Abstract
Semën Frank (1877–1950) considered the Universe as the “all-unity.” According to him, everything is a part of the all-unity, which has a divine character. God is present in the world, but his nature is incomprehensible. In this article I analyze two consequences of Frank’s panentheistic view of the relation between science and theology. Firstly, the limits of scientific knowledge allow recognition of the mystery of the world and the transcendence of God. Secondly, Frank claimed that nature is a “trace” of God and the manifestation of the absolute reality, i.e. the all-unity. As a result, both science and theology lead to the knowledge of God, although we cannot understand His essence.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In this context Nicolas of Cusa used the similar expressions unus et omnia or omnia uniter. See Nicolai de Cusa (1932), p. 48.
Frank (1983), p. 68.
Frank (1995), p. 221.
Shein (1968), 16.
Frank (1996a), pp. 88–90.
Frank (1965), p. 44.
Frank noticed that his conception correspond to the doctrine of St. Gregory of Palama about the real distinction in God an unknowable essence (ousia) and energies (energeiai) by which God manifests himself in the created world.
Frank (1996b), p. 71.
Frank (1925), p. 10–11.
Frank (1925), p. 12.
Pascal (1910), p. 97.
Cf. Aristotle, Metaphisics, 982b, trans. by W.D. Ross: “For it is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to philosophize” (T.O.).
W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, scene 5 (T.O.).
Frank (1925), pp. 19–20.
Cf. Frank (1983), p. 221.
Drozdek (2006), 119.
Drozdek (2006), 118.
Frank (1925), pp. 18–19.
Shmaliy (2005), 540.
See Obolevitch (2006), pp. 269–273, 283–288.
Frank (1996c), p. 581.
References
Drozdek, A. (2006). Frank on beauty. Idea, 18, 109–119.
Frank, S. (1925). Religiya i nauka. Berlin: Evraziyskoye knizhnoye izdatelstvo.
Frank, S. (1926). Religiya i nauka v sovremennom soznaniyi, Put’, (4):145–156.
Frank, S. (1928). Erkenntnis und Sein. Logos, 17, 165–195.
Frank, S. (1929). Erkenntnis und Sein. Logos, 18, 231–261.
Frank, S. (1965). Reality and man: an essay on the metaphysics of human nature, Translated by Natalie Duddington. London: Faber and Faber.
Frank, S. (1983). The unknowable: an ontological introduction to the philosophy of religion, Translated by Boris Jakim. Athens: Ohio University Press.
Frank, S. (1995). Predmet znaniya. In idem, Predmet znaniya, Dusha cheloveka. Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka.
Frank, S. (1996a). O nevozmozhnosti filosofiyi (pismo k drugu). In idem, Russkoye mirovozzreniye, pp. 88–95. Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka.
Frank, S. (1996b). Absolutnoye. Translated by A. Vlaskin, A. Yermichev. In idem, Russkoye mirovozzreniye, pp. 58–72. Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka.
Frank, S. (1996c). Znaniye i vera. In idem, Russkoye mirovozzreniye, pp. 578–582. Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka.
Nicolai de Cusa (1932). De docta ignorantia. In idem, Opera omnia (vol. 1). Lipsiae: In Aedibus Felicis Meiner.
Obolevitch, T. (2006). Problematyczny konkordyzm. Wiara i wiedza w myśli Włodzimierza S. Sołowjowa i Siemiona L. Franka. Tarnów – Kraków: Biblos/OBI.
Pascal, B. (1910). Thoughts. Translated by William F. Trotter. In idem, Thoughts, Letter, Minor Works, pp. 7–322. New York: P.F. Collier & Son.
Shein, L. J. (1968). The Concept of the Unfathomable (Nepostizhimoe) in S.L. Frank’s Epistemology. Canadian Slavic Studies, 2(1), 14–27.
Shmaliy, V. (2005). Cosmology of the cappadocian fathers: a contribution to dialogue between science and theology today. Faith and Philosophy, 22(5), 528–542.
Zenkovsky, V. (1953). A History of Russian Philosophy (vol. 2). Translated by George L. Kline. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Obolevitch, T. Negative theology and science in the thought of Semyon Frank. Stud East Eur Thought 62, 93–99 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-010-9104-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-010-9104-0