The One in the philosophy of A.F. Losev and “Solar Henology” of Egil Wyller

Author: korolevaNV / Date: 22-03-2026 /
Publication Title: 
The One in the philosophy of A.F. Losev and “Solar Henology” of Egil Wyller
Publication author(s): 
Irina Viktorovna Gravina
Abstract: 

This article attempts to compare a number of philosophical ideas of A.F. Losev with those of the Norwegian classical scholar Egil Wyller (1925–2021), little-known in Russia, and his original approach to ancient philosophy. The subject of consideration is the Neoplatonic doctrine of the One (henology), which both authors articulate and develop quite independently of each other, yet with remarkably similar intentions. It is emphasized that both philosophers approached the problem of the One from a religious standpoint, largely pursuing apologetic goals within an environment alien to religious systems. In their works, henology acts as the constitutive basis of Christian philosophical discourse, serving as an apophatic principle that inherits the traditions of early Christian Neoplatonism, but articulated in the language of modern philosophical concepts. It is noted that Wyller not only introduces henology into scholarly circulation, considering it a promising direction for contemporary philosophy, but also engages in a dialogue with Heidegger's philosophy, introducing, among other things, the concept of “henological difference”. Finally, it is observed that close attention to henology is characteristic not only of these two philosophers, but of 20th-century philosophy as a whole. The conclusion is drawn about the complementary nature of the thinkers' views.

 

References: 

(Sources)

Collected works

  1. Losev, A.F. Nikolay Kuzanskiy i dialekticheskiy Pervo- printsip v antichno-srednevekovoy filosofii [Nicholas of Cusa and the dialectical first Principle in Ancient-Medieval philosophy], in Losev, A.F. Nikolay Kuzanskiy v perevodakh i kommentariyakh v 2 t., t. 1 [Nicholas of Cusa in translations and commentaries in 2 vols., vol. 1]. Moscow: Izdatel'skiy dom IaSK, 2016, pp. 317–360.
  2. Losev, A.F. Nikolay Kuzanskiy v perevodakh i kommentariyakh: sbornik v 2 t. [Collection “Nicholas of Cusa in translations and commentaries” in 2 vol.]. Moscow: JaSK, 2016, vol. 1. 727 p.; vol. 2. 519 p.

Individual Works

  1. Delez, Zh. Simulyakr i antichnaya filosofiya [The simulacrum and ancient philosophy], in Delez, Zh. Logika smysla [The logic of sence]. Moscow: Akademicheskiy Proekt, 2011, pp. 330–367.
  2. Dobrokhotov, A.L. «Volny smysla», ili Genologiya A.F. Loseva v traktate «Sámoe Samó» [“Waves of Meaning”, or A.F. Losev's henology in the tractate “Sámoe Samó”], in Losev, A.F. Veshch' i imya. Samoe samo [The thing and The name. Sámoe Samó]. Saint-Petersburg: Izdatel′stvo Olega Abyshko, 2008, pp. 5–24.
  3. Gaginskiy, A.M. Filosofiya bespredposylochnykh nachal [Philosophy of unconditional principles]. Moscow: IF RAN, 2018. 193 p.
  4. Losev, A.F. Istoriya antichnoy estetiki. Vysokaya klassika [A history of Ancient aesthetics. High Classics]. Khar'kov: Folio; Moscow: OOO « AST», 2000. 624 p.
  5. Losev, A.F. Sámoe Samó, in Losev, A.F. Veshch' i imya. Sámoe Samó [The thing and The name. Samoe samo]. Saint-Petersburg: Oleg Abyshko, 2016, pp. 188–426.
  6. Schürmann, Reiner. Broken Hegemonies. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2003. 692 p.
  7. Wyller, Egil A. Uchenie o Edinom v antichnosti i srednevekov′e [The doctrine of the One in antiquity and the Middle Ages]. Saint-Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2002. 668 p.

