Dr Constantinos [Costas] Athanasopoulos

Professional biography

Dr Constantinos Athanasopoulos is research active for more than 30 years and has published more than four books in Greece and is the editor of three further books which have been published in the UK. Some key papers in his more than 30 papers and contributions in international philosophical  journals, Conference Proceedings and Encyclopedias include:

"Pyrrhonism and Paul Feyerabend: A Study of Ancient and Modern Scepticism", in Hellenistic Philosophy, 2nd Vol., ed. by K.Boudouris, International Center for Greek Philosophy and Culture, Athens, 1994, pp.11-29.

“Stoics and Modern Philosophy on Sentiments, Emotions, and Passions” (in Greek), The Moral Philosophy of the Greeks (in Greek), ICGPC, Athens, 1996, pp.147-66.

"Aristotle's Akrasia and J.-P.Sartre's Bad Faith" (in English), D.N. Koutras, ed., The Aristotelian
Ethics and its Influence, Society for Aristotelian Studies "The Lyceum", Athens, 1996, pp.24-32.

“Good and Evil in Human Nature”, in Philosophical Inquiry: International Quarterly, Vol.22, Summer, 2000, No.3, pp.104-15.

“The influence of Ps.Dionysius the Areopagite on Johannes Scotus Eriugena and St. Gregory Palamas: Goodness as Transcendence of Metaphysics” (in English), in  Agnieska Kijewska, ed., Being or Good? Metamorphoses of Neoplatonism, Lublin: Catholic University of Lublin Press (KUL), 2004, pp.319-341. https://archive.org/details/athanasopoulos-transcendence-of-metaphysics

“The Ethical Problems of Sensus Communis Philosophicus: Reflections on McKeon” in Stephan Heuser, Hans G. Ulrich, eds., Pluralism in Europe- One Law, One Market, One Culture? Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2006, pp.278-289.

Encyclopedia Entries in A. C. Grayling, A. Pyle and N. Goulder, eds., The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy, London: Continuum International Publ., 2006. "Communitarianism", in Vol. 1, pp. 692-693; "Culture and Civilization", in Vol. 1, pp. 767-769; "Fact-Value Distinction", Vol. 2, pp. 1047-1048; "War and Peace", Vol. 4, pp. 3304-3307.

“Ousia in Aristotle’s Categories”, Logique et Analyse, 53 (210), 211-243, June 2010 (ISSN 0024-5836). Original title: The Importance of Aristotle's views on Ousia in the Categories for the understanding of Aristotle’s dictum: “τὸ ὄν πολλαχῶς λέγεται” in Metaphysics: The road to Rhetoric and its use in Logic and Metaphysics or Against Some of the Essentialist and Rationalist Readings of Aristotle. https://archive.org/details/06athanasopoulos-1-logique-et-analyse

'Towards a conceptual and methodological renaissance in Philosophical Practice or Socrates, Aristotle, Augustine and Carl Rogers: Elenchos, Balance, Truth and Love as an antidote to the Fear of Freedom. Some thoughts on the possibilities of improvements in current Philosophical Practice', Proceedings of the XI-ICPP and HT2012 (The 11th International Conference on Philosophical Practice and the 4th International Conference on Humanities Therapy), Korean Humanities Institute, Kangwon National University and HK Research Team for Humanities Therapy, Vol. 1, pp.217-239. The paper was also accepted for publication at the peer-reviewed journal: Philosophical Practice (Journal of the APPA) (Volume 7, Number 3, November 2012, pp.1030-1044).

'What Nicholas D. Smith has got wrong about Homeric Ethics', in Teaching and Research in the Arts: Papers from the Arts Faculty Conference held at the New Lanark Mill Hotel, October 2010 and October 2011, The Open University, 2012, pp.3-14.

