Knowledge of Nature, Knowledge of God: Eriugena, Theophanies, and the Mediations of Place

This thesis explores the relationship between nature, theophany, and knowledge in conversation with the works of John Scottus Eriugena, arguing that to know nature is, to some degree, to know God. It examines how Eriugena’s metaphysical framework characterizes nature as both the manifestation of the divine and the medium of that self-disclosure, and how the perception of these disclosures, or theophanies, is mediated to us through place. Part I, Nature, considers Eriugena’s account of God creating and the relationship that results from that act as well as the discursive metaphors—text, speech, and flesh—through which nature becomes intelligible. It argues that while nature as text (book) has been the most popular understanding, characterizing nature as word or flesh is better suited for a theophanic cosmos. Part II, Theophany, examines how Eriugena portrays nature and creatures as the site of divine manifestation. It then moves beyond Eriugena to argue for theophany as both an ontological structure and an interpretive event, and examines how specific places mediate and condition such appearances. Part III, Knowing, turns to the epistemological dimension of Eriugena’s thought. It demonstrates how human knowledge is both a participation in divine wisdom and an embodied, situated activity. It argues for rooting theological epistemology in the givenness of nature and the situatedness of the knower. It also argues that perceiving creation as theophanous requires an act of contemplative attunement to place, one which is facilitated by the conformation between our minds and the places we inhabit. The thesis concludes by linking the discussion to contemporary environmental concerns and arguing that acknowledging place in our theological reflections can have profound implications for how we do theology and enact our relationship with creation.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Bosoms Hernandez, Maria De Lourdes

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Davison, Andrew
• Fergusson, David

• John Scottus Eriugena
• Nature
• Place
• Theophany

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/55305986-17c0-4d72-b1e9-d60fca0c77c7/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.123508

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/393003