Members-only podcast episode

Unsaying the Divine Darkness: Exploring Dionysian Apophasis and Mysticism

This episode is a two-parter. In the first part we explore further some of the territory of Dionysian ‘mystical’ writing, comparing the Pseudo-D. on such matters as divine unknowing, ‘the mysteries’, and so on with Proclus’ treatment of the same matters. It turns out that most of what we find in Dionysios is already there in Proclus.

In Part II we look at the residuum, isolating that which is distinctly Dionysian and/or Christian in this writing of ‘the mystical’. There is the Christological emphasis. There is also the ‘hyper-’ vocabulary and negation even of negations themselves; is this the next level of apophatic technique, or an artless cop-out? Undecided, but I have some ideas which listeners may or may not find helpful.

Works Cited in this Episode:

Primary:

Aristotle on negation (apophasis) and privation (sterēsis): The Topics lays out these and other terms as general logical tools. See also e.g. Metaph. IV 2 1004a, 14-16; IV 6 1011b 18 ff; X 5 1056a 15-18.

Plato on the Form of the Good’s transcendence of being/essence: R. 509b.

Proclus: we cite the following editions: H.D. Saffrey and Leendert Gerrit Westerink, editors. Proclus. Théologie Platonicienne. Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1997 and Wilhelm Kroll, editor. Procli in Platonis rem publicam commentarii. Hakkert, Amsterdam, 1965.

• Plato teaches us the mystika noēmata concerning the gods: Theologia Platonica Volume 1 page 17 line 17: … ὁ Πλάτων τὰ μυστικὰ περὶ τῶν θείων ἡμᾶς ἀναδιδάσκει νοήματα.
• αἱ μυστικαὶ τῶν θεολόγων φῆμαι: In R. Volume 1 page 89 line 26.
• Plato writes mystikōs, i.e. esoterically: e.g. In R. Volume 1 page 73 line 17: ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ αὐτὸς ὁ Πλάτων πολλαχῇ διά τινων εἰκόνων τὰ θεῖα μυστικῶς ἀνα- διδάσκει …. Theologia Platonica Volume 5 page 131 line 26: Πλάτων συγχωρεῖ μὲν τοῖς φοιβολήπτοις ποιηταῖς μυστικῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα αἰνίσσεσθαι ….
• ‘Mystic acts of noēsis’: In R. Volume 1 page 73 line 2: ταῖς περὶ τοῦ θείου μυστικαῖς νοήσεσιν.
• Our two passages: Theologia Platonica Volume 4 page 36 line 15: Καὶ ἀμφότερα μὲν ἀγνώστοις ὑπάρξεσιν ἀγάλλεται καὶ συνθήμασι μόνοις γνωρίζεται νοητοῖς μυστικῶς καὶ ἀρρήτως, ὥς φησιν ὁ Πλάτων (διὸ καὶ τόλμαν ἀποκαλεῖ τὴν περὶ αὐτῶν ἐκφαίνειν τὰ ἄρρητα καὶ λόγῳ τὴν ἄγνωστον ἕνωσιν ἀφερμηνεύειν ἐπιχειροῦσαν), ἀλλ’ ἐκ τοῦ νοητοῦ πέρατος καὶ ἡ τῶν νοερῶν ἀκρότης ἔχει τὴν ἄγνωστον ἰδιότητα. Theologia Platonica Volume 3 page 50 line 17: Τὸ γὰρ τῶν νοητῶν θεῶν γένος ἑνιαῖόν ἐστι καὶ ἁπλοῦν καὶ κρύφιον, αὐτῷ τῷ ἑνὶ τῷ πρὸ τῶν ὄντων ἑαυτὸ συνενῶσαν καὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ τὴν τοῦ ἑνὸς ὑπεροχὴν <ἐκφαῖνον>. Καὶ γὰρ αἱ τρεῖς αὗται τριάδες μυστικῶς ἀπαγγέλλουσι τὴν τοῦ πρώτου θεοῦ καὶ ἀμεθέκτου παντελῶς ἄγνωστον αἰτίαν· ἡ μὲν τὴν ἄρρητον αὐτῆς ἕνωσιν, ἡ δὲ τὴν πασῶν δυνάμεων ὑπεροχήν, ἡ δὲ τὴν παντελῆ τῶν ὄντων ἀπογέννησιν.

Pseudo-Dionysios:

• Ineffable union with God: DN 592c-593a, 645a-b. Cf. MT, passim, but in a tricky, not-coming-right-out-and-saying-it sort of way.
• Epistle 1, 1065b: ‘And this absolute, comprehensive unknowing is knowledge of that which is beyond all those things which are known’: Καί ή κατά τό κρεΐττον παντελής άγνωσία γνώσίς έστι του υπέρ πάντα τά γινωσκόμενα.
• On privations/denials, negations, and affirmations: MT 1000b: Δέον έπ’ αυτῇ και πάσας τάς τών όντων τιθέναι και καταφάσκειν θέσεις, ώς πάντων αἰτία, καὶ πάσας αὐτάς κυριώτερον ἀποφάσκειν, ώς ὑπὲρ πάντα ὑπερούσῃ, και μή οἴεσθαι τάς ἀποφάσεις ἀντικειμένας εἶναι ταῖς καταφάσεσιν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ πρότερον αὐτήν ὑπέρ τάς στερήσεις εἶναι αὐτὴν ὑπὲρ πάσαν και ἀφαίρεσιν και θέσιν.
• God is `hyperineffable’ (ὑπεραρρήτου), hyperunknowable’ (ύπεραγνώστου): DN 640D; cf. 593B et passim in DN and MT.

Secondary:

Our special episodes on Plotinus can be found here and here. Those with Stephen Rego on the complex structure of the Proclean nous can be listened to here and here.

Other works cited:

Kevin Corrigan and L. Michael Harrington. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. In Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman, editors, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, Summer 2023 edition, 2023.

E.R. Dodds, editor. Proclus. The Elements of Theology. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1963. Edited with an introduction and notes by E.R. Dodds; we cite p. 259.

Raoul Mortley. From Word to Silence. Hanstein, Bonn, 1986. 2 vols; we quote vol. II, p. 57.

Paul Rorem, editor, Colm Luibheid, translator. Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works. The Classics of Western Spirituality. Paulist Press, New York, NY/Mahwah, NJ, 1987.

John Whittaker. Neopythagoreanism and the Transcendent Absolute. Symbolae Osloenses, (48):77–86, 1973.

H. A. Wolfson. Albinus and Plotinus on Divine Attributes. Harvard Theological Review, 45(2):115–130, Apr. 1952.