Self-attention in Evagrius Ponticus: A specific modality of self-regulation of attention as a way of self-knowledge

Abstract

In recent decades the interest in psycho-clinical research on analyzing the psychological mechanisms underlying the various spiritual practices around the self-regulation of attention has increased exponentially. While the study of the self-regulation practices of attention rooted in Buddhism grows each year, there have not yet been equivalent developments regarding the practice of attention in the Stoic tradition, in the first Christian monasticism, or in other late-antiquity writers. Although the notion of “self-attention” is a core notion of these traditions, it has not been sufficiently studied or the research is in an incipient state. Our work aims to explore and systematize some of the specific notes that characterize the practice of self-attention in Evagrius Ponticus, a hermit monk of the first Christian monasticism of the fourth century. As a hypothesis, we claim that in the writings of this monk we can find a particular practice of self-regulation of attention as a way of self-knowledge. The prayer he suggests that seeks to establish an interpersonal relationship with the Divine is a practice that aims to access a healthy and authentic image of oneself.