Abstract

[Extract]: This book is the result of some years' interest in negative theology and owes much to the stimulus of my friend and colleague, David Dockrill. It has taken a broader perspective than originally planned, and seeks to situate the development of negative theology within the context of the whole Greek concept of thought. The first volume deals with the classical period, with its enormous confidence in logos, the focal point of rationality, and with the gradual undermining of this faith. The sources studied include the major philosophical, but also deal more widely with literature and religion. Gnosticism, Christianity and the works of Philo are treated towards the end of each chapter, because each of these strands is crucial on the formation of Patristic and Medieval philosophy