John of Damascus (c.675 – c.750) is regarded as one of the greatest Christian theologians. He rose to prominence and popularity through his defence of the use of icons during the iconoclast controversy, and also through his book, The Fount of Knowledge, which became an influential textbook of theology in both East and West. But he was also very well versed in philosophy, and here I will briefly look at his philosophical contributions.

But first some details about his life. Although in many respects John belonged to the culture of the Byzantine empire, he in fact never set foot there, but lived the whole of his life within the rapidly expanding Arab empire, first in Damascus and then in Palestine. He came from an influential Christian family, with his grandfather and his father having leading roles in the financial administration of the caliphate in Damascus. After receiving an excellent classical education, John followed in their footsteps, serving in the Muslim administration as the caliph’s “first counsellor” (protosymboulos), or vizier.

But around 706 he renounced his career in the civil service, gave away his wealth and set off for Jerusalem to take up the monastic life. He settled at the famous monastery of St Sabas in the Judaean desert, near Jerusalem, and there he passed his remaining years studying, writing, teaching and preaching – in fact, he was to become known as “Chrysorrhoas” (literally, “he who flows with gold”) due to his eloquent sermons. He also gained a reputation for his liturgical poetry and for his theological and philosophical works, as well as for the holiness of his life, and he is now venerated as a saint by both Orthodox and Catholic churches. Apart from his three Discourses Against the Iconcolasts, his most important work is The Fount of Knowledge (Pege gnoseos), which had great influence on both Eastern and Western theologians. It is divided into three parts, the first of which is the most philosophical and is known by its Latin title, the Dialectica.

This is a kind of philosophical dictionary, where important terms in logic and metaphysics are defined and explained, with the aim of helping theologians to think clearly and to state their arguments in a persuasive way.

In this section John draws heavily upon the Greek philosophical tradition, and especially on Porphyry’s Isagoge or ‘Introduction’ to Aristotle’s logical works. As this indicates, John was not afraid to make use of philosophy, and in his Preface to the Dialectica he writes: “I shall set forth what is most excellent among the wise men of the Greeks, knowing that anything that is true has been given to human beings from God, since ‘every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights’ [quoting James 1:17].”

In Part 2 of The Fount of Knowledge, John turns to the subject of heresy, providing a history of various heresies (and including Islam in this category). And in Part 3, known under its Latin title of De fide orthodoxa (“Exact Exposition of Orthodox Faith”), he provides a summary of Christian doctrine, which some have seen as a precursor of the Summae of the scholastics, such as Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae. But in all his writings, John made no claim to originality. What is most interesting is that Byzantine culture in general was greatly suspicious and even detested any originality or innovation. Anything original, in the modern sense of the term (as expressing one’s individuality), was viewed as deeply flawed.

This is why John wrote in the Preface to The Fount of Knowledge: “I shall say nothing of my own, but collect together into one the fruits of the labours of the most eminent of teachers and make a compendium.” Although this makes John distinctly un-modern, there is a sense in which it also makes him very postmodern. For in acknowledging that his work is little more than a compilation or a patchwork of selections from earlier works, he is giving voice to the notion, articulated by the French post-structuralist Roland Barthes (1915-1980), of the “death of the author” – a death which makes possible the birth of the reader.

Dr Nick Trakakis is a Research Fellow in Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. He recently edited ‘Southern Sun, Aegean Light: Poetry of Second-Generation Greek-Australians’.