Gary Delany DeAngelis and Warren G. Frisina (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332704
- eISBN:
- 9780199868155
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332704.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Teaching the Daode Jing (DDJ) was written for non‐specialist faculty who are including the DDJ in a widening group of courses in Asian studies, religion, philosophy, history, humanities ...
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Teaching the Daode Jing (DDJ) was written for non‐specialist faculty who are including the DDJ in a widening group of courses in Asian studies, religion, philosophy, history, humanities and political science. It provides up‐to‐date information on contemporary scholarship and detailed discussion of classroom strategies that have been successfully employed in a variety of teaching environments. Contributors include well‐known scholars of Daoism such as Livia Kohn, Norman Girardot, Robert Henricks, Russell Kirkland, Hans‐Georg Moeller and Michael LaFargue. In addition, there are essays by Eva Wong (Daoist practitioner), David Hall (philosophy), Gary DeAngelis (mysticism), and a jointly written essay on pedagogical strategies by Judith Berling, Geoffrey Foy, and John Thompson (Chinese religion). Their essays address questions such as: Should we capitalize on popular interest in the DDJ in our classrooms? Which, among the many translations and scholarly approaches ought we to use? Is it appropriate to think of the DDJ as a religious text at all? There are several times in many of the essays where the attention to concrete classroom practice is brought clearly into focus. Thus, readers will find several specific tips that can be used in their own classrooms.Less
Teaching the Daode Jing (DDJ) was written for non‐specialist faculty who are including the DDJ in a widening group of courses in Asian studies, religion, philosophy, history, humanities and political science. It provides up‐to‐date information on contemporary scholarship and detailed discussion of classroom strategies that have been successfully employed in a variety of teaching environments. Contributors include well‐known scholars of Daoism such as Livia Kohn, Norman Girardot, Robert Henricks, Russell Kirkland, Hans‐Georg Moeller and Michael LaFargue. In addition, there are essays by Eva Wong (Daoist practitioner), David Hall (philosophy), Gary DeAngelis (mysticism), and a jointly written essay on pedagogical strategies by Judith Berling, Geoffrey Foy, and John Thompson (Chinese religion). Their essays address questions such as: Should we capitalize on popular interest in the DDJ in our classrooms? Which, among the many translations and scholarly approaches ought we to use? Is it appropriate to think of the DDJ as a religious text at all? There are several times in many of the essays where the attention to concrete classroom practice is brought clearly into focus. Thus, readers will find several specific tips that can be used in their own classrooms.
Hugh B. Urban
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195139013
- eISBN:
- 9780199871674
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195139011.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book is a companion volume to the author's The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy, and Power in Colonial Bengal, but while The Economics of Ecstasy engages the theoretical issues of secrecy ...
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This book is a companion volume to the author's The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy, and Power in Colonial Bengal, but while The Economics of Ecstasy engages the theoretical issues of secrecy and concealment associated with the Kartābhajās — a Bengali sect devoted to Tantra, an Indian religious movement notorious for its alleged use of shocking sexual language and rituals, this book presents the first English translation of the sect's body of highly esoteric, mystical poetry and songs. The period from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, during which these lyrics were written, was an era of change, experimentation, and transition from the older medieval styles to the new literary forms of “modern” Bengal. The original songs presented are an important part of this transitional period, reflecting the search for new literary forms and experimentation in new poetic styles. Long disparaged as an inferior, low‐class, or corrupt form of Bengali literature, these songs are concerned with contemporary social life in colonial Calcutta and with the real lives of common lower‐class men and women. With their vision of a universal “religion of humanity,” open to men and women of all classes, the Kartābhajā songs offer an alternative model of community, which made a special appeal to the working classes of colonial Calcutta. They delight in ridiculing and satirizing the foppish British rulers and pretentious upper classes, although at the same time, however, the satirical urban imagery is mingled with older Tantric connotations and employed in ingenious new ways to express profoundly esoteric and mystical religious ideas.Less
This book is a companion volume to the author's The Economics of Ecstasy: Tantra, Secrecy, and Power in Colonial Bengal, but while The Economics of Ecstasy engages the theoretical issues of secrecy and concealment associated with the Kartābhajās — a Bengali sect devoted to Tantra, an Indian religious movement notorious for its alleged use of shocking sexual language and rituals, this book presents the first English translation of the sect's body of highly esoteric, mystical poetry and songs. The period from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, during which these lyrics were written, was an era of change, experimentation, and transition from the older medieval styles to the new literary forms of “modern” Bengal. The original songs presented are an important part of this transitional period, reflecting the search for new literary forms and experimentation in new poetic styles. Long disparaged as an inferior, low‐class, or corrupt form of Bengali literature, these songs are concerned with contemporary social life in colonial Calcutta and with the real lives of common lower‐class men and women. With their vision of a universal “religion of humanity,” open to men and women of all classes, the Kartābhajā songs offer an alternative model of community, which made a special appeal to the working classes of colonial Calcutta. They delight in ridiculing and satirizing the foppish British rulers and pretentious upper classes, although at the same time, however, the satirical urban imagery is mingled with older Tantric connotations and employed in ingenious new ways to express profoundly esoteric and mystical religious ideas.
