God's Acting, Man's Acting: Tradition and Philosophy in Philo of Alexandria (Studies in Philo of Alexandria)

The topic tackled in this book is Philo’s account of the complex, double-sided nature of God’s acting - the two-sided coin of God as transcendent yet immanent, unknowable yet revealed, immobile yet creating - and also the two sides of acting in humans - who, in an attempt to imitate God, both contemplate and produce. In both contexts, divine and human, Philo considers that it would not be proper to give precedence to either side - the result would be barren. God’s acting and man’s acting are at the same time both speculative and practical, and it is precisely out of this co-presence that the order of the world unfolds. Philo considers this two-sided condition as a source of complexity and fertility. Francesca Calabi argues that, far from being an irresolvable contradiction, Philo’s two-fold vision is the key to understanding his works. It constitutes a richness that rejects reduction to apparently incompatible forms and aspects. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Abbreviations......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 PART ONE: THE NATURE OF GOD......Page 16 1. Plato and the Bible. Ontology and Theology in Philo......Page 18 2. Simplicity and Absence of Qualities in God......Page 32 3. Unknowability of God......Page 54 Appendix 1: The dazzling Light: A Metaphor on the Unknowability of God......Page 72 PART TWO: THE MEDIATION ACTIVITY......Page 86 4. The Powers of God. Seraphim, Cherubim and Powers in Philo of Alexandria......Page 88 5. Roles and Figures of Mediation......Page 126 6. The Snake and the Horseman — Pleasure and Sophrosyne in Philo of Alexandria......Page 142 PART THREE: GOD AS A MODEL......Page 168 7. Happiness and Contemplation. The Contemplative Life......Page 170 Conclusion......Page 198 Appendix 2: Philo of Alexandria and Ecphantus’ Peri Basileias......Page 200 Appendix 3: Galen and Moses......Page 232 Bibliography......Page 248 Indiex of Ancient Authors and Texts......Page 262 Index of Modern Authors......Page 278