Christina Van Dyke
Marcel van Ackeren and Lee Klein (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780197266298
- eISBN:
- 9780191872891
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266298.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter focuses on the corrective and complementary roles that a historically oriented approach can occupy in philosophical discussions. First, it argues that analysis of the development of key ...
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This chapter focuses on the corrective and complementary roles that a historically oriented approach can occupy in philosophical discussions. First, it argues that analysis of the development of key definitions, concepts, principles and so forth can often illuminate problematic prejudices that should motivate a re-examination of the philosophical considerations in their favour. Second, it claims that this re-examination should involve looking at the relevant historical context in which the idea developed. Third, it demonstrates (via the case study of medieval mysticism and modern conceptions of mystical experience) that turning to the relevant historical context can sometimes provide viable philosophical resources with which to complement existing discussions. The chapter concludes by suggesting that this approach can also help philosophers engage in meaningful interaction with scholars working on similar topics in other disciplines.Less
This chapter focuses on the corrective and complementary roles that a historically oriented approach can occupy in philosophical discussions. First, it argues that analysis of the development of key definitions, concepts, principles and so forth can often illuminate problematic prejudices that should motivate a re-examination of the philosophical considerations in their favour. Second, it claims that this re-examination should involve looking at the relevant historical context in which the idea developed. Third, it demonstrates (via the case study of medieval mysticism and modern conceptions of mystical experience) that turning to the relevant historical context can sometimes provide viable philosophical resources with which to complement existing discussions. The chapter concludes by suggesting that this approach can also help philosophers engage in meaningful interaction with scholars working on similar topics in other disciplines.
Wolfgang Riehle
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451096
- eISBN:
- 9780801470936
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451096.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Spiritual seekers throughout history have sought illumination through solitary contemplation. In the Christian tradition, medieval England stands out for its remarkable array of hermits, recluses, ...
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Spiritual seekers throughout history have sought illumination through solitary contemplation. In the Christian tradition, medieval England stands out for its remarkable array of hermits, recluses, and spiritual outsiders—from Cuthbert, Godric of Fichale, and Christina of Markyate to Richard Rolle, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe. This book offers the first comprehensive history of English medieval mysticism in decades—one that will appeal to anyone fascinated by mysticism as a phenomenon of religious life. The book begins in the twelfth century with the revival of eremitical mysticism and the early growth of the Cistercian Order in the British Isles. It then focuses on the great mystics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries—Richard Rolle (the first great English mystic), Walter Hilton, Margery Kempe, and Julian of Norwich. The book's narrative is grounded in the broader spiritual landscape of the Middle Ages, pointing out both prior influences dating back to Late Antiquity and corresponding developments in mysticism and theology on the Continent. It discusses the problem of possible differences between male and female spirituality and the movement of popularizing mysticism in the late Middle Ages.Less
Spiritual seekers throughout history have sought illumination through solitary contemplation. In the Christian tradition, medieval England stands out for its remarkable array of hermits, recluses, and spiritual outsiders—from Cuthbert, Godric of Fichale, and Christina of Markyate to Richard Rolle, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe. This book offers the first comprehensive history of English medieval mysticism in decades—one that will appeal to anyone fascinated by mysticism as a phenomenon of religious life. The book begins in the twelfth century with the revival of eremitical mysticism and the early growth of the Cistercian Order in the British Isles. It then focuses on the great mystics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries—Richard Rolle (the first great English mystic), Walter Hilton, Margery Kempe, and Julian of Norwich. The book's narrative is grounded in the broader spiritual landscape of the Middle Ages, pointing out both prior influences dating back to Late Antiquity and corresponding developments in mysticism and theology on the Continent. It discusses the problem of possible differences between male and female spirituality and the movement of popularizing mysticism in the late Middle Ages.
Christina Van Dyke
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190226411
- eISBN:
- 9780190226442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190226411.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Self-knowledge is a persistent—and paradoxical—theme in medieval mysticism; union with God is often taken to involve a loss of self as distinct from the divine. Yet an examination of Christian ...
