Negative Theology in the Renaissance

The term “negative theology” refers to any discourse or examination that goes in search of God by negation (via negationis). Negative theology is sometimes used by theologians who deny the possibility for human intellect of knowing God. This is why negative theology is also called apophatic theology. Negative theology in the Renaissance is present most of all in the fifteenth century, mentioned by authors such as Nicholas of Cusa, Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino, and Lefèvre d’Étaples. From the sixteenth century onward, owing to a doctrine hardening in the aftermath of the Council of Trent, negative theology was less mentioned and only by following the classical interpretation of Thomas Aquinas.