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DIONYSIUS, DERRIDA, AND THE CRITIQUE OF “ONTOTHEOLOGY”
Author(s) -
RUBENSTEIN MARYJANE
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
modern theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.144
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1468-0025
pISSN - 0266-7177
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0025.2008.00496.x
Subject(s) - teleology , soul , creatures , philosophy , epistemology , economic justice , hierarchy , theology , law , history , archaeology , political science , natural (archaeology)
This essay explores Dionysius' work in light of the critique of ontotheology, focusing on Jacques Derrida's work on justice and the messianic. Ultimately, it suggests that the extent to which Dionysius troubles the ontotheological waters depends on the status of hierarchical and teleological relationships in Dionysius. Does hierarchy for Dionysius function strictly “vertically,” bringing a few chosen souls into union with God, or does it also establish ethical relations between and among creatures? And does the via negativa , as Derrida suggests, draw the soul along a pre‐determined path from hyperessence to hyperessence, or might it remain sufficiently indeterminate to welcome the unimaginable?