Ronney Mourad and Dianne Guenin-Lelle
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199841127
- eISBN:
- 9780199919536
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199841127.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book presents the first-ever English translation of the Prison Narratives written by the seventeenth-century French mystic and Quietist, Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717). Guyon’s narrative describes her ...
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This book presents the first-ever English translation of the Prison Narratives written by the seventeenth-century French mystic and Quietist, Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717). Guyon’s narrative describes her confinement between 1695 and 1703 in various prisons, including the dreaded Bastille. It also maps, in moving and unforgettable detail, the political and religious hegemony that sought to destroy her reputation and erase her from history. Guyon kept the text private. It therefore remained undiscovered for almost three centuries until an archival version was found and published in 1992 under the title Récits de Captivité (Prison Narratives). In order to make the text accessible to contemporary readers, the translation includes annotations identifying unfamiliar people, places, events and technical terms. The introduction provides a brief biography of Guyon and an analysis of the Quietist Affair, the religious and political conflict responsible for her persecution. Since this text constitutes the final, private, part of Guyon’s autobiography (the public portion of which was published in 1720 and remains in print today), the introduction discusses the composition of her autobiography as a whole and situates it in her larger body of work. It also includes an analysis of various historical, literary, and theological aspects of Guyon’s prison writings.Less
This book presents the first-ever English translation of the Prison Narratives written by the seventeenth-century French mystic and Quietist, Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717). Guyon’s narrative describes her confinement between 1695 and 1703 in various prisons, including the dreaded Bastille. It also maps, in moving and unforgettable detail, the political and religious hegemony that sought to destroy her reputation and erase her from history. Guyon kept the text private. It therefore remained undiscovered for almost three centuries until an archival version was found and published in 1992 under the title Récits de Captivité (Prison Narratives). In order to make the text accessible to contemporary readers, the translation includes annotations identifying unfamiliar people, places, events and technical terms. The introduction provides a brief biography of Guyon and an analysis of the Quietist Affair, the religious and political conflict responsible for her persecution. Since this text constitutes the final, private, part of Guyon’s autobiography (the public portion of which was published in 1720 and remains in print today), the introduction discusses the composition of her autobiography as a whole and situates it in her larger body of work. It also includes an analysis of various historical, literary, and theological aspects of Guyon’s prison writings.
Niels Christian Hvidt
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195314472
- eISBN:
- 9780199785346
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314472.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Prophecy plays an important role in the Old Testament. This importance does not end but continues throughout early Judaism, albeit under different forms and genres such as apocalyptic literature, ...
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Prophecy plays an important role in the Old Testament. This importance does not end but continues throughout early Judaism, albeit under different forms and genres such as apocalyptic literature, eschatological prophecy, clerical prophecy, and sapiental prophecy. It equally continues in the history and writings of the early church. The New Testament portrays Christ as the supreme prophet in not merely forwarding words of God to God's people, but being the word of God. Prophecy continued to mutate in the history of Christianity but kept its vigor. It re-emerged in the monastic movements, medieval visionary mysticism, passion mysticism, the great Marian apparitions, augmenting in the 19th century, and in possible contemporary prophetic personalities such as the Greek-Orthodox Vassula Rydén.Less
Prophecy plays an important role in the Old Testament. This importance does not end but continues throughout early Judaism, albeit under different forms and genres such as apocalyptic literature, eschatological prophecy, clerical prophecy, and sapiental prophecy. It equally continues in the history and writings of the early church. The New Testament portrays Christ as the supreme prophet in not merely forwarding words of God to God's people, but being the word of God. Prophecy continued to mutate in the history of Christianity but kept its vigor. It re-emerged in the monastic movements, medieval visionary mysticism, passion mysticism, the great Marian apparitions, augmenting in the 19th century, and in possible contemporary prophetic personalities such as the Greek-Orthodox Vassula Rydén.
