CU Dissertations
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- Metaphors of Sickness and the Social Body in the Constantinian Era
- Degree Awarded: Ph.D. Church History. The Catholic University of America, Social body concepts in late antiquity shaped community by (1) defining the ideal society and by (2) serving to justify coercive measures meant to create or preserve it. This dissertation asks whether Constantine I and Constantius II used the language and/or concept of the social body to decide who was dangerous or beneficial to their community, what the line between them was, and what to do about it. This study first examines two common models of the social body in late antiquity. In the case of both models, the social body was commonly perceived as a real object. One was the Stoic model, in which the hierarchically organized, harmonious cosmos served as the ideal template for the social body. It was subject to the disease of social dissension. The other was the Pauline model of 1 Corinthians, in which the social body was subject to damage by the invasive disease of polluting guilt. Social disease was cured by social policy.The two models' different diseases had different effects on community policies. Those effects are examined in a case study of the third century Bishop Cyprian of Carthage and his Christian interlocutors. The case study distinguishes spreading guilt as a fear particular to the Pauline body from spreading talk as a fear of dissension. This distinction is applied in the analysis of Constantine and Constantius' letters and edicts. The analysis seeks to answer two questions of each of the emperors: "By what criteria did he judge what was good for or dangerous to the society which he ruled?" and, "How did he publicly justify the coercive steps he took to preserve his community?" The study shows that, for Constantine the ideal of the Stoic social body served as both the criteria by which he judged what was good for his society, and frequently as the justification for his coercive policies. For Constantius, the ideal of the Stoic social body served only as the justification for his coercive policies, but did not form the criteria by which he judged what was good for his society.
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- Motion (κίνησις) and Anthropology in the Writings of Gregory of Nyssa
- Degree Awarded: Ph.D. Church History. The Catholic University of America, Since the middle of the 20th century, scholars have commented on the frequency and range of topics for which Gregory of Nyssa employs the term kinesis. Besides categorizing all creation, including humanity, as the offspring of rest and motion, Gregory uses the language of motion to describe a vast array of human activities, including thought, language, emotion, sin, virtue, and spiritual ascent, among others. While Gregory's emphasis on motion has been noticed and discussed, it has yet to be analyzed in a systematic or comprehensive fashion.This study analyzes Gregory's use of the term kinesis in its varied contexts to develop a synthesis of Gregory's thought on motion and consider how it relates to his anthropology. By examining descriptions of the motion many entities, both literal and metaphorical, the first part of this study affirms the centrality of kinesis to Gregory's anthropology. Further, it argues that Gregory considered kinesis to be fundamental to humans, marking them as created beings, separate from God, even in the eschaton. The notions of kinesis and diastema being closely aligned with one another, this dissertation further argues that humans retain their diastemic nature in the resurrection. The second part of this study explores the implications of an anthropology indelibly marked by kinesis, concluding that kinesis prevents human isolation, both the isolation of one part from another in the same person and the isolation of humans from other humans and from God. Gregory's kinetic anthropology also lends support to the idea that humans are holistic, connected between mind and body, intelligible and sensible, rather than dualistically divided. Finally, it asserts the importance of both continuity and change for humans, emphasizing the importance of a constant identity over time as well as the eternal need for growth.