‘Joining into God's breath’: travail of the negative as a connection between mysticism and political activism

Negativity—gaps, failures, and limits—offers a powerful lens for studying mysticism. This essay argues that a negative hermeneutics, centered on the continuous 'unsaying' and 'subverting' of traditional faith expressions, illuminates the dynamics of mystical practice and theology. The concept of travail of the negative connects practical and theoretical negativity in mystical texts. This approach encourages theology to take negation seriously as a fundamental feature, contributing to broader theological discourse by reframing how mystical experiences are interpreted.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This essay argues that a negative hermeneutics, i.e. , a hermeneutics that takes its starting point from the experience of gaps, failures, and limits, is a suitable lens for the study of mysticism. It uses the concept of travail of the negative, which focuses on the dynamics of a continuous ‘unsaying’ and ‘subverting’ of traditional expressions of faith and religious practice, to explore the connection between aspects of practical and theoretical negativity in mystical expressions. It suggests that this approach to mystical theology makes an important contribution to the wider theological discourse and encourages theology to take the fundamental character of negation seriously.