Knowledge of God in Philo of Alexandria

by Jang Ryu

How does Philo of Alexandria conceive of the origin and nature of the human mind? How does Philo perceive the potential of the human mind in its ascent to the divine? And how does he imagine the limitations of the human mind in its ascent to knowledge of such divine realities? Raising new questions regarding Philo's view of divine knowledge, Jang Ryu identifies two distinct but related sets of epistemological ideas in the Philonic library, one in each of his exegetical series of writings. Philonic discourses on mystery initiation and divine inspiration in the so-called Allegorical Commentary are also considered in the light of Philo's wider exegetical and philosophical interests.

311 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Robert Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryu employed a very helpful method for determining a key motif in Philo's writings. He examined the data of the Allegorical Commentary and the Exposition of the Law separately. This was extremely valuable in noting the similarities and differences between the two epistemological emphases in the different series.

However, I felt like the analysis of the Allgorical Commentary was not substantive enough, considering he only focuses on (1) mystery initiation language and (2) inspiration/ecstasy. I would have loved more engagement of his findings with those of Anderson's monograph on Philo's view of the cosmos and its role in the knowledge of God. I suppose that is what my dissertation will do, in part.