religion, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500, New Testaments