Document Type

Article

Publication Date

May 2014

Publication Title

Mirabilia: electronic journal of antiquity and middle ages

Volume

19

Issue Number

2

First Page

1

Last Page

15

Keywords

Nicholas of Cusa, Providence, De visione dei, Renaissance Philosophy

Disciplines

History of Philosophy | Medieval Studies | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

Although Nicholas of Cusa occasionally discussed how the universe must be understood as the unfolding of the absolutely infinite in time, he left open questions about any distinction between natural time and historical time, how either notion of time might depend upon the nature of divine providence, and how his understanding of divine providence relates to other traditional philosophical views. From texts in which Cusanus discussed these questions, this paper will attempt to make explicit how Cusanus understood divine providence. The paper will also discuss how Nicholas of Cusa’s view of the question of providence might shed light on Renaissance philosophy’s contribution in the historical transition in Western philosophy from an overtly theological or eschatological understanding of historical time to a secularized or naturalized philosophy of history.

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