Ara Paul Barsam
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195329551
- eISBN:
- 9780199870110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195329551.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Schweitzer's interest is not in mysticism per se, but only in “ethical mysticism”, that is, mysticism directed outwards towards the service of other suffering life. Christ ...
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Schweitzer's interest is not in mysticism per se, but only in “ethical mysticism”, that is, mysticism directed outwards towards the service of other suffering life. Christ mysticism provides the entry into this new life of service and the heralding of a new creation. Chapter Five exposes the organic link for Schweitzer between eschatology and mysticism, particularly in his notion of “practical eschatology” which anticipates Karl Barth's account of the moral life in terms of an eschatological activism, and, even more recently, Jürgen Moltmann's use of the very term in his theology of hope.Less
Schweitzer's interest is not in mysticism per se, but only in “ethical mysticism”, that is, mysticism directed outwards towards the service of other suffering life. Christ mysticism provides the entry into this new life of service and the heralding of a new creation. Chapter Five exposes the organic link for Schweitzer between eschatology and mysticism, particularly in his notion of “practical eschatology” which anticipates Karl Barth's account of the moral life in terms of an eschatological activism, and, even more recently, Jürgen Moltmann's use of the very term in his theology of hope.
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195166415
- eISBN:
- 9780199784783
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195166418.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book provides accurate, accessible translations of three classics of medieval Indian Buddhist mysticism: the “couplet-treasuries” of the great tantric masters Saraha, Kanha, and Tilopa. Since ...
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This book provides accurate, accessible translations of three classics of medieval Indian Buddhist mysticism: the “couplet-treasuries” of the great tantric masters Saraha, Kanha, and Tilopa. Since their composition around 1000 CE, these poems have exerted a powerful influence on spiritual life, as well as poetry and song, in India, Nepal, and Tibet. The book offers new translations of the poetry aiming to capture the sense and spirit of the poems in the original. It also offers an introduction that summarizes the latest scholarship, situating the poems in their historical context.Less
This book provides accurate, accessible translations of three classics of medieval Indian Buddhist mysticism: the “couplet-treasuries” of the great tantric masters Saraha, Kanha, and Tilopa. Since their composition around 1000 CE, these poems have exerted a powerful influence on spiritual life, as well as poetry and song, in India, Nepal, and Tibet. The book offers new translations of the poetry aiming to capture the sense and spirit of the poems in the original. It also offers an introduction that summarizes the latest scholarship, situating the poems in their historical context.
Steven T. Katz (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195097030
- eISBN:
- 9780199848805
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195097030.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This is the fourth in an influential series of volumes on mysticism, presenting a basic revaluation of the nature of mysticism. Each book in the series presents a collection of chapters by experts in ...
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This is the fourth in an influential series of volumes on mysticism, presenting a basic revaluation of the nature of mysticism. Each book in the series presents a collection of chapters by experts in the study of religion. This volume explores how the great mystics and mystical traditions use, interpret, and reconstruct the sacred scriptures of their traditions.Less
This is the fourth in an influential series of volumes on mysticism, presenting a basic revaluation of the nature of mysticism. Each book in the series presents a collection of chapters by experts in the study of religion. This volume explores how the great mystics and mystical traditions use, interpret, and reconstruct the sacred scriptures of their traditions.
Roger R. Jackson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195166415
- eISBN:
- 9780199784783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195166418.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
A translation of verses by Saraha is presented.
A translation of verses by Saraha is presented.
Roger R. Jackson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195166415
- eISBN:
- 9780199784783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195166418.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
A translation of verses by Kānha is presented.
A translation of verses by Kānha is presented.
Roger R. Jackson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195166415
- eISBN:
- 9780199784783
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195166418.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
A translation of verses by Tilopa is presented.
A translation of verses by Tilopa is presented.
Charles M. Stang
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199640423
- eISBN:
- 9780191738234
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199640423.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion and Literature
This book argues that the pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite, and the influence of Paul together constitute the best interpretive lens for understanding the Corpus Dionysiacum [CD]. This book ...
