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Final Approved Thesis July 2018.pdf (691.79 KB)

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The Epistemology of Divine Love According to St. John of the Cross

Stout, Huili Shen
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1529928557614971

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, Theology.
St. John of the Cross is presented as an authentic epistemologist with a comprehensive theory of mystical knowledge. He describes the nature and excellence of mystical knowledge and explains how it may be attained through an unyielding and total adherence to the human telos—union with God—and through the dark night, in which a kenosis of the sensory and intellectual faculties leads to a gradual transformation of our apprehensive capacity. Mystical knowledge has the characteristics of passivity, substantiality, supra-abundance, and ineffability; it is a dynamic loving communication between God and the soul capable of transforming the whole person. The radical demands of nada on the intellect, the will, and the memory placed by John’s epistemology can be understood through a rationale of divine love. The necessary operation of faith in the dark night, which transcends reason through a loving trust of the Master amidst intellectual and affective suffering, is described. John’s insight into divine love as the fountain of all knowledge and inspiration, his thorough analysis on the power of the theological virtues to elevate our intellectual faculties, and his wisdom about the relationship between human suffering and divine knowledge make him a unique epistemologist with much to contribute to our philosophical conversations today.
Sandra Yocum, Dr. (Advisor)
Silviu Bunta, Dr. (Committee Member)
William Portier, Dr. (Committee Member)
132 p.
Religion; Theology
knowledge in John of the Cross, love and knowledge, Christian epistemology, mystical knowledge, faith in the dark night, light and darkness, intellectual kenosis, intellect and will, knowledge and the theological virtues, contemplative knowledge of God

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stout, H. S. (2018). The Epistemology of Divine Love According to St. John of the Cross [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1529928557614971

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stout, Huili. The Epistemology of Divine Love According to St. John of the Cross. 2018. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1529928557614971.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stout, Huili. "The Epistemology of Divine Love According to St. John of the Cross." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1529928557614971

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1529928557614971
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© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.