"The Validity and Distinctness of the Orthodox Mystical Approach in Philosophy and Theology
and Its Opposition to Esse ipsum subsistens”, Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, Vol. 68,
Number 4, 2012, pp.695-714. https://archive.org/details/2012-68-4-695-revista-athanasopoulos

“Mystical Ecology: Food and drink as spiritual nourishment in the Mystical Orthodox
Tradition”, in Luc Andrian, Jan-Willem Sneep, Guillermo Kerberand and Robin Attfield, eds.,
Sustainable Alternatives for Poverty Reduction and Eco-Justice, Vol.1, 2nd ed., Cambridge
Scholars Publishing, 2014, pp.79-96 (ISBN (10): 1-4438-6689-X, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-
6689-7)) https://archive.org/details/athanasopoulos-paper-at-csp-saprej-2014

“Christian Mysticism and Food” in Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics, edited by Paul B. Thompson and David M. Kaplan (Springer Publ.), 2014 (ISBN: 978-94-007-6167-4 (Online).Link to the live Encyclopedia entry here: http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_436-6

“The Shield of Achilles: A use for Philosophical Practice” in Philosophical Practice, Journal of the APPA, Volume 9, Number 2, July 2014, pp.1381-1387.

“The Cloud of Unknowing in Eckhart and Palamas: Discussion of Areopagitic Ineffability and its significance for Western and Eastern Christian Mysticism”, (translated in Russian with the following title: Мрак неведения у Экхарта и Паламы: дискуссия об ареопагитской невыразимости и ее значении для Западной и Восточной христианской мистики), in Verbum, Vol. 17, pp. 17-24.

“Aristotle in Practice”, in Michael Noah Weiss (ed.), The Socratic Handbook, Reihe: Schriftenreihe der Initiative Weltethos Österreich, Band 9, 2015, broschiert, 440 Seiten, ISBN: 978-3-643-90659-5, pp.83-87.

 “Demonstration (Απόδειξις) and its problems for St Gregory Palamas: Some neglected Aristotelian aspects of St Gregory Palamas' Philosophy and Theology” in The Ways of Byzantine Philosophy, ed. by Mikonja Knezevic, Sebastian Press, USA, 2015, pp.361-374. https://archive.org/details/c-athanasopoulos-demonstration-ways-of-byzantine-philosophy

“The Spiritual Challenge of Being European Today for an Orthodox: The New Atheist Attack on Traditional European Values and Orthodox Christian Identity”, in Annals of the University of Bucharest: Philosophy Series, 2015, Number 2, pp.13-26. https://archive.org/details/athanasopoulos-being-orthodoxin-europetoday
 

‘St. Gregory Palamas, (Neo-)Platonist and Aristotelian Metaphysics: the response of Orthodox
Mystical Theology to the Western impasse of intellectualism and essentialism’ in Divine
Essence and Divine Energies: Ecumenical Reflections on the Presence of God in Eastern
Orthodoxy, edited by C. Athanasopoulos and C. Schneider, James Clarke & Co, April 2013.
ISBN: 9780227173862, pp.50-67. https://archive.org/details/athanasopoulos-palamas-and-neo-platonism-divine-essence-divine-energies

The Validity and Distinctness of the Orthodox Mystical Approach in Philosophy and Theology
and Its Opposition to Esse ipsum subsistens”, Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, Vol. 68,
Number 4, 2012, pp.695-714. https://archive.org/details/2012-68-4-695-revista-athanasopoulos

“Eudaimonia, Apatheia, Ataraxia and Hesychasm: How St Gregory Palamas' views on
hesychasm and asceticism solve the problems in the often misunderstood ancient Greek
moral concepts of eudaimonia, apatheia and ataraxia”, Analogia: The Pemptousia Journal for
Theological Studies, Vol.5, 2018, pp.5-18. https://archive.org/details/eudaimonia-apatheia-ataraxia-analogia-c-athanasopoulos

“Hesychia, Salvation, Ineffability and Quietude: St Gregory Palamas and L. Wittgenstein on
the Escapist and Futile Misconceptions of Ontological Salvation and Metaphysical Hinges”,
in C. Athanasopoulos, ed., Orthodox Mysticism and Asceticism: Philosophy and Theology in
St Gregory Palamas’ Work, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020, pp.52-85. https://archive.org/details/orthodox-mysticism-and-asceticism-book-athanasopoulos-on-palamas-and-wittgestein

The Cloud of Unknowing in Eckhart, Palamas and Wittgenstein: Discussion of Areopagetic
Ineffability and its Significance for Western and Eastern Mysticism”, C. Athanasopoulos, ed.,
Orthodox Mysticism and Asceticism: Philosophy and Theology in St Gregory Palamas’ Work,
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020, pp.86-105. https://archive.org/details/athanasopoulos-cloud-of-unknowing-eckhart-palamas-wittgenstein