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Self-knowledge is a persistent—and paradoxical—theme in medieval mysticism; union with God is often taken to involve a loss of self as distinct from the divine. Yet an examination of Christian contemplatives in the Latin West between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries who work not just within the apophatic tradition (which emphasizes the need to move past self-knowledge to self-abnegation) but also within the affective tradition (which portrays union with the divine as involving self-fulfillment) demonstrates that self-knowledge in medieval mysticism was not seen merely as something to be overcome or transcended. Instead, self-knowledge is viewed (particularly in the works of medieval women contemplatives) as an important means of overcoming alienation from embodied human existence.Less
Self-knowledge is a persistent—and paradoxical—theme in medieval mysticism; union with God is often taken to involve a loss of self as distinct from the divine. Yet an examination of Christian contemplatives in the Latin West between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries who work not just within the apophatic tradition (which emphasizes the need to move past self-knowledge to self-abnegation) but also within the affective tradition (which portrays union with the divine as involving self-fulfillment) demonstrates that self-knowledge in medieval mysticism was not seen merely as something to be overcome or transcended. Instead, self-knowledge is viewed (particularly in the works of medieval women contemplatives) as an important means of overcoming alienation from embodied human existence.
Alex Dubilet
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780823279463
- eISBN:
- 9780823281633
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823279463.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter shifts from Eckhart’s sermons to his Biblical commentaries to show how his theorization of univocity and immanence has a concrete theological and exegetical basis. It argues that for ...
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This chapter shifts from Eckhart’s sermons to his Biblical commentaries to show how his theorization of univocity and immanence has a concrete theological and exegetical basis. It argues that for Eckhart, God is not a name for a pious barrier to thought or action, but the site of the most fruitful conceptual experimentation. Through speculative exegesis of key Christian theological topics, Eckhart subverts the theological and cosmological hierarchies in order to make room for a dispossessed, univocal life of radical equality “with God.” By showing how Eckhart employs the divine in order to theoretically articulate absolute immanence, this chapter acts as a provocation to the standard discursive distributions—between philosophy and theology, between medieval and modern, between religious and secular—and the assumptions that underwrite them. It articulates a figure unacceptable to common secularization narratives—a religious figure that prayed to God to be free of God in order to become free of one’s self as a possession, and yet in so doing was not espousing a covertly atheist position, but an exegetically-grounded formulation of life free not only from the regime of disciplinary practices, but also from all transcendent grounding.Less
This chapter shifts from Eckhart’s sermons to his Biblical commentaries to show how his theorization of univocity and immanence has a concrete theological and exegetical basis. It argues that for Eckhart, God is not a name for a pious barrier to thought or action, but the site of the most fruitful conceptual experimentation. Through speculative exegesis of key Christian theological topics, Eckhart subverts the theological and cosmological hierarchies in order to make room for a dispossessed, univocal life of radical equality “with God.” By showing how Eckhart employs the divine in order to theoretically articulate absolute immanence, this chapter acts as a provocation to the standard discursive distributions—between philosophy and theology, between medieval and modern, between religious and secular—and the assumptions that underwrite them. It articulates a figure unacceptable to common secularization narratives—a religious figure that prayed to God to be free of God in order to become free of one’s self as a possession, and yet in so doing was not espousing a covertly atheist position, but an exegetically-grounded formulation of life free not only from the regime of disciplinary practices, but also from all transcendent grounding.
Patricia Dailey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231161206
- eISBN:
- 9780231535526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231161206.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter examines Augustine's view that embodiment is theologically intertwined with linguistic and cognitive properties, and eventually, with the development of medieval mysticism. When thinking ...
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This chapter examines Augustine's view that embodiment is theologically intertwined with linguistic and cognitive properties, and eventually, with the development of medieval mysticism. When thinking of embodiment, we must remember the potential paradigms associated with inner and outer persons, bodies, and senses that require the intervention of mind and language. In order to unify the inner and outer persons, the body must be read in order to be properly perceived, scripted in order to be suitable to its higher spiritual end, and loved in order to reflect properly the imago harbored within. Furthermore, what is equally deserving of attention in women's mystical texts, other than the nature of the feminine and its relation to bodily forms of devotion, is the way that this embodied practice parallels and further defines developed reading practices, providing other means of understanding the word and its relation to life.Less
This chapter examines Augustine's view that embodiment is theologically intertwined with linguistic and cognitive properties, and eventually, with the development of medieval mysticism. When thinking of embodiment, we must remember the potential paradigms associated with inner and outer persons, bodies, and senses that require the intervention of mind and language. In order to unify the inner and outer persons, the body must be read in order to be properly perceived, scripted in order to be suitable to its higher spiritual end, and loved in order to reflect properly the imago harbored within. Furthermore, what is equally deserving of attention in women's mystical texts, other than the nature of the feminine and its relation to bodily forms of devotion, is the way that this embodied practice parallels and further defines developed reading practices, providing other means of understanding the word and its relation to life.
