Interaction of the Ideal Humanity: The New Interpretation of Augustine in Finnish School and Its Encounter with Chinese Philosophy

Augustinian studies has been developed as one of the most concerned disciplines in the field of patristics and medieval philosophy in China. In comparison with Anglophone world, the Scandinavian studies of Augustinian tradition look rare in the Chinese context. Rooted in the new interpretation of Luther, the Finnish School offered a distinctive theory of deification which combines the ontological and phenomenological approaches as a whole. While Finnish Mannermaa School originally developed from the confrontation with Russian Orthodox church, their vision of participation in divinity has gone beyond the Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue and develops a new connection with Chinese philosophy. Evaluating these traditions of ideal humanity, we shall have a deeper understanding on patristic studies in the Northern context and open up new intellectual resources for the interaction of Sino-Nordic philosophy of religions.