Concepția creștină despre „mintea umană” (ἀνθρώπον νοῦς) în „Dialogul” Sfântului Iustin Martirul și Filosoful
The Christian Conception of the "Human Mind" (ἀνθρώπον νοῦς) in the "Dialogue" of St. Justin Martyr and Philosopher

Summary/Abstract: The present paper aims to examine how Saint Justin Martyr, an early Christian Apologist and Philosopher, using Platonic language and ideas, is actually developing a real Christian epistemology, about the human mind (anthropon nous) as working within the spirit (pneuma), which is the heart (kardia) in the biblical anthropology, and leading to Jesus Christ, if it has been ordered (kekosmemenos) by the Holy Spirit, especially in his main writing, Dialogue with Trypho. Christianity is “the true philosophy”, and its superiority is obvious at the encounter with Platonism and Judaism. The debate is centered on the meaning of a particular use of charis and specifically on expressions such as the “grace to understand” (charis tou noesai) or the “grace to know” (charis tou gnonai). Still, it is equally related to questions about the operations of divine and human activity with respect to human freedom and rationality. Consequently, the “rational knowledge” and the “graced knowledge” do not contradict each other, but, on the contrary, are two complementary aspects of the same epistemology, which correspond or, rather, submit to the same desideratum: an authentic Christian modus vivendi. This submission is, at the same time, the consequence of the divine intervention and the human act of cognitive will.

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