History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

Episode 104 — "Let's Talk Turkey: The Cappadocians"

Host: Peter Adamson
Release Date: November 25, 2012

Episode Overview

In this episode, Peter Adamson explores the influential family of Christian thinkers from Cappadocia—Macrina, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus—known as the Cappadocians. The discussion centers around their unique philosophical and theological contributions, particularly in the context of debates about the nature of the Trinity and the challenge of understanding God's essence. Adamson weaves in their intellectual indebtedness to earlier Christian and pagan philosophy, while examining their ethical innovations and rhetorical approaches—especially their focus on charity and the unknowability of God.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Philosophical Families: Setting the Stage

• Adamson opens with a playful comparison between famous musical and philosophical families, eventually positioning the Cappadocians as perhaps the greatest philosophical siblings ("the greatest philosophical siblings of all time were Christians who hailed from Cappadocia" [03:05]).

2. Biographical Sketches: The Cappadocian Family

• Macrina: The eldest sibling, a formative spiritual influence; guided her brothers towards religious life. Presented by Gregory of Nyssa as a “Christian Socrates” ([04:00]).
  • "She is shown on her deathbed using arguments to convince Gregory not to grieve" ([04:32]).
• Basil of Caesarea: Studied in Athens, chose monastic life, became bishop in Caesarea; led doctrinal battles in the fourth-century church.
• Gregory of Nyssa: Basil’s brother; more philosophically inclined, engaged in theological debate.
• Gregory of Nazianzus: Close friend, also bishop; renowned rhetorician; reluctant to accept public religious roles but produced classic defenses of Christian orthodoxy.

3. Intellectual Influences & Theological Context

• Deeply influenced by the teachings of Origen (with adaptations), as well as classical rhetoric and philosophy.
• Their forebear, Gregory Thaumaturgos (“the Wonder Worker”), transmitted Origenist thought to Cappadocia.

4. The Cappadocians as Ethical Innovators

• Charity to the Poor: Gregory of Nazianzus’ oratory urging compassion for lepers stands out for both emotional and philosophical appeal.
  • Memorable moment: "He speaks of how lepers become so disfigured that they must cry out their own names so that their former friends will be able to recognize them" ([10:44]).
• Contrasts Christian ethics with that of pagan Platonists and philosophers:
  • "Epictetus never told us that we need to devote our lives to the care of the poor... As soon as Gregory begins his oration by referring to St. Paul's Triad of Virtues, faith, hope, and love, we realize that we are in a new ethical territory" ([12:32]).
• Ethical Precept from Plato: Both Gregorys advocate “Imitate God insofar as is possible” ([15:03]), but for them, God is to be imitated by selfless love for others—not self-perfection, but pouring out oneself for the disadvantaged.

5. Theological Debates: The Trinity Controversy

• Centered on reconciling Christian monotheism with the doctrine of the Trinity.
• Outlines the positions:
  • Arianism: Son is of different substance (heterousios) from Father.
  • Sabellianism: God is one, the Trinity is just modes of expression—not real distinctions.
  • Cappadocian Solution: Explaining “same in substance” (homoousios) from Nicaea by analogy to three humans sharing one nature—unity in essence, distinction in person ([24:03]).
  • "Gregory of Nyssa gave the analogy of three humans who share the same nature of humanity. As Aristotle himself said in his Categories, the universal humanity is itself a sort of substance, which makes it parallel to the single substance of the Godhead" ([24:40]).

6. Language, Names, and Knowing God

• Key adversary: Eunomius, who claimed that names reveal the very essence of things, including God (based on a "naturalist" theory of language) ([26:38]).
• Basil’s Response: Aligns with Aristotle—names are conventional, not universally revealing. Words and language refer only to concepts in our minds, not the actual substance of things ([29:18]).
  • "The names we use can get us only as far as these notions. Never do we find language actually revealing the essence of a thing. It only signifies the way those things are conceptualized in our minds" ([30:24]).
• This seems to lead to skepticism, but Basil clarifies that while we cannot know a thing’s essence, we can identify and keep track of it—key for both theology and epistemology ([31:58]).

7. The Unknowability of God

• The Cappadocians emphasize that God's essence is ultimately unknowable, yet paradoxically, this does not preclude a form of knowledge through experience, moral action, or indirect attributes ([32:45]).
• Gregory of Nyssa’s Solution: Our longing for God is infinite because God is infinite; blessedness is continual progress toward God, never full satisfaction ([34:18]).
  • "Just as in mathematics, a curve may approach a straight line and get indefinitely closer without ever touching it. So the blessed soul comes ever closer to understanding God completely, without this desire ever being fully satisfied." ([34:55])
• This vision redefines the relationship of philosophy, desire, and theology in Christian terms.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Macrina as Christian Socrates:
  "She is shown on her deathbed using arguments to convince Gregory not to grieve at her imminent death." — Peter Adamson ([04:30])

• On Christian ethics versus pagan philosophy:
  "As soon as Gregory begins his oration by referring to St. Paul's Triad of Virtues, faith, hope, and love, we realize that we are in a new ethical territory." — Peter Adamson ([12:32])

• Ethics of Imitating God:
  "Gregory repeatedly invokes an ethical precept from Plato. Imitate God insofar as is possible. But his God is a very different one from Plato's—a God who is best imitated by loving one's fellow man without concern for oneself" — Peter Adamson ([15:03])

• On the Trinity analogy:
  "Gregory of Nyssa gave the analogy of three humans who share the same nature of humanity. As Aristotle himself said in his Categories, the universal humanity is itself a sort of substance..." — Peter Adamson ([24:40])

• On Basil’s philosophy of language:
  "The names we use can get us only as far as these notions. Never do we find language actually revealing the essence of a thing." — Peter Adamson ([30:24])

• Gregory of Nyssa on infinite progress toward God:
  "So the blessed soul comes ever closer to understanding God completely, without this desire ever being fully satisfied." — Peter Adamson ([34:55])

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Introduction and famous families analogy | | 03:05 | The Cappadocian family and Macrina’s influence | | 04:30 | Gregory’s portrayal of Macrina as a Christian Socrates | | 10:44 | Gregory of Nazianzus' speech on the poor and lepers | | 12:32 | Ethics: Christian charity vs. pagan philosophy | | 15:03 | “Imitate God”—Christian reinterpretation | | 24:03 | Trinity debate: The Cappadocians’ solution | | 24:40 | Analogy of three humans and unity of substance | | 26:38 | Language and the nature of names: Eunomius’ theory | | 29:18 | Basil's Aristotelian philosophy of language | | 31:58 | Limitations of language: identifying vs. knowing essence | | 32:45 | Knowing God through attributes, not substance | | 34:18 | Gregory of Nyssa: unending progress in knowing the infinite God | | 34:55 | Mathematical analogy—eternal approach to knowledge of God |

Conclusion

This episode offers a lively and insightful introduction to the Cappadocian Fathers, highlighting their contributions to theology, philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of language. Adamson demonstrates how these thinkers transformed inherited traditions, establishing foundations for subsequent Christian philosophy and exploring enduring dilemmas about language, knowledge, and the nature of divinity—all without any gaps.

For more information and further episodes, visit www.historyofphilosophy.net