Nauka o Logosie w dziełach Filona z Aleksandrii i w hymnie Prologu Czwartej Ewangelii

Abstract

That article traces the development of the Logos, which appeared within a syncretic environment dominated by different intellectual currents. This teaching consisted of religious beliefs. Greek and Hellenistic philosophical views: gnosis and Judaistic tenets. The influences of these tendencies are particularly evident in the works of Philo of Alexandria and in the hymn of the Fourth Gospel Prologue. These problems are difficult to solve in an univocal way, hence, that is way in the present article a full explanation cannot be given. This article is an attempt at a new formulation for understanding the Logos in Philo and in the hymn Prologue on the basis of philosophical, theological and biblical literature. In this attempt some malinterpretations and interpretations of the Logos are examined. This has become possible thanks to the understanding of the environment in which the creators of this philosophy lived and thanks to a better understanding of texts. The problem of Logos has been studied in three different aspects, which are interesting also for contemporary thought: namely, in relation to God, the world and a man. This article is, also confrontation between various interpretations of the Logos by two authors. All resemblences of both Logosos have their explanation in the common source of oreative inspiration by Philo and the author of hymn Prologue. Each of them uses a conception of the Logos but with a new meaning. On the ground of the text analysis, the Logos of Philo of Alexandria should be put between the conception of the author of hymn Prologue and the formulation by the adherents of Greek and Hellenistic philosophy. Namely: a) The Greek and Hellenistic philosophers emphasize that the Logos in an inner being in relation to the world or has something from it; on the other hand the Logos of the hymn exceeds the world it had existed before the world was created; b) the Greek and Hellenistic Logos is an impersonal principle having a static character, whereas Logos in hymn is a concrete and active person; c) Logos of philosophers is something, which is indefinite, while for the author of hymn i t is the Man-God. The statement, that the Logos of the hymn Prologue has its source in the conception of the Logos by Philo or in Alexandrian philosophy, seems to be groundless. Both conceptions differ fundamentally in personal aspect, in understanding of divinity and in the fact of becoming man. If we even accept that the author of the hymn used the conception of Logos by Philo there appears the conclusion of giving it a completely new meaning, which fundamentally changes the theory of the Logos. I n spite of the emphasis of many resemblances and differences all the possibilities are not shown. However that it was not the fundamental aim of this article. There were only chosen the basic elements, which could explain the problem of Logos in works written in the first century before Christ and in the first century of our era. Hitherto, existing works from that field are small and very often sketchy, especially in Polish literature.