Between idle chatter and the pursuit of wisdom. The idea of philosophy in the thought of Nicholas of Cusa

Nicholas of Cusa wrote about philosophy with reserve, even some dislike, and defi ned it as idle chatter and earthly knowledge that leads to excessive pride. On the other hand, he associated philosophy with the most important human task, i.e. the pursuit of truth. The objective of this paper is to explain this disparity in the understanding of philosophy by means of a distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Analyzing passages from selected works by Nicholas of Cusa, the paper presents Cusanus’ concept of wisdom and emphasizes its Christocentric character and the close relationship between wisdom and immortality.