ONTOLOGICAL ESSENCE OF BODY AND SOUL IN TERTULLIAN

Marián AMBROZY

assistant professor, College of International Business ISM Slovakia in Presov, Duchnovicovo namestie 1, 08001 Presov, Slovakia, ambrozy.marian@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-0421-436X

Abstract

The article deals with Tertullian's ontological solutions in the field of the relationship between the soul and the body. Tertullian sets out his decision in such a way that, from the point of view of argument, he has the potential for polemics with the Valentinians and Marcion. Although the human body and the human soul are different, from an ontological point of view this is not a dualism. Both the body and the soul exist in reality, and therefore the soul must be corporeal. Not in the sense of materialism, but corporality. Tertullian preached the monistic identity of all things with corporality, both body and soul. He occupied the same position in the field of the body and soul of man, as in the case of the body and soul of Christ. He considered him a real person, while not denying his divine essence. Tertullian takes his ontological solution from the Stoics, seeking to avoid Platonism and metaphysically explain the monistic basis of the world - an argumentative weapon against gnostic dualism.

Keywords

Tertullianus, corporealism, body, mind, valentinians, Marcion

SUMMARY

In the area of psychology and the ontological status of the body, Tertullian was able to consistently stand on the monistic principle. He maintains this ontological position in both De carne Christi and De anima. It is based on the belief that everything that exists must necessarily be the body of its own kind, otherwise it would not exist. His conviction is not due to Tertullian's deep interest and leitmotif in constructing a metaphysical explanation of the universe. Our author enters the realm of metaphysics, nolens volens. His primary interest is the theological polemic against the Gnostics (especially the Valentinians), but also against Marcion. This controversy put him in a situation where it is necessary to postulate some kind of internally consistent ontology, compatible with the developing, but still very young church tradition. Of the already existing ontological models, Stoic telesism was the most suitable for him, which is diametrically opposed to the Platonism used mainly by the Gnostics. Its advantage is a strict ontological monism, which convincingly helped Tertullian to defend the salvation of soul and body, as well as theologically overcome a number of gnostic dualisms. On the one hand, he considers the soul and body to exist and therefore bodily; on the other hand, he is aware of their difference and does not speak of the soul from the body, nor of the psychic, pneumatic body. He also applies these beliefs about the ontological nature of the soul and body of Christ.

(Language: english)

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