To Know Nothing: Apophatic Theology in the Dionysian Corpus
M. Todorovska
Živa Antika 2016 DOI: 10.47054/ziva16661-2069t (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Pseudo-Dionysius holds God to be ineffable and incomprehensible, that human knowledge of God is limited to an experience of his manifestation in the world, and that "non-knowledge" is achieved through the denial of everything of this world, including oneself, and through the understanding that nothing can be affirmed or denied of God. |
Abstract
The article briefly shows the major points of apophaticism in Pseudo-Dionysius, focusing on his stances of the incomprehensibility of God (the One, the Supreme Cause of everything, Being itself) and the limitations to men's abilities of attaining any proper knowledge about his immeasurable greatness and infinite power.In an attempt at a brief overview of some of the aspects of his apophatic theology, chosen passages from the treatises The Divine Names, The Celestial Hierarchy and the Mystical Theology (as well as from two of his Letters) show his insistence on the ineffability and the incomprehensibility of God, the knowledge of him as limited to an experience of his manifestation in the world, and the non-knowledge achieved through denial of everything of this world including oneself, and the understanding that nothing can be affirmed or denied of God.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |