3.1 The Development of the Modern Worldview 35
3.1.1 Plato’s Influence 38
Green (2004:190) argues that the origin of this problem lies back with one of the founder of Western thought: Plato20. The Christian tradition has always regarded Platonism21 as a
close cousin to Christianity (even among the church fathers, especially Augustine, this influence is strongly seen). Wildman (2008) agrees with Green, stating that “Plato is the most influential of philosophers on Christianity, and especially Christian theology”. Yet this influence was mostly indirect, as it was mostly mediated largely by neo-platonic
19These elements can be seen in prominent theologians work, such as Erikson’s (1998) chapter on ‘the last things’
20 Plato was a famous Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE and whose philosophy has greatly influenced much of Western thought (Wildman 2008)
21 The philosophy which follows Plato’s writings
scholars. There were times when this relationship between Christianity and Platonic thought become too close, and started to impact on the current Christian worldview. An example of this is seen in the way that certain apologists sought to present Christian doctrine as purified, definitive Greek philosophy (cf. Wildman 2008). However, throughout the centuries, Christians have been comfortable to integrate the platonic ideas into Christian thought. This is seen in the development of a creation theology. Plato’s concept of forms are portrayed as the creative thoughts of God, and this prepares way for the concept of Ex Nihilo to be developed fully (cf. Boersma 2007:298;Wildman 2008). As Wildman (2008) argues
Plato was adapted and subdued as much as he was accepted and used. The Jewish tradition had many ideas of its own, some of which overcame Plato’s in the development of Christian thought, some of which were overcome, and some of which combined in fascinating ways with Plato’s
When one interprets Plato in a way which the primary thought is Plato’s sublimination of the working of the mind as the ultimate perfection (his theory of forms), one places a major stress on the separation of the mind from the natural world, and its capacity to think objectively and reflect critically on that world (cf. Green 2004:190; Wildman 2008). This sublimation of the working mind makes
...very clear the distinction between the sensible and the non-sensible, and expresses Plato's clear valuational preference for the non-sensible. In that realm is to be found the unchanging, ever-being, eternal forms, the things we love in the shadows around us. Matter, it follows, is a lesser stuff that is subdued and elevated by form. This results in a sharp form of dualism that looks down on things material and looks up to things spiritual and rational. (Wildman 2008) And thus, by placing such a great division between the natural world and the spiritual world could easily lead to a situation when one would attempt to control the world, to bring the perfection of the mind to bear on the world. Plato’s harsh dichotomy between
the material world and the world of ideas has led to a devaluation of the material, natural world in favour of western philosophy and theology (cf. Van Dyk 2009:197).
Thomas More cites Plato as his inspiration for his Utopia22. “For once you take the non- existent perfection of the mind and transfer it to the world, it’s not very surprising that what your left with is far from perfect – and is in fact dystopian” (Green 2004:191). And once the mind is separated from the world, a situation may arise in which the mind will begin to view the world as an end in itself. And if this occurs, there is a chance that the mind will want to control, to manipulate, to distort and to destroy that outside of it. And it is where this controlling, this manipulating and distorting thought process has been allowed to develop, that one can see the core roots of the modern mind set developing.
Yet this usage of Plato did not always results in a destruction of the world around. Within the history of the church, it was proposed that there were three key aspects of thought that were missing in Platonism but were vital to the Christian faith (cf. Boersma 2007:298). The first of these was the belief that God did not have to create, but that he was free to create. Secondly, they rejected the Platonic idea of emanation; where the “one” is perfect and the many are imperfect, as this would interfere with the doctrine of the trinity (cf. Boersma 2007:298; Erickson 1998:41). Thirdly, the two above views led to a view of matter that was different from the Platonists. A Platonist could not see matter as good, as matter was an involuntary result of God having to create, and was thus at the bottom of
22 A brief summary of this work is found at books.google (2009) “Utopia, written by Sir Thomas More, depicts a fictional island with its own unique religion and customs. Sir Thomas More's work introduces readers into the concept of a perfect society with utopian, or perfect, ideas and beliefs. This timeless classic, originally written in 1516 and heavily influenced by Plato's Republic, is often read in schools as a required reading”
the hierarchy of being. Therefore, they maintained that nothing was better than the soul to be freed from this mortal body. In contrast to this, the traditional Christian view of creation celebrated nature, and especially the body (cf. Wildman 2008). Consequently throughout history, Christians knew when to say no to Platonic influences (cf. Boersma 2007:299). Augustine was a prime example of this; in Plato’s theology he found a vehicle from which Christian theology could be conducted (cf. Erickson 1998:41). Yet his theology had very strong elements of ecological and cosmic promise—highlighting that he had not adopted true Platonic thought. In another instance, he adopted part of the Platonic theory of knowledge to his own doctrine of illumination23 (cf. Erickson 1998:41).. Despite his overreaction to certain Manichaean ideas, he still portrayed an amazing universal vision of cosmic history. His dualism in certain aspects did not lead him to reject all of creation as evil. Humans are called to contemplate and give thanks for wonders of earth; not to dominate it, as Augustine believed that the ‘Day of the Lord’ is the consummation of the entire cosmos (cf. Santrime 2000:25-28; cf. Erickson 1998:41).
However, the idea of the sublimination of the working of the mind as the ultimate perfection always remained in some form of thought within Christianity (cf Wildman 2008). With the closing of the dark ages and the re-discovering of the classic philosophical texts within the renaissance, these ideas began to gain prominence again. And Christianity began to flirt more and more with the Platonic ideal, which slowly led to a different, and albeit more dangerous form of dualistic thought forming(cf. Erickson 1998:41). Creation, and other humans were placed on differing levels, and those on the
23 The doctrine of Illumination states that “the light enlightening every man (sic) who comes into the world (John 1:9) is God impressing the forms of the human intellect” (Erickson 1998:41).
lower level than one self could be treated as one willed. And so the Renaissance and the Reformation began to take centre stage.