The Orthodox Nationalist: The “Heart” in St. Gregory Palamas – TON 102721

Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson discusses a chapter from his upcoming book on nominalism.

The concept of the “Heart” in theology creates a great degree of confusion. The heart is the ontological center of man. To isolate the brain from the rest of creation seems to be one of the general problems of rationalism. Men think not just with their brains, but with their wills, hearts and physical constitution.

Social context is important as well. The “brain” is not the same as the “mind,” yet, the mind is not the only “organ” of thought. Thought is holistic. This holism is represented by the “heart.

The heart in St. Gregory's (1296-1359) theology is the center of the person in a qualitative sense. It is the locus of the unity of history, affection, reason, romance, tradition, logic and self-interest. Reason never works alone. It follows the will and seeks to justify it, to rationalize its irrational actions.

In a world ruled by passion, reason does only two things: it seeks to devise better methods for achieving its goals (usually economic) and then rationalizes these methods later. This is not how humanity was designed. The rule of passion is unnatural and irrational.

Presented by Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson

The Orthodox Nationalist: The “Heart” in St. Gregory Palamas – TON 102721

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