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This book argues that the pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite, and the influence of Paul together constitute the best interpretive lens for understanding the Corpus Dionysiacum [CD]. This book demonstrates how Paul in fact animates the entire corpus, that the influence of Paul illuminates such central themes of the CD as hierarchy, theurgy, deification, Christology, affirmation (kataphasis) and negation (apophasis), dissimilar similarities, and unknowing. Most importantly, Paul serves as a fulcrum for the expression of a new theological anthropology, an “apophatic anthropology.” Dionysius figures Paul as the premier apostolic witness to this apophatic anthropology, as the ecstatic lover of the divine who confesses to the rupture of his self and the indwelling of the divine in Gal 2:20: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Building on this notion of apophatic anthropology, the book forwards an explanation for why this sixth‐century author chose to write under an apostolic pseudonym. It argues that the very practice of pseudonymous writing itself serves as an ecstatic devotional exercise whereby the writer becomes split in two and thereby open to the indwelling of the divine. Pseudonymity is on this interpretation integral and internal to the aims of the wider mystical enterprise. Thus this book aims to question the distinction between “theory” and “practice” by demonstrating that negative theology—often figured as a speculative and rarefied theory regarding the transcendence of God—is in fact best understood as a kind of asceticism, a devotional practice aiming for the total transformation of the Christian subject.Less
This book argues that the pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite, and the influence of Paul together constitute the best interpretive lens for understanding the Corpus Dionysiacum [CD]. This book demonstrates how Paul in fact animates the entire corpus, that the influence of Paul illuminates such central themes of the CD as hierarchy, theurgy, deification, Christology, affirmation (kataphasis) and negation (apophasis), dissimilar similarities, and unknowing. Most importantly, Paul serves as a fulcrum for the expression of a new theological anthropology, an “apophatic anthropology.” Dionysius figures Paul as the premier apostolic witness to this apophatic anthropology, as the ecstatic lover of the divine who confesses to the rupture of his self and the indwelling of the divine in Gal 2:20: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Building on this notion of apophatic anthropology, the book forwards an explanation for why this sixth‐century author chose to write under an apostolic pseudonym. It argues that the very practice of pseudonymous writing itself serves as an ecstatic devotional exercise whereby the writer becomes split in two and thereby open to the indwelling of the divine. Pseudonymity is on this interpretation integral and internal to the aims of the wider mystical enterprise. Thus this book aims to question the distinction between “theory” and “practice” by demonstrating that negative theology—often figured as a speculative and rarefied theory regarding the transcendence of God—is in fact best understood as a kind of asceticism, a devotional practice aiming for the total transformation of the Christian subject.
Crawford Gribben
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195325317
- eISBN:
- 9780199785605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325317.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter documents Irish Cromwellian debates about conversion–one of the most elemental components of protestant theology. Surprisingly, Irish Cromwellians could not agree whether conversion ...
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This chapter documents Irish Cromwellian debates about conversion–one of the most elemental components of protestant theology. Surprisingly, Irish Cromwellians could not agree whether conversion should be the basis or the goal of church membership and an individual's participation in the sacraments. Protestants in mid‐seventeenth century Ireland were prepared to accuse each other of preaching a false gospel, and of promoting an unbalanced mysticism in the search for religious assurance.Less
This chapter documents Irish Cromwellian debates about conversion–one of the most elemental components of protestant theology. Surprisingly, Irish Cromwellians could not agree whether conversion should be the basis or the goal of church membership and an individual's participation in the sacraments. Protestants in mid‐seventeenth century Ireland were prepared to accuse each other of preaching a false gospel, and of promoting an unbalanced mysticism in the search for religious assurance.
Ismo Dunderberg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284962
- eISBN:
- 9780191603785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284962.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter offers a closer discussion of the Johannine portrayal of Thomas. It argues that the author of John was unaware of the Syrian Thomas tradition: he never used the name Judas Thomas for ...
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This chapter offers a closer discussion of the Johannine portrayal of Thomas. It argues that the author of John was unaware of the Syrian Thomas tradition: he never used the name Judas Thomas for this figure. It is shown that the theological positions ascribed to Thomas in recent scholarship are far from evident. It is neither clear that Thomas doubts the possibility of physical resurrection, nor it is clear that he is portrayed as an advocate of those seeking mystical ascent and a visio dei. The negative aspects in the Johannine portrayal of Thomas are not unique in this gospel. Several other followers of Jesus are cast in equally negative terms. It is not conceivable to assume that behind all these figures would be Christian communities rejected by the author of John.Less
This chapter offers a closer discussion of the Johannine portrayal of Thomas. It argues that the author of John was unaware of the Syrian Thomas tradition: he never used the name Judas Thomas for this figure. It is shown that the theological positions ascribed to Thomas in recent scholarship are far from evident. It is neither clear that Thomas doubts the possibility of physical resurrection, nor it is clear that he is portrayed as an advocate of those seeking mystical ascent and a visio dei. The negative aspects in the Johannine portrayal of Thomas are not unique in this gospel. Several other followers of Jesus are cast in equally negative terms. It is not conceivable to assume that behind all these figures would be Christian communities rejected by the author of John.
