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The Unknown God: Negative Theology in the Platonic Tradition : Plato to Eriugena
""This book contains a careful, thorough, and where necessary skeptical as regards doubtful evidence (especially in the case of Plato and the Old Academy) of the beginnings in European thought of the negative or apophatic way of thinking and its relations to more positive or kataphatic ways of thinking about God. One of its greatest strengths, perhaps the greatest, is that the author makes clear that none of the persons concerned, Hellenic, Jewish or Christian, was engaged in the pursuit of a philosophical abstraction, or the heaping of rhetorical superlatives on God. They were rather concerned to present the origin of the universe as an intimately present living reality which infinitely transcends our thought and speech. This, combined with careful attention to the varieties of negative theology and its relations with positive, and the particular difficulties experienced by the members of the various traditions involved, makes the book the best introduction to the negative theology available."" -A. H. Armstrong, Emeritus Professor of Greek, University of Liverpool, England. Emeritus Professor of Classics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Senior Fellow of the British Academy. Irish academic Deirdre Carabine has lived and taught in Uganda for more than twenty years. She has recently been founder Vice-Chancellor at the Virtual University of Uganda (VUU), the first fully online university in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to that she set up International Health Sciences University in Kampala. She has taught at Queen's Belfast, University College Dublin, and Uganda Martyrs University. Currently, she is Director of Programmes at VUU. She attended the Queen's University of Belfast where she graduated with a PhD in philosophy, and University College Dublin where, as one of the first Newman Scholars, she gained a second PhD in Classics. She is also author of John Scottus Eriugena in the Great Medieval Thinkers Series (2000).
359 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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July 2, 2025
Negative Theology (also named APOPHASIS) refers to the approach which affirms (!) you cannot say what God is, only what he [or she] is not. As Simon Oliver puts it: “we cannot get a handle on God”. Certainly, God is not an evil creature*.
Deirdre's approach is based on the belief that despite the ineffable nature of God, one can know him [or her]: “the unknown God can be known and related to”.
She starts in Plato, deemed to be the father of Negative Theology. She mentions Protagoras; and Parmenides who defended "being can be thought, non-being cannot". Can we really think about it? Plotino answered: we cannot.
True, our language is limited to translate the transcendence of the subject at stake.
In the Epilogue, the author tells an interesting story. She had gotten amazed by the iridescence of the Kingfishers Blue. She searched and read a lot about the bird, yet nothing could compare to the real and natural “iridescent blue” of the bird (versus the books "reproductions").
She referred the story as an analogy.
Maybe God’s real and true colors aren’t approachable.
UPDATE
This looks an interesting idea, a sign of our times: "For the first time in almost 1500 years, England is no longer majority Christian"
In:https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/chr...
*Unless you are Christopher Hitchens, who wrote "God Is Not Great".
Deirdre's approach is based on the belief that despite the ineffable nature of God, one can know him [or her]: “the unknown God can be known and related to”.
"About the gods, I am not able to know whether they exist or do not exist, nor what they are like in form..."
Protagoras "On the Gods"
She starts in Plato, deemed to be the father of Negative Theology. She mentions Protagoras; and Parmenides who defended "being can be thought, non-being cannot". Can we really think about it? Plotino answered: we cannot.
True, our language is limited to translate the transcendence of the subject at stake.
In the Epilogue, the author tells an interesting story. She had gotten amazed by the iridescence of the Kingfishers Blue. She searched and read a lot about the bird, yet nothing could compare to the real and natural “iridescent blue” of the bird (versus the books "reproductions").
She referred the story as an analogy.
Maybe God’s real and true colors aren’t approachable.
UPDATE
This looks an interesting idea, a sign of our times: "For the first time in almost 1500 years, England is no longer majority Christian"
In:https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/chr...
*Unless you are Christopher Hitchens, who wrote "God Is Not Great".
