Transcend the language from language: the mystical theology of Dionysius Areopagite

Abstract

The task of exploring the significant nature of language is and has been approached throughout the history of thought from different perspectives and by various disciplines. Indirect proof of this is the overwhelming abundance of discourses under whose superficial periphrasis the single object -the real- lies immutably. During Late Antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages, the characteristics assumed by that reality that pretends to be meaningful are radical; to such an extent that any effort to apprehend it through language or reason is frustrated. Throughout this period, theologians and philosophers -if such a distinction can be legitimately drawn- have tried different discursive forms as plausible as possible, which allow an approach to that reality, which can improperly be called ”God”. Within these efforts, the work of the Pseudo Dionysius Areopagite occupies a fundamental place. He is a mixture of theologian, philosopher and mystic, whose attempts to signify a reality to such an arcane and transcendent point reach such a subtlety and complexity that they rise above the realm of meaning and reason, culminating in a mystical silence. To analyze how this logo-logical transcendence is possible is the objective of this article.