L’apokatastasi, ovvero la vita restituita nella sua integrità morale: breve ricognizione filosofica

The term “apokatàstasis” meant a return to the original place, e.g., the return of a ship to its home port; in philosophy and in theology is a technical term used to describe the purposeful return of the cosmos or of spiritual beings to the original state in which a creature can perfectly realize its nature. Origen considered the possibility of the complete apokatàstasis, e.g., the salvation of all people and fallen spirits. The doctrine of apokatàstasis is by Origen interwoven with his anthropology, eschatology, theology, philosophy of history, theodicy, and exegesis: The return of all things to their original source would occur at the end of history. This article briefly reconstructs the context of the concept in its premises and its metaphysical and moral consequences.