(The Research of Byzantine Philosophy in Europe and Slovakia)

Abstract: Increased interest in a systematic study of Byzantine philosophy study started to appear from mid-20th century onward. The most influential figure that helped develop this area of research the most in its early formative years was V. Tatakis. Tatakis uncovered the great value of Byzantine civilization and became an inspiration for scholars who followed in his footsteps in France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Greece and elsewhere. The critical edition of Byzantine commentaries on Aristotle published during this time further supported a more complex scientific work in this field. Many unpublished philosophical text from the Byzantine era await their processing and publishing in a critical edition, which would make them available to be further examined, studied, and included in the corpus of Byzantine philosophy. The Byzantine thinkers created a cosmology that became foundational for Byzantine anthropology. On the level of ontology, they introduced the term “person” (πρόσωπον), defined what later became an established terminology (in this field), and contributed to the philosophical interpretation of terms, such as essence (οὐσία), hypostasis (ὑπόστασις), nature (φύσις), energy (ἐνέργεια) and others. Byzantium had a significant impact on the territory of Great Moravia as well. By virtue of the writing, culture, and art that had been brought to our area by Constantine the Philosopher (Cyril) and Method, conditions for the development of culture in the Slavic environment were established.

Authors: Zozuľak, Ján

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2017.10.1.3-11

Publication order reference: prof. ThDr. Ján Zozuľak, PhD.; Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Faculty of Arts, Hodžova 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2017, vol.: 10, issue: 1, pages: 3-11 (PDF file)

Key words: BYZANTINOLOGY, BYZANTINE PHILOSOPHY, CONSTANTINE-CYRIL, METHODIUS, GREAT MORAVIA, ROMAN EMPIRE, BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Language: SLOVAK