Neoplatonism and the Church Fathers

[Doom]

Is there any truth to the common claim that many of the Fathers of the Church such as Augustine, Clement of Alexandria and Origen were influenced by Neoplatonist philosophy? Or that Plato had as big as an influence on Patristic and early Medieval theology as Aristotle had on Scholastic theology in later centuries?

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

It is very true. It wasn't until the time of Aquinas that the Church by and large switched to Aristotelianism (sp?) as a better tool to express theology.

[Vern Humphrey]

It is very true. It wasn't until the time of Aquinas that the Church by and large switched to Aristotelianism (sp?) as a better tool to express theology.

Prior to Aquinas, Aristotle's works were mostly unknown in the West -- they were "rediscovered" in Arabic translations brought back by the Crusaders.

In "The Name of the Rose" the blind librarian gives a sermon where he says, "There is no progress, only endless recapitulation" -- that's Platonism with the bark on it!

[Doom]

Aristotle wasn't "Unknown", he always had followers, but he and and other Greek writers became more popular when they were translated into Latin because that was the language of scholars, the revival of the Greek Language didn't start until the 15th century

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I agree with Vern.

[Doom]

I agree with Vern.

That Thomas Aquinas was the first person in 1,000 years ago who heard of Aristotle? That doesn't seem plausible.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

No, but his approach had fallen into disuse. Aquinas was thought to be a heretic because of his use of Aristotle.

[Vern Humphrey]

I agree with Vern.

That Thomas Aquinas was the first person in 1,000 years ago who heard of Aristotle? That doesn't seem plausible.

No, but much of Aristotle's writings were "lost" until discovered during the Crusades, often in Arabic translations.

[Doom]

I agree with Vern.

That Thomas Aquinas was the first person in 1,000 years ago who heard of Aristotle? That doesn't seem plausible.

No, but much of Aristotle's writings were "lost" until discovered during the Crusades, often in Arabic translations.

They were known, they weren't readable by many because knowledge of Classical Greek was lost, they only became knowable when they were translated into Latin

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

With the loss of the study of ancient Greek in the early medieval Latin West, Aristotle was practically unknown there from c. AD 600 to c. 1100 except through the Latin translation of the Organon made by Boethius. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, interest in Aristotle revived and Latin Christians had translations made, both from Arabic translations, such as those by Gerard of Cremona, and from the original Greek, such as those by James of Venice and William of Moerbeke. After the Scholastic Thomas Aquinas wrote his Summa Theologica, working from Moerbeke's translations and calling Aristotle "The Philosopher", the demand for Aristotle's writings grew, and the Greek manuscripts returned to the West, stimulating a revival of Aristotelianism in Europe that continued into the Renaissance.

[ThomisticCajunAggie]

It's also [potentially] interesting to note that Plato's writing also wasn't widely available at the time. I'm given to understand that the only dialogue that would have been widely available in Latin at St. Thomas's time was the Timaeus with more limited availability of the Meno and the Phaedo

[Doom]

Coincidentally, Classical Theist just posted a long video on the topic of the Neoplantonic influence on the Church Fathers

https://youtu.be/n7WASMkBH5M

[Closet Catholic]

I have worked specifically on the Neoplatonist influences in Christianity in my PhD (which has just been published). I argue there that Aquinas was, in many ways, also Platonic,* though specifically of an Augustinian and Dionysian bent. We see this particularly in the way he uses participation.

Of course, during the medieval period, people did know about differences between Platonic and Aristotelian approaches but they weren't so keen on specialisation as we are today. If Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, or Proclus said something right, it was right.

* He would, of course, not use the word 'Neoplatonic,' as it wasn't coined until the 19th century.