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Root number
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520995 |
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Semester
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HS2026 |
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Type of course
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Block Course |
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Allocation to subject
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Theology |
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Type of exam
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Oral exam |
| Title |
Intellection and divine knowledge. Philosophy and Theology in Late Antiquity |
| Description |
The course consists of three sections:
I. Introduction. Creation and Generation. The Function of the Iconic Image, the Divinity of the Intellect. (Lessons 1–5)
II. Knowledge of Man, Divine Knowledge (Lessons 6–10)
III. The Trinity. Acts and Power, Hypostasis and Relationship (Lessons 11–13)
Three theoretical questions will be addressed in turn in the three proposed series:
- Is creation a philosophical question, or does it presuppose a theological approach from the outset? Image and likeness play a crucial role here; they establish the primary categories of being—identity and otherness—as well as the relationships of reciprocity and reflexivity that are decisive in the creation of the human being and in humanity’s relationship to itself and to the divine. Depending on the two ways of conceiving creation—as production, poiêsis (by a demiurge), or as generation, genesis (by the Father)—a specific relationship to time is established and a measure is provided, though this does not necessarily imply a “before” and an “end.” Creation also raises two major questions: that of the logos, reason, and expression, as well as that of causality (divine and necessary for Plato, efficient and final causes for Aristotle, the first cause for Proclus).
- Why does the thought of the divine distinguish between intellect and knowledge? The fundamental nature of the intellect and its relationship to the soul determine this possibility. The soul responds through the passion (or affection) of perception and through the logos. It reveals itself by possessing the threefold capacity to know itself (it is fundamentally the seat of consciousness), to manifest or express (language, image), and to move toward union with the intellect, making this union the ultimate act of knowledge. But conceiving the divine through intellection (by identifying thought with the divine) and through knowledge (by making the divine an object of thought) does not preclude the experience of the divine as long as the soul is guided by the intellect and does not separate from it. The soul assigns to the intellect its power to unite with the divine in its very nature, which is dynamic and living.
- What is the theoretical relationship between the first cause or divine cause and the hypostasis as the union between the essential foundation (ousia) and the existential manifestation? Do causal procession and the triadic conception assign an ontological status to the divine? The concepts of act, power, and relation provide specific answers to these questions. Causality is called into question (sic) by revelation or the given. But there is a lingering effect, an energeia of power to which the given belongs, and this energeia (or “hypostasis of power,” according to Plotinus) constitutes the condition of the union and also ensures the possibility of return—or at least the apprehension within the revealed or the given of a first cause that subsists as a hypostasis within the caused. This structure is triadic, for a single outward movement and a single return are not sufficient; between them lies a link that animates and guides the movement.
These three questions intersect around the divide between transcendence—or the surpassing of ousia—and divinity, which responds existentially by hypostasizing a divine ousia.
Main authors studied: Philo of Alexandria, Plotinus, Porphyry, Marius Victorinus, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus. Key authors: Plato (Timaeus), Aristotle (Metaphysics L). |
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ILIAS-Link (Learning resource for course)
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Registrations are transmitted from CTS to ILIAS (no admission in ILIAS possible).
ILIAS
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Link to another web site
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| Lecturers |
Prof. Dr.
Anca-Rada Vasiliu, Faculty of Theology - Dean's Office ✉
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ECTS
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3 |
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Recognition as optional course possible
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Yes |
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Grading
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1 to 6 |
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| Dates |
Wednesday 16/9/2026 18:15-20:00
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Thursday 17/9/2026 10:15-12:00
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Thursday 17/9/2026 14:15-16:00
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Friday 18/9/2026 10:15-12:00
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Friday 18/9/2026 14:15-16:00
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Wednesday 18/11/2026 18:15-20:00
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Thursday 19/11/2026 10:15-12:00
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Thursday 19/11/2026 14:15-16:00
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Friday 20/11/2026 10:15-12:00
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Friday 20/11/2026 14:15-16:00
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Thursday 10/12/2026 18:15-20:00
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Friday 11/12/2026 10:15-12:00
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Friday 11/12/2026 14:15-16:00
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Rooms
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| External rooms |
Länggassstrasse 51, 2. Stock, Raum A206
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Lerchenweg 36, Raum F-121
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Lerchenweg 36, Raum F-123
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| Students please consult the detailed view for complete information on dates, rooms and planned podcasts. |
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