Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity examines the various ways in which Christian intellectuals engaged with Platonism both as a pagan competitor and as a source of philosophical material useful to the Christian faith. The chapters are united in their goal to explore transformations that took place in the reception and interaction process between Platonism and Christianity in this period. -/- The contributions in this volume explore the reception of Platonic material in Christian thought, showing that the transmission of (...) cultural content is always mediated, and ought to be studied as a transformative process by way of selection and interpretation. Some chapters also deal with various aspects of the wider discussion on how Platonic, and Hellenic, philosophy and early Christian thought related to each other, examining the differences and common ground between these traditions. -/- Platonism and Christian Thought in Late Antiquity offers an insightful and broad ranging study on the subject, which will be of interest to students of both philosophy and theology in the Late Antique period, as well as anyone working on the reception and history of Platonic thought, and the development of Christian thought. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to focus on the reception of Plotinus’ concept of matter in the Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno and his early Italian dialogue De la causa, principio et uno. I argue that Bruno’s concept of materia in De la causa, principio et uno reflects Plotinus’ theory of intelligible matter in Ennead ii 4 [12] 2–5 as well as Plotinus’ positive view of the perceptible world in Enneads ii 9 [33] and iv 8 [6]. It is suggested (...) that Bruno interprets Plotinus as an ancient philosopher who supported the unity and homogeneity of matter. Giordano Bruno’s reception of Plotinus in De la Causa, principio et uno could enlighten contemporary discussions in Neoplatonic studies concerning the question of matter in the Enneads. (shrink)

Les rapports de la philologie et de l'herméneutique ont toujours constitué un problème d'une redoutable complexité. Ce sont en effet les mêmes textes qui ont engendré à la période moderne le développement de la pensée de l'interprétation et les méthodes de la critique. L'espoir de parvenir à la formulation satisfaisante et définitive du sens d'un texte se trouve constamment différé par la production incessante d'interprétations nouvelles, qui utilisent souvent les ressources de la philologie pour se constituer et qui entrent en (...) rivalité avec les précédentes. On peut se réjouir de ce caractère immarcescible du procès de l'interprétation, on peut aussi déplorer les échecs répétés de la philologie à le freiner. Il y a en effet quelque légitimité à affirmer que la philologie travaille ultimement contre l'herméneutique, c'est-à-dire contre le déploiement infini de l'interprétation. (shrink)