April 28, 2021
Perhaps one of the more striking ways in which monotheism differs from polytheism is to be sought in the former’s attestation of the impossibility of man’s knowing any more about God than what he chooses to reveal about himself. Thus the prophet Isaiah: ‘For the heavens are as high above the earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:9). One does not, in contrast, encounter any very marked epistemological reserve, say, in Homer, as to the possibility of mortals’ knowing who the gods are and what they are about, as should not come as a surprise in a theology in which the gods figure as a fixture of the cosmos not radically different in their manner of being from man but who, indeed, are connected to us by a continuum of gradations and in which the possibility of apotheosis, or the promotion of a human being to the status of divinity by nature (not solely by grace) is foreseen. At sundry occasions there have been sporadic attempts to import a rationalistic stance towards God into the theistic tradition, as with the heretic Eunomius in the fourth century who much to the consternation of the Nicene church fathers held that by means of his formula, the Unbegotten [Ἀγέννητος] he had grasped the essence of God with the same fullness of knowledge that God has of himself; and one could make a good case that, over a millenium later, Spinoza’s pantheistic God is likewise curiously devoid of mystery.
In light, then, of the centrality of the doctrine of God’s unknowability to genuine monotheistic religion, it poses something of a puzzle why the discipline of negative theology is so often talked about but so little studied in depth, particularly in the Latin west. For Aquinas contents himself with the scholastic commonplace that we can know that God is but not what he is, and never will even during the beatific vision in the world to come. His doctrine of the analogy of being and equivocal proportional predication – vital as it is to any theology of a God who deserves to be called God – would seem to jostle in a certain unanalyzed tension with his unfeigned commitment to negative theology. Everyone knows and prizes Pseudo-Dionysius’ spectacular and archetypal corpus of mystical writings yet even here one gains the impression in most scholarly commentary on it that one has shied away from the profoundest possible engagement with the subject and satisfied oneself with a simple-minded juxtaposition of the cataphatic and apophatic modes.
Therefore the serious inquirer can only be pleased to pick up the full-length book devoted to the problem by the Irish medievalist Deirdre Carabine, The unknown God. Negative theology in the Platonic tradition: Plato to Eriugena. We have already reviewed her work on Eriugena here. The present work, by comparison, is at once more leisurely and more focused on the individual theme of apophasis instead of bearing a concern to sketch an entire philosophical world-view.
Concise review of contents: Part I starts out with the pagan antecedents. The theme of the transcendence of the first principle originates in Plato, undergoes development at the hands of the middle Platonists and reaches its zenith in the Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus. In a departure from what is the rule in the scholarly literature, Carabine traces the roots of apophasis in minute detail from Plato, through the Old Academy, Speusippus, Xenocrates, the Neo-Pythagorean revival, Eudorus, Moderatus, Plutarch, Apuleius, the Corpus Hermeticum, Alcinous, Basilides and Numineus before culminating with extensive chapters on Plotinus and Proclus. Part II looks at how these ideas were transmitted to and assimilated by Judaism and Christianity via Philo of Alexandria, Eunomius and the Cappadocians (especially Gregory of Nyssa). Then Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius and John Scotus Eriugena each receive a full chapter (Maximus Confessor and John Damascene represent peculiar omissions dictated, one presumes, by a lack of space).
Two points are worth remarking about Carabine’s treatment of her theme: first of all, although the basic framework is constant, each author can mean very divergent things by the key terms such as kataphasis and apophasis and Carabine takes trouble to spell out the precise differences in meaning among the positions adopted by the various philosophers covered here. Second, the whole theory of apophasis takes on quite another coloring when it enters the Jewish sphere, for the Old Testament confronts us with a holy Deus absconditus who nevertheless paradoxically makes his law (and thereby, to some degree, his very own nature) known to Moses in a way he confessedly does not do for any other nation. This contrasting character of the divine figures anew in the New Testament with its proclamation of Christ as the visible image of the invisible God. It is evident, therefore, that no simplistic caricature of a cataphatic stage followed by an apophatic stage, such as a superficial reader of Pseudo-Dionysius’ writings might picture for himself, will be adequate to the full range of mystical experience, especially when it occurs in the context of Jewish or Christian mystagogy.