(Articles from Scientific Journals)

  1. Bychkov, O.V. A.F. Losev o ponyatii «Edinogo» v zapadnoj srednevekovoj mysli [A.F. Losev on the concept of the “One” in Western medieval thought], in Voprosy filosofii, 2016, no. 9, pp. 121–126.
  2. Gravina, I.V. Pereosmyslyaya Edinoe: A.F. Losev i evropeyskaya genologiya XX veka [Rethinking the One: A.F. Losev and European henology of the twentieth century], in Voprosy filosofii, 2022, no. 10, pp. 76–85.
  3. Knowles, A. Toward a Critique of Walten: Heidegger, Derrida, and Henological Difference, in Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 2013, vol. 27(3), pp. 265–276.
  4. Kuz'menko, G.N. O perspektivakh ispol'zovaniya termina «genologiya» v istoriko-filosofskom issledovanii [On the prospects of using the term “henology” in historical and philosophical research], in Voprosy filosofii, 2016, no. 2, pp. 213–216.
  5. Losev, A.F. Ob istoricheskom kontekste traktata Nikolaya Kuzanskogo «O neinom» [On the historical context of Nicholas of Cusa’s treatise “De non aliud”], in Voprosy filosofii, 2016, no. 9, pp. 105–120.
  6. Malkina, S.M. Edinoe i mnogoe: postmetafizicheskiy aspekt [The Singular and The Plural: Postmetaphysical Aspect], in Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta, 2012, vol. 12(3), pp. 28–33.
  7. Petrova, L.A. Kontseptsiya sobornosti A.S. Khomyakova v kontekste predstavleniy o edinstve i mnozhestvennosti v vizantiyskoy filosofii [The Concept “Sobornost'” of A.S. Khomyakov in the Context of Ideas about the Unity and Plurality in Byzantine Philosophy], in Khristianskoe chtenie, 2019, no. 2, pp. 119–130.
  8. Schürmann, R. Neoplatonic Henology as an Overcoming of Metaphysics, in Research in Phenomenology, 1983, vol. 13, pp. 25–41.
  9. Taguchi, S. From Henological Reduction to a Phenomenology of the “Name”: A Reinterpretation of Japanese Pure Land Thought, in Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 4: Facing the 21st Century. Nagoya: Nanzan Institute for Religion & Culture, 2009, pp. 51–64.
  10. Wyller, Egil A.  In Solomon's Porch: A henological analysis of the architectonic of the Fourth Gospel, in Studia Theologica, 1988, vol. 42:1, pp. 151–167.
  11. Wyller, Egil A. Plato's «Parmenides»: Another Interpretation, in The Review of Metaphysics, 1962, vol. 15(4), pp. 621–640.

(Articles from Proceedings and Collections of Research Papers)

  1. Gaydenko, P.P. Edinoe, edinstvo [The One, The oneness], in Novaya filosofskaya entsiklopediya. Moscow: Mysl', 2010, pp. 14–18.
  2. Henologische Perspektiven II. Zu Ehren Egil A. Wyllers Internationales Henologie-Symposium an der Norwegischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Oslo. Oslo: Rodopi Bv Editions, 1998.
  3. Wyller, Egil A. The discipline of henology: a synopsis, in Henologische Perspektiven II. Zu Ehren Egil A. Wyllers. Internationales Henologie-Symposium an der Norwegischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Oslo. Oslo: Rodopi Bv Editions, 1998, pp. 5–12.

(Electronic Resources)

  1. Losev, A.F. «Logika chistogo poznaniya» G. Kogena i neoplatonizm [Kogen's “Logic of Pure Knowledge and Neoplatonism”], in Zhurnal'nyy klub «Intelros», Credo New, 2012, no. 1. Available at: http://www.intelros.ru/readroom/credo_new/credo-new-2012-1/13141-logika-chistogo-poznaniya-g-kogena-i-neoplatonizm-iz-arhiva.html.
  2. Wyller, Egil A. Henologie, in Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie, hrsg. von J. Ritter, Bd. 3. Basel-Stut: Schwabe & Co, 1972. URL: https://www.schwabeonline.ch/schwabe-xaveropp/elibrary/start.xav?start=%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27verw.henologie%27%20and%20%40outline_id%3D%27hwph_verw.henologie%27%5D.

 

Key words: 
henology, doctrine of the One, Wyller's henology, ancient philosophy, Neoplatonism, phenomenology, post-metaphysics, apophaticism, philosophy of A.F. Losev
2026. Issue 1 (89)
The DOI index: 
10.17588/2076-9210.2026.1.072-086
Publication file: 
str.72-86_89.pdf