An ontological freedom : the origins of the notion in Gregory of Nyssa and its influence unto the Italian Renaissance

"This book explores the invention, significance and actual history of self-creative freedom from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance. Gregory of Nyssa, the great Cappadocian Father of the IV century, is not as yet deemed one of the outstanding figures in our Histories of Philosophy. However, this monograph argues that his remarkable theories of freedom transcend his own time and, traversing centuries of Medieval and Byzantine history, they become one of the core theoretical inspirations for the anthropological revolution of the Quattrocento, as evinced in eminent philosophers such as Nicholas of Cusa and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. Our research methodology integrates a thorough study of the Greek and Latin sources - resorting to Philology, Palaeography and Codicology - with a systematic historical and philosophical analysis of different theories and argumentative strategies."-- Publisher's website Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction Previous Scholarship on Nyssen’s Theory of Freedom and the Reception of Patristic Sources Purpose and Structure of This Study Gregory of Nyssa: a Biographical Sketch Part I Gregory of Nyssa’s Conception of Freedom and Its Medieval Fate in the East and the West Chapter 1: Gregory’s Theory of Ontological Freedom: Philosophical Antecedents and Originality 1.1 Human Being’s Position in the Cosmos 1.2 The Image of God in Humanity as Freedom. Its Quasi-divine Character 1.3 The New Notion of Hypostasis Applied to God and Humankind 1.4 Towards a ‘Personal’ and Creative Understanding of Decision and Agency 1.5 Authority and Decision Beyond Necessity and the Causal Order Chapter 2: The Presence of Nyssen’s Theory of Freedom in Medieval Authors 2.1 Nyssen’s Theory of Freedom in Byzantine Authors 2.2 The First Two Latin Translations of De opificio hominis: Dionysius Exiguus and John Scotus Eriugena 2.3 The Circle of Alcuin and the Libri Carolini 2.4 Gregory of Nyssa’s Anthropology in Eriugena and Honorius Augustodunensis 2.5 The Cistercian School: William of St. Thierry and Bernard of Clairvaux 2.6 The Authors of the 13th Century 2.7 The 14th and Early 15th Centuries Part II The Reception and Translation of Gregory of Nyssa’s Texts in the Italian 15th Century Chapter 3: The New Latin Versions of Nyssen Made in Italy During the 15th Century 3.1 The Humanistic ‘Renaissance’ of the Translations of the Greek Fathers 3.2 The Latin Version of De vita Moysis by George of Trebizond 3.3 Pietro Balbi, Translator of the Dialogus de anima et resurrectione and De vita Macrinae 3.4 The Translation of De oratione dominica by Athanasius Chalkeopoulos Chapter 4: Nyssen’s Works and Earlier Translations in Quattrocento Public and Private Libraries 4.1 The Florentine Manuscript of Santo Spirito and the Circle of Luigi Marsili 4.2 The Textual Reception in Traversari. The Codex of Nyssen’s In Canticum canticorum 4.3 Direct and Indirect Reception of Nyssen’s Texts in Nicholas of Cusa 4.4 The Greek Manuscripts in Bessarion’s Roman Academy 4.5 Some of Nyssen’s Texts in Rome, Florence and Urbino 4.6 Gregory of Nyssa’s Textual Reception in Giovanni Pico Part III The Philosophical Influence of Nyssen’s Theory of Freedom on the Authors of the Quattrocento Chapter 5: Mind, Free Will and the Living Image of God: Gregory of Nyssa’s Anthropology in Nicholas of Cusa 5.1 The imago Dei viva and the Nature of the Mind 5.2 The Conception of Free Will 5.3 The Question of the Divine Character of Humanity Chapter 6: Indefinite Nature and Creative Freedom: Gregory of Nyssa as a Source for Giovanni Pico della Mirandola 6.1 Humanity’s Position in the Universe 6.2 The Indefinite Character of Human Nature 6.3 Self-creative Choice and Ontological Freedom 6.4 Possible Reasons for Pico’s Silence Regarding Gregory of Nyssa Chapter 7: Conclusion Bibliography Index of Manuscripts Index of Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Authors