Gary D. DeAngelis, Warren G. Frisina, and Gary D. DeAngelis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195332704
- eISBN:
- 9780199868155
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195332704.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This essay outlines the way Gary D. DeAngelis employs the DDJ in a course on comparative mysticisms. Beginning with Ninian Smart's definition of mystical experience as a “state of consciousness where ...
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This essay outlines the way Gary D. DeAngelis employs the DDJ in a course on comparative mysticisms. Beginning with Ninian Smart's definition of mystical experience as a “state of consciousness where one ‘acquires a fundamental insight into the nature of reality,'” DeAngelis leads students into a discussion of how the DDJ responds to two basic questions: “What is the nature of ultimate reality?; and How may one experience that reality?” These questions lead students to explore basic epistemological issues as they come to a deeper understanding of what the DDJ may mean by saying that it is possible to “know” a Dao which is itself “unknowable.”Less
This essay outlines the way Gary D. DeAngelis employs the DDJ in a course on comparative mysticisms. Beginning with Ninian Smart's definition of mystical experience as a “state of consciousness where one ‘acquires a fundamental insight into the nature of reality,'” DeAngelis leads students into a discussion of how the DDJ responds to two basic questions: “What is the nature of ultimate reality?; and How may one experience that reality?” These questions lead students to explore basic epistemological issues as they come to a deeper understanding of what the DDJ may mean by saying that it is possible to “know” a Dao which is itself “unknowable.”
Jennifer Radden
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195151657
- eISBN:
- 9780199849253
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195151657.003.0022
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter discusses two poems by Charles Baudelaire, “Autumn Song” and “Spleen.” A French poet of the Romantic era, Baudelaire lived between 1821 and 1867. His short life was troubled and erratic, ...
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This chapter discusses two poems by Charles Baudelaire, “Autumn Song” and “Spleen.” A French poet of the Romantic era, Baudelaire lived between 1821 and 1867. His short life was troubled and erratic, and in his lifetime he published only one volume of poems, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil). He was troubled, moody, rebellious, and given to religious mysticism. His life was marked by Bohemian excesses, illness, and despondent and despairing mood states such as conveyed in the two hauntingly sad poems reproduced here.Less
This chapter discusses two poems by Charles Baudelaire, “Autumn Song” and “Spleen.” A French poet of the Romantic era, Baudelaire lived between 1821 and 1867. His short life was troubled and erratic, and in his lifetime he published only one volume of poems, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil). He was troubled, moody, rebellious, and given to religious mysticism. His life was marked by Bohemian excesses, illness, and despondent and despairing mood states such as conveyed in the two hauntingly sad poems reproduced here.
Dominic J. O'Meara
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198751472
- eISBN:
- 9780191598128
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198751478.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This book is a guide to those wishing to read the works (the Enneads) of Plotinus, one of the greatest figures of ancient philosophy. The book provides an outline of Plotinus’ life and of the ...
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This book is a guide to those wishing to read the works (the Enneads) of Plotinus, one of the greatest figures of ancient philosophy. The book provides an outline of Plotinus’ life and of the composition of the Enneads, placing Plotinus in the intellectual context of his time. Selected Plotinian texts are then discussed in relation to central issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics: soul and body, intelligible and sensible reality, Intellect, the One, speaking of the ineffable, the production of reality, evil, beauty, the human good, and mysticism. Plotinus’ historical importance is indicated. The book includes a guide to further reading, arranged by themes, and a bibliography.Less
This book is a guide to those wishing to read the works (the Enneads) of Plotinus, one of the greatest figures of ancient philosophy. The book provides an outline of Plotinus’ life and of the composition of the Enneads, placing Plotinus in the intellectual context of his time. Selected Plotinian texts are then discussed in relation to central issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics: soul and body, intelligible and sensible reality, Intellect, the One, speaking of the ineffable, the production of reality, evil, beauty, the human good, and mysticism. Plotinus’ historical importance is indicated. The book includes a guide to further reading, arranged by themes, and a bibliography.
