The Middle Voice in Eckhart and Modern Continental Philosophy
David Lewin
Medieval Mystical Theology August 19, 2011 DOI: 10.1558/mmt.v20.28 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Argues that both Meister Eckhart's Gelassenheit and Heidegger's releasement draw on the middle voice, a grammatical mode placing agency between activity and passivity. The author proposes that this shared linguistic structure mediates between subjective autonomy and dissolution in God, and that philosophy and theology bear a grammatical cleavage constituting experience of the world. |
Abstract
The recurring narrative of the relinquishment of human will animates the spiritual discourses of almost every mystical tradition. But contemporary discussions of spirituality gravitate towards exasperation when acknowledging the radical impotence of human agents, while much modern philosophy has found itself unable to think beyond the aporia of freedom and determinism.The ability to mediate between total subjective autonomy and radical dissolution in God is vital if we are to avoid the dualism that Meister Eckhart subverts with his conception of detachment (Gelassenheit). Heidegger takes up the terminology of Eckhart here, but provides a more philosophically astute sense of releasement. This article argues that both Heidegger and Eckhart draw upon the middle voice, an ancient linguistic mode that places agency between activity and passivity. By uncovering traces of the middle voice, I propose that philosophy and theology bear with a grammatical cleavage that constitutes our experience of the world.