Questioning the World. Greek Patristic and Byzantine Question-and-Answer Literature (Lectio - Studies in the Transmission of Texts & Ideas 11)

This volume discusses cosmological issues in Greek Patristic and Byzantine question-and-answer literature. By adopting this focus, it yields novel insights into both the (theological / philosophical) content and the (literary) form of the texts under scrutiny. How did Greek Patristic and Byzantine authors understand the cosmos of which they were a part and the world in which they lived? And what literary forms did they use to express their questions and answers on these issues? This collection of studies shows that, in order to bring out the important intellectual contribution of the authors under discussion, both 'cosmology' and 'question-and-answer literature' should be defined more broadly than expected. Several papers deal with the crucial corpora by Pseudo-Justin and Maximus the Confessor. Other authors under discussion include Philoponus, Pseudo-Caesarius, Michael Psellus, Severian of Gabala, and Nilus Doxopatrius. Attention also goes to the critical edition of question and answer literature, as well as to the Greek Patristic and Byzantine reception of cosmological questions and answers from Antiquity (i.c. Aristotle, Philo of Alexandria, Plutarch, and Iamblichus).