Here is how the author herself sums up the apophatic tradition:
The kind of negative theology which is found in Plotinus, Proclus, Gregory of Nyssa and the Pseudo-Dionysius, is a negative theology which forces negation to its most radical conclusions, into a cognitional crisis, which is resolved when the negative theologian once again enters into the area of experimental knowledge. This ‘knowledge’ is achieved when the mind is brought beyond the normal limits of human understanding to reach knowledge of the divine which is the result of its former state of ignorance. Thus, the logic of abstraction becomes clear, as Dionysius says: ‘we take away everything so that we know that unknowing without its being veiled’. The result of this radical aphairesis is not ignorance or negation alone, nor an empty agnosticism, but knowledge which stems from a personal communion with the unknowable God….The transcendence of affirmation and negation in the negatio negationis can result in an incommunicable knowledge which is exemplified in the paradoxical statements of those who have attempted to describe that which lies beyond the scope of linguistic expression: ‘ineffable word’, ‘superessential essence’, and indeed, ‘unknowing knowing’. (pp. 8-9)
Enters into splendid detail on a host of little-known figures. In the nature of a leisurely commentary; Carabine forwards no single dogmatic thesis of her own, but supplies an accumulation of minor observations that, collectively, go a long way towards painting a nuanced portrait of many of the better-known thinkers from the point of view of what they have to say about negative theology. Not necessarily suited for an initial reception of the material unless perhaps one be very quick-witted, but offers substantial fare for those already familiar with mystical theology and for whom circumstances permit no independent recourse to the original texts which, as far as this recensionist is aware, have never been issued in a convenient collection. One can only regret that she has yet to pursue her theme into the later middle ages and early modern period, when indeed mystical theology continued to attract enthusiastic attention before lapsing into desuetude as a result of the civilizational change brought about by the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century.
In light, then, of the centrality of the doctrine of God’s unknowability to genuine monotheistic religion, it poses something of a puzzle why the discipline of negative theology is so often talked about but so little studied in depth, particularly in the Latin west. For Aquinas contents himself with the scholastic commonplace that we can know that God is but not what he is, and never will even during the beatific vision in the world to come. His doctrine of the analogy of being and equivocal proportional predication – vital as it is to any theology of a God who deserves to be called God – would seem to jostle in a certain unanalyzed tension with his unfeigned commitment to negative theology. Everyone knows and prizes Pseudo-Dionysius’ spectacular and archetypal corpus of mystical writings yet even here one gains the impression in most scholarly commentary on it that one has shied away from the profoundest possible engagement with the subject and satisfied oneself with a simple-minded juxtaposition of the cataphatic and apophatic modes.
Therefore the serious inquirer can only be pleased to pick up the full-length book devoted to the problem by the Irish medievalist Deirdre Carabine, The unknown God. Negative theology in the Platonic tradition: Plato to Eriugena. We have already reviewed her work on Eriugena here. The present work, by comparison, is at once more leisurely and more focused on the individual theme of apophasis instead of bearing a concern to sketch an entire philosophical world-view.
Concise review of contents: Part I starts out with the pagan antecedents. The theme of the transcendence of the first principle originates in Plato, undergoes development at the hands of the middle Platonists and reaches its zenith in the Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus. In a departure from what is the rule in the scholarly literature, Carabine traces the roots of apophasis in minute detail from Plato, through the Old Academy, Speusippus, Xenocrates, the Neo-Pythagorean revival, Eudorus, Moderatus, Plutarch, Apuleius, the Corpus Hermeticum, Alcinous, Basilides and Numineus before culminating with extensive chapters on Plotinus and Proclus. Part II looks at how these ideas were transmitted to and assimilated by Judaism and Christianity via Philo of Alexandria, Eunomius and the Cappadocians (especially Gregory of Nyssa). Then Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius and John Scotus Eriugena each receive a full chapter (Maximus Confessor and John Damascene represent peculiar omissions dictated, one presumes, by a lack of space).
