Toward the philosophy of creation: Maximus the confessor

• Main Author: Cvetković Vladimir
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade 2011-01-01
• Series: Filozofija i Društvo
• Subjects: Maximus the Confessor; creation; pre-eternal logoi of beings; movement; deification
• Online Access: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2011/0353-57381104127C.pdf

The article aims to present the philosophical argumentation in favor of the Christian idea of the creation of the world exposed in the work of the seventh century author Maximus the Confessor. Maximus the Confessor developed his doctrine of creation on the basis of the philosophical arguments of his Christian predecessors, above all, Gregory of Nyssa, Nemesius of Emesa and Dionysius the Areopagite. The core of Maximus’ argumentation on the creation of the world is similar to the position of the Alexandrian philosopher John Philoponus (6th century), but it is additionally enriched with ideas deriving from the works of the aforementioned Christian authors. Some of the ideas that form the scaffolding of Maximus’ doctrine of creation are: the fivefold division of beings, which has its climax in the division between the created and uncreated nature, the movement of creatures towards God, who alone is the true goal of their movement, the eternal existence of the world in logoi as expressions of divine will, God’s providential care not only for the universal but also for the individual beings and the deification of the entire created world as the initial purpose of creation. Maximus’ views on creation are conveyed in a language that combines Aristotelian, Stoic and Neoplatonist philosophical vocabulary.