St. John of Damascus: A Philosopher in a Post-Chalcedonian Context

摘要

The Council of Chalcedon (451) marked a turning point for Patristic theology. For some Christians, the council signaled the end of debates about Christ's person and natures, while for others it became the focal point for successive theology. Contemporary scholarship explains that after Chalcedon, Patristic theology slowly replaced theological treatises with florilegia . At the same time theologians began to separate theology and philosophy. They relegated philosophy to a secondary role and used it as an instrument for upholding Chalcedonian doctrine. These two trends are said to culminate in the writings of John Damascene (d. ca. 750).;In this dissertation, I use John's philosophical and theological heritage to explain the purpose of his writings. I begin with what we know about John's life and writings, followed by an overview of the traditions that informed his writings. Next, I compare John's writings to his sources, with careful attention to shared vocabulary, manuscript traditions, and borrowed themes in order to show which sources John most likely consulted. I then propose a system to help explain John's relation to his sources, using mimesis criticism as a guide. I apply these guidelines to John's writings to illuminate how he borrows from his sources and how to interpret this relationship. I argue that John is best understood as a writer in his own right and with his own agenda, not through his ability to compile sources or for his contributions for later theology.;Though John uses his sources to great success, I determine that he is not concerned only with safeguarding their place as authorities for Christian Tradition. His writings demonstrate that theological ideas were not fixed after the Council of Chalcedon; rather, they continued to be refined into the eighth century. Furthermore, I conclude that he does not separate philosophy from theology as two separate fields of studies, nor does he use philosophy simply as a tool for explaining difficult theological concepts. Instead, he assimilates philosophy into his writings as an integral part of his thought. Thus he presents himself as someone who engages philosophical and theological traditions and makes them his own.