Historical and critical examination of the notion of human-divine paradox as typified in two images from Late Quattrocento Italy

During the Renaissance there were developments in thought and practice within both artistic and academic fields. These movements, being intertwined with theology, created an exciting context for the re-interpretation of such concepts as the Trinity, Christ’s humanity, and the limits of representation. The aim of this thesis is to analyse two images which illustrate these rationalizations of the Doctrine of the Trinity and particularly the human-divine paradox, at the height of Renaissance ingenuity. This thesis will explore the interaction between the historical, theological, cultural and philosophical frameworks as they influence the composition of High Renaissance art. Conversely, this investigation will examine how these disciplines’ are fuelled by the artworks themselves. Within this artistic development of the Trinity, the most startling evolution is found in the interplay between humanity and divinity as seen in the three persons of the Trinity. This paradox provides valuable information concerning the bias of the artist and of the period. However, it also raises questions concerning the extent of theological orthodoxy, liturgical integrity, and symbolic accuracy which need to be addressed by the observer. It is in considering these questions that I hope to be able to express some of the factors which were important to the theological world of the 15th century and which are still important to 21st century understanding of the nature of the Trinity

Descartes et le tournant theologique de la phenomenologie francaise

I will analyse Descartes’ role in the „theological turn “ of French phe-nomenology. Although in Husserl’s phenomenology the Cartesian cogito was the central element, in the phenomenologists of the „theological turn“ (Janicaud) it was exchanged for the idea of the infinite. I examine why Marion and Levinas are interested in the Cartesian idea of the infinite. In the phenomenology of Marion this idea is interpreted as a „conceptual icon“ and a „saturated pheno¬menon" ,in the phenomenology of Levinas this idea represents the structure that provides the possibility of the phenomenological description of transcendence. In order to see if Marion and Levinas turn back to the onto-theo-logical tradition of the metaphysics, like Janicaud affirms, we have to see how Descartes describes the idea of infinite and how Marion and Levinas interpret it