Grigor Tatevatsi

Born 1346; died 1409. Armenian philosopher, educator, and church figure.

Grigor Tatevatsi and his teacher, Ovanes Vorotnetsi, were the main representatives of the Tatev school in Armenian philosophy. Grigor Tatevatsi left a large literary legacy, primarily on problems of philosophy, theology, and the natural sciences. His most important works— The Book of Questions, published in 1729 (in Armenian), Commentaries on the “Introduction” by Porphyry, 1793 (in Armenian), and Winter Volume, 1741 (in Armenian)—reveal that he was strongly influenced by the philosophy of David Anakht. The question of god’s relationship to nature was resolved by Grigor Tatevatsi in the spirit of Christian theology. He explained the act of the divine creation of nature in Aristotelian terms as the transformation of potentiality into actuality. The material world, according to Grigor Tatevatsi, is always changing, and the cycle of the elements in matter is a guarantee of the indestructibility of matter. The doctrine of Grigor Tatevatsi contains rudiments of the idea of the conflict and unity of opposites. His theory of cognition shows materialist tendencies (for example, in its treatment of the problem of truth and in its sensualist motifs).