“Standing Erect within the Dark Cloud” (III 7,5): ‘Negativity’ and the Subject in Isaac of Nineveh

• Autores: Valentina Duca
• Localización: Sacris erudiri, ISSN 0771-7776, Nº. 60, 2021, págs. 181-204
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In the thought of Isaac of Nineveh (seventh c.), the dimension of ‘negativity’ plays a crucial role. Isaac uses negative terms and images to outline the conditions of possibility of the encounter with the Absolute: the access to a state of inward emptiness and a capacity for remaining whole and ‘consisting’ within negation, that he considers crucial for being able to abide in inward emptiness. Isaac describes in negative terms three vital aspects of emptiness: being “empty of (lit.: from) the world” as the outer and inner location of the encounter with God; 'non-prayer' as the non-discursive way of relationship distinctive of this encounter; and “non-knowledge” as the non-cognitive modality of knowing discovered within it. All of these concepts point to a space ‘of the inner’, in which “Truth”, that Isaac conceives as being “without image”, can reveal itself. Only a human being who has learnt how to pass through negation can sustain the non-conceptual encounter with “Truth”, so that the experience of ‘being without’, distinctive of contemplation, is in Isaac intimately linked to the capacity for ‘being without’ that is developed through askesis. The reason for the intimate connection between the ascetic and the contemplative moments of the spiritual life that one finds in Isaac is related to the subject’s capacity to remain whole and ‘consisting’ within both experiences, which is developed through the ‘strengthening of the I’ that occurs through askesis and life’s difficulties. This makes it possible for the subject to enter the “dark cloud” (Ex 20:21) of “[God’s] glory” (III 7,5) without becoming lost, through developing a position of faith, distinct from cognitive knowledge.