“Religion and State in More’s Utopia: Challenging Republicanism and the Byzantine
synallelia, symfonia and harmonia”, in Philosophоs – Philotheos – Philoponоs: Studies and
Essays as Charisteria in Honor of Professor Bogoljub Šijaković on the Occasion of His 65th
Birthday, edited by Mikonja Knežević, in collaboration with Rade Kisić and Dušan Krcunović,
Belgrade: Gnomon, Podgorica: Matica srpska 2021, 416–434. https://archive.org/details/c-athanasopoulos-moore-augustine-byzantium

“The Philosophy of Philokalia: The Culture and Life of Beauty in the East”, Annals of the
Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Bucharest on the Philosophy of Philokalia, Vol 70,
No 1 (2021), pp.13-71:
https://annalsphilosophy-ub.org/2024/01/the-philosophy-of-philokalia-the-culture-and-life-of-beauty-in-the-east-2/

Books (in English)

C. Athanasopoulos, ed., Orthodox Mysticism and Asceticism: Philosophy and Theology in St Gregory Palamas’ Work, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020. https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-5366-8

Triune God: Incomprehensible but Knowable— The Philosophical and Theological
Significance of St Gregory Palamas for Contemporary Philosophy and Theology, edited by
Constantinos Athanasopoulos, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015, ISBN (10): 1-4438-
8055-8; ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8055-8. Webpage: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/triune-god 

Divine Essence and Divine Energies: Ecumenical Reflections on the Presence of God in Eastern Orthodoxy, edited by C. Athanasopoulos and C. Schneider, James Clarke & Co, 2013, ISBN: 9780227173862. Web page at the Publisher's Webpage: http://www.jamesclarke.co/product_info.php/products_id/1848?
osCsid=fead91afbed90ea81214c9d345a6560e

Books (in Greek)

Philosophy in Europe, Vol. I: Philosophy in Europe from the 6th to the 16th Century, Patras: Hellenic Open University, 2001, pp.203 (ISBN: 960-538-286-5); I prepared a 2nd enlarged edition of this book (pp.280), and it was published by the Hellenic Open University in 2008 (ISBN: 978-960-538-787-7)

Europe East and West: Byzantine Civilization, Patras: Hellenic Open University, 2001, pp.168 (ISBN: 960-538-277-6)

The Nature, Value and Freedom of the Ethical Life of the Person: Ideas and perspectives in Modern Ethics (16th-19th Century), Athens: Typothito (Gutenberg), 2002, pp.235 (ISBN: 960-402-044-7)

Ancillae Theologiae: Philosophy and Theology in the Medieval and Byzantine Times, Athens: Parousia, 2004, pp.368 (ISBN: 960-7956-94-X)

He currently works as an Associate Lecturer for the OU, teaching the third year courses A333: Key Questions in Philosophy, the course A332: Why is Religion Controversial, and the first  year courses A111 and A113. Previously he taught AA308 Thought and Experience: Themes in the Philosophy of Mind in Scotland.

He has created and manages the BWS online Wittgenstein Annotated Bibliography: http://wittgensteinbibliography.wikidot.com/.

Other online projects include: The Palamas Seminar Wiki: http://palamas-seminar-neamt.wikidot.com/main:about  (where there is a page dedicated on his contributions in Palamas Studies, see http://palamas-seminar-neamt.wikidot.com/athanasopoulos) and the Archive.Org Palamas Seminar outputs (where one can find his contributions among other key scholars in the field): https://archive.org/details/@gregory_palamas/uploads

Research interests

Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Religion, Aesthetics, Philosophical Practice

External collaborations

He is the co-founder of the Palamas Seminar https://sites.google.com/view/athanasopouleion/palamas-seminar

He has created and manages the BWS Annotated online Bibliography (http://wittgensteinbibliography.wikidot.com/ )

He has created and manages the Palamas Seminar Wiki  http://palamas-seminar-neamt.wikidot.com/main:about and the Palamas Seminar Archive.Org website https://archive.org/details/@gregory_palamas/uploads