Via Negativa - Character analysis in A Level and IB Philosophy

Skip to content

Get Revising

Created by: leahjayne97
Created on: 29-03-16 20:43

The apophatic way

Pseudo-Dionysuis

Also known as the via negativa
Based on the equivocal approach to language
Suggests that the divine is ineffable
It is only possible to talk about God by saying what He is not
The human language is inadequate when trying to attribute traits to God

5th Century Christian writer
Speaks of God as being beyond assertion and ability to describe
Making positive statements about God leads to anthropomorphising Him
To say that God is good limits his goodness as it places a boundary as to what humans perceive to be good

Maimonides

Plotinus

Jewish philosopher of the 12th Century
Emphasises the use of negative language to describe God
Pointed out that humans can know that God exists, but not any of his qualities as He is not like humans
He suggested that this way of speaking about God can be found in Jewish scripture
God is described "I am who I am" - he is beyond description

3rd Century neo-Platonist philosopher
Used the apophatic way to describe the form of the good
He argued that this form is in a separate world and so unknowable
This links to ideas of God because much like the form of the good, God should also be kept separate

Comments

No comments have yet been made