Created and uncreated energies. A transdisciplinary approach.

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleEnergii necreate și energii create. O abordare transdisciplinară.
3. Language term Romanian
4. lemma author Stavinschi, Alexandra
5. lemma category Modes of interaction > Integration - Orthodox theological tradition and practice > Patristic studies - Various approaches to the problem of correlation between science and theology
6. Publication date 19-1-2017
7. lemma work Simaciu, Ion [Author]. Created and uncreated energies. A transdisciplinary approach.
8. lemma manifestations Transdisciplinarity in Science and Religion
9. Keywords uncreated energies - transdisciplinarity - created energies
10. Url Click Here
11. Lemma body

    1. This paper explores the concepts of uncreated energies, created energies and the connections between them, in terms of scientific knowledge and mystical knowledge. To achieve its goal, a transdisciplinary approach is used [Nicolescu, 1999].

       The author clarifies the difference between scientific and mystical knowledge. Scientific knowledge is mediated by the senses and the instruments and is communicated through artificial languages. New information is acquired through intuition (scientific revelation). By contrast, mystical knowledge is not acquired thanks to the senses and to the instruments. It is mostly communicated through a pictorial, non-conceptual language.

       According to St. Gregory Palama, scientific knowledge can contribute to clarifying the Scripture (the Old and the New Testament) but only if done with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Scientific knowledge is not the same as the wisdom of the prophets and apostles who, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, had access to a deeper knowledge - the mystical knowledge. This knowledge is not theoretical, ie achieved through the intellectual study of the Scripture, but is fulfilled and enlarged through the practical application of the teachings revealed or transmitted directly from the spiritual father to his disciple. This practice has deep consequences on the human body, mind and soul; as a result, it gives access to a direct knowledge of a reality which is beyond the senses, beyond the world that is "seen" by the senses and shaped by the mind. This reality consists, on the one hand, of the unseen world (the world of disembodied entities - the world of angels); on the other hand it also contains the elements of manifestations of a higher level of being which is the Creator of the two worlds Himself. The two seemingly contradictory manifestations of the creation - the seen and unseen world - are not contradictory as far as mysticism is concerned, which acknowledges a higher level of existence - God. This way of formulating the problem of knowledge in general and in particular of scientific knowledge, in terms of the existence of several levels of reality and based on a ternary logic, is typical to the transdisciplinary approach.

       In the first part of the paper, the author presents the concept of uncreated energies in terms of mystical knowledge. Then he analyses the concept of created energy in terms of mystical knowledge and scientific knowledge, in order to distinguish the two types of expressions: the world seen and the world unseen. In the last part, he seeks to overcome the apparent contradiction by establishing relationships with a higher level of reality, through uncreated energies.

       The doctrine of the created and uncreated energies is correctly albeit schematically presented. However, it was argued (Elena Băltuţă, Convorbiri literare, nr. 6 / June 2008) that although the author convincingly justifies the use of the transdisciplinary method, he fails to apply it in practice to his analysis with solid arguments that can support his thesis.