Two points are worth remarking about Carabine’s treatment of her theme: first of all, although the basic framework is constant, each author can mean very divergent things by the key terms such as kataphasis and apophasis and Carabine takes trouble to spell out the precise differences in meaning among the positions adopted by the various philosophers covered here. Second, the whole theory of apophasis takes on quite another coloring when it enters the Jewish sphere, for the Old Testament confronts us with a holy Deus absconditus who nevertheless paradoxically makes his law (and thereby, to some degree, his very own nature) known to Moses in a way he confessedly does not do for any other nation. This contrasting character of the divine figures anew in the New Testament with its proclamation of Christ as the visible image of the invisible God. It is evident, therefore, that no simplistic caricature of a cataphatic stage followed by an apophatic stage, such as a superficial reader of Pseudo-Dionysius’ writings might picture for himself, will be adequate to the full range of mystical experience, especially when it occurs in the context of Jewish or Christian mystagogy.
Here is how the author herself sums up the apophatic tradition:
The kind of negative theology which is found in Plotinus, Proclus, Gregory of Nyssa and the Pseudo-Dionysius, is a negative theology which forces negation to its most radical conclusions, into a cognitional crisis, which is resolved when the negative theologian once again enters into the area of experimental knowledge. This ‘knowledge’ is achieved when the mind is brought beyond the normal limits of human understanding to reach knowledge of the divine which is the result of its former state of ignorance. Thus, the logic of abstraction becomes clear, as Dionysius says: ‘we take away everything so that we know that unknowing without its being veiled’. The result of this radical aphairesis is not ignorance or negation alone, nor an empty agnosticism, but knowledge which stems from a personal communion with the unknowable God….The transcendence of affirmation and negation in the negatio negationis can result in an incommunicable knowledge which is exemplified in the paradoxical statements of those who have attempted to describe that which lies beyond the scope of linguistic expression: ‘ineffable word’, ‘superessential essence’, and indeed, ‘unknowing knowing’. (pp. 8-9)
Enters into splendid detail on a host of little-known figures. In the nature of a leisurely commentary; Carabine forwards no single dogmatic thesis of her own, but supplies an accumulation of minor observations that, collectively, go a long way towards painting a nuanced portrait of many of the better-known thinkers from the point of view of what they have to say about negative theology. Not necessarily suited for an initial reception of the material unless perhaps one be very quick-witted, but offers substantial fare for those already familiar with mystical theology and for whom circumstances permit no independent recourse to the original texts which, as far as this recensionist is aware, have never been issued in a convenient collection. One can only regret that she has yet to pursue her theme into the later middle ages and early modern period, when indeed mystical theology continued to attract enthusiastic attention before lapsing into desuetude as a result of the civilizational change brought about by the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century.
July 12, 2011
This is one of the most cherised book I own, it has been years I have a desire on writing about the idea of hidden God from the tradition of eastern Orthodox Christianity and the thoughts of Jean Luc Marion. This book basically give the reader the basic historical grounding of the idea of apophasis, which is Neo Platonism ranging from Plotinos to John Scottus Eriugena.
I will keep turning and turning to this book all the time in my spiritual journey to understand the question of God with all it's dynamics and totality.
While I have full sympathy towards the wise carefullness to spell out and revere man made concept of God, I must also consider the fact that "that unknown God" has made Himself manifested fully in the person of Jesus Christ, therefore it makes Him the revealer of the concealed face of God. "Only to God whose face is hidden, we have the right to demand it to be unveiled" Emmanuel Levinas.
I will keep turning and turning to this book all the time in my spiritual journey to understand the question of God with all it's dynamics and totality.
