Gregory of Nyssa on the Reciprocity of the Virtues
J Theol Studies, 58 (2):
537-552 (2007)DOI: 10.1093/jts/flm118
Abstract
Readers of Gregory of Nyssa have often remarked on the significance of the virtues to his theology. However, a central aspect of his understanding of the virtues has received insufficient attention: the notion that the virtues reciprocally entail one another. It is argued that Gregory uses a single theory to describe the interrelations between the virtues both as they exist in humans and as they exist in God. This theory is the reciprocity thesis, which posits that if one virtue is present, all the virtues must be present. The possible philosophical sources for Gregory's view and some problems with it are examined.