Christina Van Dyke
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190634384
- eISBN:
- 9780190634421
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190634384.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, General
The thirteenth to fifteenth centuries were witness to lively and broad-ranging debates about the nature of persons. In logical and grammatical discussions, “person” indicated individuality. In the ...
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The thirteenth to fifteenth centuries were witness to lively and broad-ranging debates about the nature of persons. In logical and grammatical discussions, “person” indicated individuality. In the legal-political realm, “person” separated subjects from objects. In theological contexts, “person” appears most often in Trinitarian and Christological debates: God was three persons in one Being, and Christ was one person with two natures (human and divine). This chapter looks at how these uses of “person” overlap in the works of contemplatives in the Latin West such as Hadewijch, Marguerite Porete, Meister Eckhart, and Catherine of Siena. I argue that the key concepts of individuality, dignity, and rationality combine with the contemplative use of first and second person perspectives, personification, and introspection to yield a concept of “person” that both prefigures Locke’s classic seventeenth-century definition and deeply influences the development of personalism.Less
The thirteenth to fifteenth centuries were witness to lively and broad-ranging debates about the nature of persons. In logical and grammatical discussions, “person” indicated individuality. In the legal-political realm, “person” separated subjects from objects. In theological contexts, “person” appears most often in Trinitarian and Christological debates: God was three persons in one Being, and Christ was one person with two natures (human and divine). This chapter looks at how these uses of “person” overlap in the works of contemplatives in the Latin West such as Hadewijch, Marguerite Porete, Meister Eckhart, and Catherine of Siena. I argue that the key concepts of individuality, dignity, and rationality combine with the contemplative use of first and second person perspectives, personification, and introspection to yield a concept of “person” that both prefigures Locke’s classic seventeenth-century definition and deeply influences the development of personalism.
Ben Morgan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823239924
- eISBN:
- 9780823239962
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823239924.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
The chapter introduces key elements of Meister Eckhart's thought as it is articulated in his vernacular treatises and sermons. The language used to describe and cultivate personal identity in the ...
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The chapter introduces key elements of Meister Eckhart's thought as it is articulated in his vernacular treatises and sermons. The language used to describe and cultivate personal identity in the fourteenth century differs importantly from modern usage, so the chapter explores how Eckhart and his peers wrote about personal identity without employing the noun self. Eckhart's individualized programme of self-abandonment is put in the context of the spiritual practices of his contemporaries, but also of early portrait painting, and of way of life of Dominican friars preaching in the flourishing urban centres of the Rhineland. Eckhart is shown to situate spiritual change at the level of activities and practices, and his preaching consequently addresses the habits and assumptions of his congregation. Eckhart's texts are shown to be at once familiar and alienating: discussing personalized forms of spiritual development, but without valuing individual agency or self-awareness as ends in themselves.Less
The chapter introduces key elements of Meister Eckhart's thought as it is articulated in his vernacular treatises and sermons. The language used to describe and cultivate personal identity in the fourteenth century differs importantly from modern usage, so the chapter explores how Eckhart and his peers wrote about personal identity without employing the noun self. Eckhart's individualized programme of self-abandonment is put in the context of the spiritual practices of his contemporaries, but also of early portrait painting, and of way of life of Dominican friars preaching in the flourishing urban centres of the Rhineland. Eckhart is shown to situate spiritual change at the level of activities and practices, and his preaching consequently addresses the habits and assumptions of his congregation. Eckhart's texts are shown to be at once familiar and alienating: discussing personalized forms of spiritual development, but without valuing individual agency or self-awareness as ends in themselves.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226454122
- eISBN:
- 9780226454146
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226454146.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter focuses on the collapse of Alexander Bogdanov's vision of a socialist society with his death in 1928. It highlights the transformation of the blood research institute into the center of ...
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This chapter focuses on the collapse of Alexander Bogdanov's vision of a socialist society with his death in 1928. It highlights the transformation of the blood research institute into the center of a countrywide system of blood services following the extensive militarization of Russia. This chapter cites scientific journal reviews indicating the success of Bogdanov's ideas and investigates why the direction of blood research turned into medieval mysticism after his death.Less
This chapter focuses on the collapse of Alexander Bogdanov's vision of a socialist society with his death in 1928. It highlights the transformation of the blood research institute into the center of a countrywide system of blood services following the extensive militarization of Russia. This chapter cites scientific journal reviews indicating the success of Bogdanov's ideas and investigates why the direction of blood research turned into medieval mysticism after his death.
