Person and Eros

Holy Cross Orthodox Press, April 2008. Paper Back. New. The material presented in this book is the first English translation of original work going back to 1970. The long evolution is understandable, due to the unprecedented nature of the project, especially before the work of John Zizioulas became known. Yannaras, using Martin Heidegger as his modern philosophical referent, and major Eastern fathers such as Gregory of Nyssa, John of Damascus, and Maximus the Confessor as ancient authorities and mentors, attempts to present such fundamental philosophical categories as Being and Person, and the relationship between them, in an Orthodox context. Heidegger had revivified the neglected study of ontology, emphasizing the relation rather than difference between person and Being, thus providing the Western thinker 'a very good starting-point for entering into the Greek East's understanding of essence or nature' and a corrective to Scholasticism. In Yannaras' view, the tendency of the Scholastic tradition to approach Being primarily as an object of rational thinking immediately places the person at a remove from Being, rather than in a position of participation. In a lecture years after the publication of this book, Yannaras appealed for a contrasting kind of knowledge, one that 'will enable me to communicate with [the divine] person. . . the knowledge of the person, is an outburst, an explosion of freedom' - indeed, the 'eros' in the title of this book. Philosophy then is transformed into theology, becoming not simply knowledge about, but a way into personal relation with God. Let it be clear: <i>Person and Eros</i> is a difficult work, assuming a working knowledge of fundamental philosophical terminology. But those with the necessary determination and patience can listen in on an unusual conversation between ancient and modern philosophy and Orthodox theology.