Le sophisme de la beauté chez Grégoire de Nysse
The Deceptiveness of Beauty in Gregory of Nyssa

Summary/Abstract: In my article, I will discuss Gregory’s view of beauty from a theological-anthropological perspective, focusing on why beauty is deceptive and where the limits and boundaries lie between beauty as a theological category and beauty that becomes an idol and does not lead to God. The key question will be how beauty, whose source is God – the essential beauty – can be deceptive. I want to emphasise that although Gregory sometimes speaks about the deceptiveness of beauty, the ambiguity lies not in the beauty itself but in the ability or inability of the human being to discern the beautiful. Here I draw on the foundation of Gregory’s anthropology, namely the creation of human beings in the image and likeness of God. I will further analyse Gregory’s concept of the knowledge of beauty and its relationship to desire and passion in Gregory. I will conclude by reflecting on the moment when beauty becomes an idol that leads people away from the path of knowledge of the truly beautiful.

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