Gregory Palamas on the relationship between philosophy and theology

The relationship between philosophy and theology has rarely been a harmonious and fruitful one. The two disciplines are often segmented into mutually exclusive compartments. On the one hand, philosophers, particularly contemporary philosophers working within the Anglo-American analytic tradition, widely agree that the claims made by theologians – such as the claim that there is a God and that God is a trinity of persons – are meaningless, or false, or irrational, or unsupported by evidence, or in some other way epistemically below par. On the other hand, it is not unusual to find theologians following in the footsteps of writers such as Tertullian, Kierkegaard and Barth in arguing that, when it comes to theology, faith suffices and reason merely perverts.

The philosophy-theology dispute was no stranger to fourteenth-century Byzantium, particularly in the writings of the most prominent spiritual and intellectual figure of this period, viz., Gregory Palamas (c.1296-1359). In his debates with Barlaam of Calabria (c.1290-1348), Gregory Akindynos (c.1300-1348) and Nikephoros Gregoras (c.1290-c.1358), the issue of the appropriateness of employing philosophical terms and modes of reasoning in theology occupied a central place.[1] But before looking at how Palamas tackled this issue, it will be helpful, firstly, to briefly outline how the Christian world (especially in the East) prior to Palamas tended to see the relationship between secular learning (including philosophy) and theology; and secondly, to ascertain what exactly was Palamas’ conception of philosophy.

Meta-philosophy of religion : the analytic-continental divide in philosophy of religion

How is the philosophical study of religion best pursued? Responses to this meta-philosophical question tend to recapitulate the analytic-Continental divide in philosophy in general. My aim is to examine the nature of this divide, particularly as it has manifested itself in the philosophy of religion. I begin with a comparison of the stylistic differences in the language of the two traditions, taking the work of Alvin Plantinga and John Caputo as exemplars of the analytic and Continental schools respectively. In order to account for these stylistic divergences, however, it is necessary to delve further into meta-philosophy. I go on to show how each philosophical school models itself on different theoretical practices, the analytic school mimicking the scientific style of inquiry, while in Continental philosophy it is the arts and humanities rather than the sciences that provide the model for philosophical discourse. By situating themselves in such different genres,  analytic and Continental philosophers have developed contrasting, if not mutually exclusive, methods for pursuing the philosophy of religion.

Nietzsche as 'Europe's Buddha' and 'Asia's superman'

Nietzsche represents in an interesting way the well-worn Western approach to Asian philosophical and religious thinking: initial excitement, then neglect by appropriation, and swift rejection when found to be incompatible with one’s own tradition, whose roots are inexorably traced back to the ‘ancient’ Greeks. Yet, Nietzsche’s philosophical critique and methods - such as ‘perspectivism’ - offer an instructive route through which to better understand another tradition even if the sole purpose of this exercise is to perceive one’s own limitations through the eyes of the other: a self-destruktion of sorts. To help correct this shortcoming and begin the long overdue task of even-handed dialogue - or contemporary comparative philosophy - we will be served well by looking at Nietzsche’s mistakes, which in turn informed the tragic critic of the West of the last century, Martin Heidegger. We may learn here not to cast others in one’s own troubled image; and not to reverse cultural icons: Europe’s Superman, and Asia’s Buddha.

Electron backscattering diffraction analysis of an ancient wootz steel blade from central India

The electron backscattering diffraction technique was used to analyse the nature of carbides present in an ancient wootz steel blade. Bulky carbides, pro-eutectoid carbide along the prior austenite grain boundaries and fine spheroidized carbides were detected. Electron backscattering diffraction was employed to understand the texture of these carbides. The orientations of the cementite frequently occur in clusters, which points to a common origin of the members of the cluster. For the bands of coarse cementite, the origin is probably large coarse particles formed during the original cooling of the wootz cake. Pearlite formed earlier in the forging process has led to groups of similarly oriented fine cementite particles. The crystallographic texture of the cementite is sharp whereas that of the ferrite is weak. The sharp cementite textures point to the longevity of the coarse cementite throughout the repeated forging steps and to the influence of existing textured cementite on the nucleation of new cementite during cooling.

Emptiness and becoming : integrating Madhyamika Buddhism and process philosophy

Beginning with a comparison of process philosophy and Madhyamika Buddhism -focussing in particular on Charles Hartshorne and Nagarjuna - which seeks to find points of similarity and difference, this thesis goes on to ask whether the differences are disagreements or complementary insights that may be integrated by means of a hermeneutical framework which can facilitate the enrichment of both systems. It is argued that process philosophy's method of creative synthesis and Madhyamika's method of negative dialectics are complementary rather than rival methods, because: (1) the Madhyamika bi-negation of symmetrical internal and external relations is complemented by process philosophy's argument that asymmetrical relations have primacy, which can be integrated into a theory of 'asymmetrical interdependence'; (2) the Madhyamika bi-negation of being and non-being is complemented by process philosophy's argument that becoming has primacy; (3) Madhyamika's emptiness (or openness) and process philosophy's creativity are complementary ideas that can be integrated into a ‘creative emptiness’; (4) Madhyamika's deconstruction of theism and acceptance of a conventional (and thus empty) ‘Cosmic Buddha-Bodhisattva’ and process philosophy's panentheism are complementary and can be integrated in the idea of an ‘empty God’; (5) The creative emptiness and the empty God are two different but complementary ultimates - the ultimate activity and the ultimate actuality; (6) Madhyamika’s two truths -conventional (empty world) and ultimate (emptiness) - can be enriched by expanding the conventional to include ultimate actuality (empty God), and not subordinating the conventional to the ultimate; (7) process philosophy can be similarly enriched by meditating on creative emptiness, which reveals the empty God-world, which is not dominant vis-a-vis creative emptiness. An attempt is made to develop a hermeneutical framework for the comparison and integration of Madhyamika and process thought, which can also be used to construct a general theory of worldviews and a theory of interreligious dialogue. Finally, the practical applications of the integration of process thought and Madhyamika Buddhism are explored, focussing on ethical and socio-political issues and how the integration of the two systems can be used to advantage in these contexts.

Writing public space : design, philosophy, art

Among the factors explaining the emotional poverty of contemporary urban spaces is the dissociation of those who think, design and adorn them. Using his experience in designing high profile public artworks in Australia, notably Relay (Homebush Bay, Sydney, 2000 Olympics), Nearamnew (Federation Square, Melbourne) and Solution (Docklands, Melbourne), Paul Carter argues that a new dialogue between designers, philosophers and artists is urgently needed. The basis of this dialogue will be an expanded notion of graphicality, a new engagement with the discursive character of public space, and the evolution of postrepresentationalist art practices that make surface the psychic violence and cultural waste involved in the provision of new functionallydefined “places”. This paper traverses a number of projects: Relay (1998‑2000), Nearamnew (1998‑2003), Solution (2002), Save the Wall (2004‑) Golden Grove (2004‑).