While I have full sympathy towards the wise carefullness to spell out and revere man made concept of God, I must also consider the fact that "that unknown God" has made Himself manifested fully in the person of Jesus Christ, therefore it makes Him the revealer of the concealed face of God. "Only to God whose face is hidden, we have the right to demand it to be unveiled" Emmanuel Levinas.
January 21, 2021
This is not an introductory work, unless you are fluent in Koine Greek and Latin, any monolingual English speaker will struggle to read this since she rarely translates quotations from the philosophers she's talking about. Although for some reason she does sometimes.
But if you can get past these obstacles of language, it's a fantastic book.
Apart the critique above the only other criticism is that she basically does not mention Damascius except a mere mention. When he'd fit right in as the apex of all Apophatic thought, before and since.
If there's ever another edition that translates all the quotations (bilingually) it would be 5/5 and I'd recommend it as beginner level.
Don't start off with this if you're new to "Neoplatonism", I'd say it is an intermediate text; but anyone who can read the Greek and Latin and already has an interest in Late Ancient philosophy, definitely already has read about everything that is in this book. It would only be a nice reminder for what they already know. So since those who would actually benefit the most from this work can't even read some of the most important bits, I don't really know for who it is meant for. Perhaps advanced critics (even if its depth is intermediate its breath is beyond advanced, a depth in itself), it's afterall a book often mentioned in other philosophical books and essays. A nice go to reference.
But if you can get past these obstacles of language, it's a fantastic book.
Apart the critique above the only other criticism is that she basically does not mention Damascius except a mere mention. When he'd fit right in as the apex of all Apophatic thought, before and since.
If there's ever another edition that translates all the quotations (bilingually) it would be 5/5 and I'd recommend it as beginner level.
Don't start off with this if you're new to "Neoplatonism", I'd say it is an intermediate text; but anyone who can read the Greek and Latin and already has an interest in Late Ancient philosophy, definitely already has read about everything that is in this book. It would only be a nice reminder for what they already know. So since those who would actually benefit the most from this work can't even read some of the most important bits, I don't really know for who it is meant for. Perhaps advanced critics (even if its depth is intermediate its breath is beyond advanced, a depth in itself), it's afterall a book often mentioned in other philosophical books and essays. A nice go to reference.
February 5, 2020
This book was a interesting scholarly exploration of apophatic theology and philosophy from Plato, and many of the early Greeks, through the early Christian theologians like Gregory of Nyssa, St. Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, to John Scottus Eriugena.
Apophatic approaches to God or the Ultimate Reality might not appeal to some people. Why would we worship an unknown and unknowable God? Didn't Paul give a speech about that? But such theology emphasizes God's transcendent nature, that God is so far above our intellects that we cannot comprehend God's ways with our finite minds. But even here there are many clues that God is "knowable" through intellectual or conceptual unknowing, transcending our intellect, which is also called contemplation.
Apophatic approaches to God or the Ultimate Reality might not appeal to some people. Why would we worship an unknown and unknowable God? Didn't Paul give a speech about that? But such theology emphasizes God's transcendent nature, that God is so far above our intellects that we cannot comprehend God's ways with our finite minds. But even here there are many clues that God is "knowable" through intellectual or conceptual unknowing, transcending our intellect, which is also called contemplation.
August 22, 2020
This is a great book that takes a scholarly and historic view on apophatic or negative theology. Some parts are more dry and explain historical connections between thinkers-these are a bit more dry-but other parts, that convey the thoughts of each apophatic thinker are done in a great way and are often quite profound. One thing lacking that make me remove ,5 stars is that many greek words throughout are not translated (either in text or in a footnote). There is not enough of this to make it impossible to understand, but to add this would not have been that hard for the author or editor.
A wonderful book on metaphysics none the less! (4,5/5 stars).
A wonderful book on metaphysics none the less! (4,5/5 stars).
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