Gnomic will ( el, Θἑλημα γνωμικόν, θέλησι γνωμική) is an
Eastern Christian
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
theological notion meaning spontaneous individual aspiration and movement of the mind.
[ Basil Lourié]
«История византийской философии» / III. Ранневизантийское богословие / Богословский синтез VII века: святой Максим Исповедник и его эпоха / 4. Богословие святого Максима Исповедника / 4.2 Тропос существования и энергия природы / 4.2.6 Теория волевого акта: воля природная и воля гномическая / p. 395
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Overview
This notion belongs of St Maximus the Confessor.
The term 'gnomic' derives from the Greek ''gnome'', meaning 'inclination' or 'intention'. Within Orthodox theology, gnomic willing is contrasted with natural willing. Natural willing designates the movement of a creature in accordance with the principle (''logos'' ( el, λόγος)) of its nature towards the fulfilment (''telos'' ( el, τέλος), ''stasis'' ( el, στάσις)) of its being. Gnomic willing, on the other hand, designates that form of willing in which a person engages in a process of deliberation culminating in a decision.
Within the theology of St Maximus, which was endorsed by the Sixth Ecumenical Council in condemning monothelitism
Monothelitism, or monotheletism (from el, μονοθελητισμός, monothelētismós, doctrine of one will), is a theological doctrine in Christianity, that holds Christ as having only one will. The doctrine is thus contrary to dyothelit ...
, Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
possessed no gnomic will. St Maximus developed this claim particularly in his ''Dialogue with Pyrrhus''. According to St Maximus, the process of gnomic willing presupposes that a person does not know what they want, and so must deliberate and choose between a range of choices. However, Jesus Christ, as both man and the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, possessed complete congruence of His two wills, the divine and the human. Therefore, St Maximus reasoned, Christ was never in a state of ignorance regarding what he wanted, and so never engaged in gnomic willing.
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
, a major philosophical influence on Maximus, in comparing the works of Nature with those of a human worker, had also declared that any process of deliberation, far from indicating superior intellect, is a sign of our weakness.
See also
*Christian anthropology
In the context of Christian theology, Christian anthropology is the study of the human (anthropos) as it relates to God. It differs from the social science of anthropology, which primarily deals with the comparative study of the physical and so ...
* Deliberation
*Eastern Orthodox theology
Eastern Orthodox theology is the theology particular to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, belief in the Incarnation of the essentially divine Logos or only-begotten Son of God, a balancing of cat ...
* Neo-Chalcedonism
*'' Prohairesis''
References
Sources
* John Meyendorff
John Meyendorff (french: Jean Meyendorff; russian: Ива́н Феофи́лович Мейендо́рф, tr. ; February 17, 1926 – July 22, 1992) was a leading theologian of the Orthodox Church of America as well as a writer and teacher. He s ...
«Ecumenical World of Orthodox Civilization: Russia and Orthodoxy: Essays in Honor of Georges Florovsky» ed. A. Blane. The Hague; R: Mouton, 1973. Vol. 3./ P. 71–75
Мейендорф И., прот. «Свободная воля (γνώμη) у преподобного Максима Исповедника»/ Разбивка страниц настоящей электронной статьи сделана по: протопресвитер Иоанн Мейендорф, «Пасхальная тайна. Статьи по богословию.», М., 2013.
David Bradshaw, Ph.D. «St. Maximus the Confessor on the Will—Natural and Gnomic». Posted on 3 August 2016
* [https://usqr.utsnyc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Blowers.pdf Paul M. Blowers. «Maximus the Confessor and John of Damascus on Gnomic Will (γνώμη) in Christ: Clarity and Ambiguity» / Emmanuel Christian Seminary / Johnson City, Tennessee]
* Basil Lourié
«История византийской философии» / III. Ранневизантийское богословие / Богословский синтез VII века: святой Максим Исповедник и его эпоха / 4. Богословие святого Максима Исповедника / 4.2 Тропос существования и энергия природы / 4.2.6 Теория волевого акта: воля природная и воля гномическая
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnomic Will
Eastern Orthodox theology