Stanisław Kamiński’s Philosophy as Christian Philosophy

This article argues that Kaminski’s concept of philosophy meets the requirements for being a Christian philosophy as articulated by John Paul II. In the encyclical letter Fides et Ratio, John Paul II affirmed the possibility, existence, meaning, and need for a Christian philosophy. He distinguished three stances of philosophy concerning the Christian faith. First, philosophy should be completely independent of the Biblical Revelation but implicitly open to the supernatural. A second stance adopted by philosophy is often designated as Christian philosophy. Third, philosophy presents another stance that is closely related to theology. Kamiński constructed an understanding of philosophy that is original, universal, and autonomous. Such a notion of philosophy (and its methodology) was based on the classical theory of being, which fulfils the demand for the autonomy of philosophy through its relationship with faith. Kamiński’s doctrinal standpoints in philosophy are rational, objective, and universal. According to him, philosophy is also compatible with the Christian faith. In this sense, one can speak of his philosophy as a Christian philosophy. --------------- Received: 22/04/2021. Reviewed: 06/09/2021. Accepted: 23/10/2021.

Nemesius of Emesa on Desire, Pleasure, and Sex

This article investigates the views of Nemesius, the bishop of Emesa in Roman Syria at the end of the fourth century CE, on desire, pleasure, and sex, mainly from his work, De natura hominis, asking specifically how Nemesius’s account represents what we might term the “medical making” of an early Christian sexual culture. Nat. hom. was most likely composed at the end of the fourth century CE, and represents the first full and formal Christian anthropology, incorporating views from Christian and non-Christian philosophy (especially Plato and Aristotle) and, of course, extensively utilising (and often even quoting verbatim) ancient medical literature (especially Galen). The study commences by providing a descriptive account of Nemesius’s framework on the dynamics of desire, pleasure, and sex, and then draws some conclusions on how these views of Nemesius translate into a very particular Christian sexual culture in late antique Syria.

Eleonora Ziemięcka, the First Polish Woman Philosopher: On the Essence and the Role of Philosophical Thinking

Eleonora Ziemięcka (1815-1869) is considered the first Polish woman philosopher. She represented Christian philosophy. She expressed her philosophical views most profoundly in a work Zarysy filozofii katolickiej w czterech poglądach zawarte [Outlines of Catholic Philosophy Included in Four Views]. She also spoke about the education of women, to which she devoted the work Myśli o wychowaniu kobiet [Thoughts on Education of Women]. In the text Myśli o filozofii [Thoughts on Philosophy], published in 1840, she presented her thoughts on the essence and role of philosophy. It is this issue that is discussed in this article.

Thomist Advice to Christian Philosophers

In Advice to Christian philosophers (1984) Alvin Plantinga suggested that Christians who propose to be philosophers should not limit themselves to being philosophers who happen, incidentally, to be Christians. Instead, they should develop a Christian philosophy. From this, however, a problem followed, which is still seen as a reason to deny that a Christian philosophy is possible. It seems implausible that the outcome of the interaction between faith and philosophy is, really, philosophy and not merely theology. Plantinga did not deal with this problem. Unlike him, thinkers of various orientations, especially scholars of Thomas Aquinas, had discussed it during the French querelle in the 1930s. In this article, I argue that they did not solve this problem because they did not examine the relationship between faith and philosophy by considering what faith requires in order to relate to reason. Instead, this consideration was suggested by Plantinga’s Advice and, long before, it had been developed in detail by Thomas Aquinas. It is, therefore, time to propose Thomist Advice to Christian Philosophers.

“Nous alone enters from outside” - Aristotelian embryology and early Christian philosophy

In a work entitled On the Generation of Animals, Aristotle remarks that “intellect (nous) alone enters from outside (thurathen)”. Interpretations of this passage as dualistic dominate the history of ideas and allow for a joining together of Platonic and Aristotelian doctrine on the soul. This, however, pulls against the well-known Aristotelian position that soul and body are intertwined and interdependent. The most influential interpretations thereby misrepresent Aristotle’s view on soul and lack any real engagement with his embryology. This paper seeks to extract the account of intellect (nous) in Aristotelian embryology from this interpretative background and place it within the context of his mature biological thought. A clear account of the actual import of this statement in its relevant context is given before explaining how it has been misunderstood by various interpretative traditions. The paper finishes by touching on how early commentary by Christian writers, freed as it was from the imperative to synthesise Greek philosophy, differed from those that came after. While realising that Aristotle’s position would not aid them in their explanations of the soul’s survival after death, their engagement with Aristotle’s science allowed for other aspects of theology concerning the fittingness of soul to body.

Scriptural Exegesis or Speculative Philosophy

Summary Dogmatic debates in early Christianity shaped philosophical discourse just as Greek philosophy offered the conceptual tools to engage and, accordingly to crystalize early Christian practice, into a formal system of belief. Thus, in the recently-published The Rise of Christian Theology and the End of Ancient Metaphysics, Johannes Zachhuber notes that “Patristic thought as a whole can be identified as a Christian philosophy.” Following suit – though not without nuance – this paper suggests treating Patristic scriptural exegesis as an exercise of speculative philosophy, as evidenced in Augustine’s interpretation of the figure of the cross at Eph 3.18, where the cross progressively becomes a simple yet compelling paradigm of divine manifestation. This paradigm can be framed according to Augustine’s mature articulation of the ‘ontological principle’ of manifestation in s. 165: “From the depth which you cannot see rises everything that you can see.” By engaging in scriptural exegesis, within a gestalt where Wisdom, sacred and profane alike, merge in the incarnate God manifest in Christ, Augustine articulates unprecedented philosophical principles.