Evagrius of Pontus and Gregory of Nyssa have been overlooked by philosophers and theologians in modern times. This book argues that in Evagrius and Gregory we see the important integration of many different concerns that later Christian thought was not always able to balance including: mysticism, asceticism, cognitive science, and theology.
This book makes accessible, to a wide audience, the thought of Evagrius and Gregory on the soul, in the context of ancient philosophy/theology and the Cappadocians generally. Corrigan argues that in these two figures we witness the birth of new forms of thought and of empirical science in a new key. Evagrius and Gregory are no mere receivers of a monolithic pagan and Christian tradition, but innovative, critical interpreters on the range and limits of cognitive psychology, the soul-body relation, reflexive self-knowledge, personal and human identity and the soul's practical relation to goodness in the context of human experience and divine self-disclosure. This book provides a critical evaluation of their thought on these major issues and argues that in Evagrius and Gregory we see the important integration of many different concerns that later Christian thought was not always able to balance including: mysticism, asceticism, cognitive science, philosophy, and theology.
'This is the first scholarly attempt to compare the spiritual anthropology of Evagrius of Pontus and Gregory of Nyssa. According to Kevin Corrigan these two towering figures of the late fourth-century church brought to birth a new understanding of Christian thought and practice by their innovative interpretation of the tradition they both received.' Journal of Theological Studies '... this book is an intriguing, lively, and thoroughly enlightening consideration of the thinking of two philosopher-theologians of the late fourth century. ... In my view, Corrigan's work can lead to a reinvigorated discussion of these two writers, still challenging and undomesticated thanks to their own intelligence and creativity.' Journal of Religion '... a most stimulating and thoughtful book, which sheds considerable light on each of these interesting thinkers and on the links between them.' Aestimatio