Ara Paul Barsam
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195329551
- eISBN:
- 9780199870110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195329551.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
It has been said that there is no ethics without meta‐ethics: too true, Schweitzer would say. The philosophical ground‐plan against which Schweitzer operates — particularly Schopenhauer's and ...
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It has been said that there is no ethics without meta‐ethics: too true, Schweitzer would say. The philosophical ground‐plan against which Schweitzer operates — particularly Schopenhauer's and Nietzsche's metaphysics of the “will” — is explored in this chapter in order to understand Schweitzer's particular characterization of life as the “will‐to‐live”. Moreover, whereas previous commentators have focused on reverence for life as a philosophical ethic located in that tradition, this Chapter demonstrates that Schweitzer's theology provides the hitherto undiscerned foundation for his “ethical mysticism”.Less
It has been said that there is no ethics without meta‐ethics: too true, Schweitzer would say. The philosophical ground‐plan against which Schweitzer operates — particularly Schopenhauer's and Nietzsche's metaphysics of the “will” — is explored in this chapter in order to understand Schweitzer's particular characterization of life as the “will‐to‐live”. Moreover, whereas previous commentators have focused on reverence for life as a philosophical ethic located in that tradition, this Chapter demonstrates that Schweitzer's theology provides the hitherto undiscerned foundation for his “ethical mysticism”.
Henny Fiskå Hägg
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288083
- eISBN:
- 9780191604164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288089.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter provides an overview of the book. It begins by describing apophatic theology (approaching the divine through negation) in relation to kataphatic theology (based on affirmation) or ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the book. It begins by describing apophatic theology (approaching the divine through negation) in relation to kataphatic theology (based on affirmation) or mystical theology (based on an inner relationship to God). Works that have influenced the approach of this book are surveyed and the remaining chapters outlined.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the book. It begins by describing apophatic theology (approaching the divine through negation) in relation to kataphatic theology (based on affirmation) or mystical theology (based on an inner relationship to God). Works that have influenced the approach of this book are surveyed and the remaining chapters outlined.
Andrew Louth
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291403
- eISBN:
- 9780191710674
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291403.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
In almost any discussion of Christian mysticism there arises the question as to its uniqueness: what is the relationship between Christian mysticism and other forms of mysticism? In the context of a ...
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In almost any discussion of Christian mysticism there arises the question as to its uniqueness: what is the relationship between Christian mysticism and other forms of mysticism? In the context of a discussion of Patristic mystical theology, the problem is effectively narrowed down to that of the influence on Patristic mysticism of the Platonic tradition, which is fundamentally mystical, especially in the form the Fathers encountered it. Platonism and mysticism are discussed.Less
In almost any discussion of Christian mysticism there arises the question as to its uniqueness: what is the relationship between Christian mysticism and other forms of mysticism? In the context of a discussion of Patristic mystical theology, the problem is effectively narrowed down to that of the influence on Patristic mysticism of the Platonic tradition, which is fundamentally mystical, especially in the form the Fathers encountered it. Platonism and mysticism are discussed.
Andrew Louth
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291403
- eISBN:
- 9780191710674
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291403.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
It has been seen in some of the Fathers the doctrine that as the soul approaches God, it is plunged into the Divine Darkness where God dwells. This appears to bear some similarity to the doctrine of ...
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It has been seen in some of the Fathers the doctrine that as the soul approaches God, it is plunged into the Divine Darkness where God dwells. This appears to bear some similarity to the doctrine of the Dark Night of the soul that is central to the mystical theology of St. John of the Cross. Opinions vary on how closely these two doctrines: the Patristic doctrine of the Divine Darkness and the sanjuanist doctrine of the Dark Night of the Soul, are related. It is, however, an indisputable fact that the medieval tradition which culminates in the Dark Night of St. John of the Cross was fertilized by the writings of Denys the Areopagite and especially his Mystical Theology.Less
It has been seen in some of the Fathers the doctrine that as the soul approaches God, it is plunged into the Divine Darkness where God dwells. This appears to bear some similarity to the doctrine of the Dark Night of the soul that is central to the mystical theology of St. John of the Cross. Opinions vary on how closely these two doctrines: the Patristic doctrine of the Divine Darkness and the sanjuanist doctrine of the Dark Night of the Soul, are related. It is, however, an indisputable fact that the medieval tradition which culminates in the Dark Night of St. John of the Cross was fertilized by the writings of Denys the Areopagite and especially his Mystical Theology.
