Abstract

This paper considers how self-inflicted pain enabled the expression of love for God among medieval Christian ascetics in Europe. As scholars have shown, being in a state of pain leads to a change in or a destruction of language, an essential feature of the self. I argue that this transformation allows the self to transcend its boundaries as an object, even if only temporarily and in part. The epistemic achievement of love for God, a non-object, would not otherwise have been possible. To substantiate my argument, I show that the self’s transformation into a non-object enables the imitation of God: not solely in the sense of imitatio Christi, of physical and visual representations of God incarnate in the flesh of His son Christ, but also in the sense of the self’s experience of being a non-object, just like God, target of the self’s love.

Presenters

Roni Naor Hofri
Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Fellow, Centre for Medieval Studies / School of Philosophy, University of York / Tel Aviv University, United Kingdom

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

2021 Special Focus—Modeling Traditions from the Margins: Non-Canonical Writings in Religious Systems

KEYWORDS

Philosophy of religion, Pain, Christianity, Love for God, Medieval ascetics

Digital Media

This presenter hasn’t added media.
Request media and follow this presentation.