From desire to encounter
The human quest for the infinite
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20310287 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Cottingham (0000-0001-5205-0323, University of Roehampton, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 375-388 |
| Publication date | 2019-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religious Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-4125 • E-ISSN: 1469-901X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0034412518000318 |
| OpenAlex | W2802361638 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
The article begins with the journey towards knowledge of the infinite that is traced out in Descartes's Meditations. Drawing on Levinas's construal of the argument in the Third Meditation, I argue that Descartes's reflections on God as infinite can be a starting point for deepening our understanding of the religious quest – the paradoxical human search for that which, by its very nature, is incomprehensible to the human mind. The second half of the article argues that this search is from first to last structured by desire and longing, and that something prima facie non-cognitive and non-epistemic, namely the desire for God, has a cognitive and epistemic role to play. Perhaps desire can be our human way, or a human way, whereby we can (in Descartes's words) ‘in a certain manner attain to’ the infinite perfection that is God
Argument (complex analysis) · Epistemology · Meditation · Perfection · Prima facie · Theology · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Theology and Philosophy of Evil
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |