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On the Soul, Spiritual Development and Knowledge

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On the Soul, Spiritual Development and Knowledge Jihočeská Univerzita v Českých Budějovicích Teologická fakulta Katedra filosofie a religionistiky DISERTAČNÍ PRÁCE Reading Teresa of Avila through Aquinas: on the Soul, Spiritual Development and Knowledge Mgr. Kateřina Kutarňová České Budějovice 2020 Vedoucí práce: doc. Tomáš Machula, PhD., ThD. Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že svoji disertační práci jsem vypracovala samostatně pouze s použitím pramenů a literatury uvedených v seznamu citované literatury. Prohlašuji, že, v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. v platném znění, souhlasím se zveřejněním své disertační práce, a to v nezkrácené podobě elektronickou cestou ve veřejně přístupné části databáze STAG provozované Jihočeskou univerzitou v Českých Budějovicích na jejích internetových stránkách, a to se zachováním mého autorského práva k odevzdanému textu této kvalifikační práce. Souhlasím dále s tím, aby toutéž elektronickou cestou byly v souladu s uvedeným ustanovením zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. zveřejněny posudky školitele a oponentů práce i záznam o průběhu a výsledku obhajoby kvalifikační práce. Rovněž souhlasím s porovnáním textu mé kvalifikační práce s databází kvalifikačních prací The- ses.cz provozovanou Národním registrem vysokoškolských kvalifikačních prací a systémem na odhalování plagiátů. V Nové Vsi pod Pleší, 22. 8. 2020 To my husband for everything I cannot put into words, to my children who deem philosophy to be worthy of my time, to Tomáš, my tutor, who has given me a taste of intellectual freedom, to my spiritual Father, who has always shown the way to heaven. Contents List of Abbreviations 6 1. Introduction 7 1.1. Basic Layout of the Work 7 1.1.1. Theologico-interpretational part 9 1.1.2. Philosophical inquiry 9 1.2. That which was omitted 10 1.3. Development of the inquiry 11 1.3.1. The personal notes 11 1.3.2. Problem of method 12 1.3.3. Schleiermacher’s Hermeneutics: basic principles 18 1.3.4. Teresian researchers 23 1.4. Historical Context: Flourishing Intellectual Life in Troubled Times 26 2. St Teresa on Soul 32 2.1. The Symbol of the Castle 32 2.2. Soul and Body 34 2.3. The Interior Castle: the Soul 37 2.3.1. First, Second and Third Chambers 39 2.3.2. Fourth Chambers 41 2.3.3. Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Chambers 42 2.4. Three main levels: body – intellect – borderline 46 2.5. Parallels to the teaching of the Interior Castle in other major works 51 2.6. Summary: Problems of the Symbol 55 3. Activity of the Soul and the Three Stages of Spiritual Life 57 3.1. Sources of the teaching on the three stages of the interior life 57 3.2. Via Purgativa: Detachment from all created things 59 3.3. Via Illuminativa: True Humility 62 3.4. Via Unitiva: Love for the Other 65 3.4.1. Silkworm 66 3.5. Two important points of transition 69 4. Prayer: The Means of Directing the Spiritual Life towards the Final Union 71 4.1. Kinds of Prayer 72 4.1.1. Vocal Prayer, Meditation, Mental Prayer 73 4.1.2. Prayer of Quiet, Prayer of Union, Contemplation 74 4.1.3. Types of Prayer and the Stages of Spiritual Life 78 4.1.4. The Habit of Prayer: the Controversy of ‘Most’ and ‘Not Many’ 79 4.2. The space-time for God 86 4 5. Will, Intellect, Memory 89 5.1. Aquinas on the Will and its Mutual Relation to the Intellect 89 5.2. Intention and Choice 91 5.3. The End 93 5.3.1. Mystical Union and Beatific Vision 96 5.3.2. Beatitude 98 5.3.3. Contemplation 99 6. Mystical knowledge 104 6.1. The Possibility and Importance of Mystical Knowledge 104 6.1.1. The mystical phenomena 104 6.1.2. ‘Impulses from God’ and the Possibility of Mystical Knowledge 107 6.2. Teresa and Aquinas: Contemplation and Mystical Knowledge 112 6.2.1. Intermediary Clarification 114 6.3. Freedom 114 6.4. Will, Intellect and Memory in the Unitive stage 118 7. Mystical Marriage 122 7.1. Teresa on Mystical Marriage 122 7.2. Aquinas on Mystical Marriage 124 7.3. ‘What we hold by faith we understand by sight’ 129 7.3.1. Possible Modes of Knowledge 130 7.3.2. Participation in Divine Essence by Charity 137 7.4. The Reconciliation of Martha and Mary 139 7.5. (Non-)Permanence of Mystical Marriage 142 7.5.1. Change Brought by the Mystical Marriage 146 Bibliography 150 Primary Sources 150 Secondary Sources 151 5 List of Abbreviations Teresa of Avila V Vida, The Life CV Camino de Perfección, Manuscript Valladolid, The Way of Perfection M Las Moradas del Castillo Interior, the Interior Castle F Libro de las Fundaciones, The Book of Her Foundations CC Cuentas de Conciencia, Spiritual Testimonies MC Meditaciones sobre los Cantares, Meditations on the Song of Songs Teresa de Jesús, Obras completas, ed. Tomas Álvarez (Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2001). Cartas, 4ta Edición, ed. T. Álvarez (Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 1998). Teresa of Avila, The Collected Works of Teresa of Avila, Vol. 1–3, trans. Kavanaugh, Kieran and Rodriguez, Otilio, (Washington: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1976–1980). Thomas Aquinas ST I Summa Theologiae, prima pars ST IaIIae Summa Theologiae, pars prima secundae ST IIaIIae Summa Theologiae, pars secunda secundae ST III Summa Theologiae, tertia pars SCG Summa contra Gentiles In Sent I Scriptum super Sententiis, liber I In Sent II Scriptum super Sententiis, liber II In Sent III Scriptum super Sententiis, liber III In Sent IV Scriptum super Sententiis, liber IV Super Io. Super Evangelium S. Ioannis Lectura Super Heb. Super Epistolam B. Pauli ad Hebraeos lectura Super Rom. Super Epistolam B. Pauli ad Romanos lectura QDV Questiones disputate De Veritate De Malo Questiones disputate De Malo De Virt. Questiones disputate De Virtutibus DEE De ente et essentia Compendium Theologiae Editio Leonina of Aquinas’s works is used where possible, otherwise I use texts from Corpus Thomisticum, available at https://www.corpusthomisticum.org/. The English translation of Aquinas’s works: Fr. Laurence Shapcote, op (1864–1947), of the English Dominican Province, edited and revised by The Aquinas Institute, available at https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~ST.I. 6 1. Introduction 1.1. BASIC LAYOUT OF THE WORK The content of this work can be summed up in a single paragraph. In this work I introduce an in- terpretation of the major works of St Teresa of Avila in such a way as to show that a. her teaching is more complex and consistent throughout her corpus than is usually accepted, b. her teaching on the soul and the spiritual life follows a general pattern of three stages of the spiritual life (although some scholars have assumed it is not so), c. I assume that Teresa’s teaching gains a new dimension and complexity hitherto un-dreamt of if we try to grasp her meaning through Aquinas’s thought, and d. I try to point out the parallels between the two. Further, I ask more general questions about the mystical life, especially about the role of the will and intellect in the mystical stage of the spiritual life, mystical knowledge, and mystical mar- riage. The novelty of this work rests both in the interpretation of Teresa’s teaching and highlight- ing the common traits between her and Aquinas. On the one hand, this summary says everything necessary. On the other hand, it is insufficient for it raises further questions. What is my approach, in what field, how can we speak about the mysticism in any reasonable way, and why on earth Aquinas? The last question is probably the most compelling and confusing one. I wondered about how I was going to explain when an idea came to mind – I am going to describe the whole process that has led me onto Aquinas’s track. This approach has several advantages (and probably few disadvantages, as every choice): first, it will enable me to show what I have lacked in the previous interpretations and why they did not satisfy my thirst for understanding St Teresa; second, I will be able to show how I have moved from modern hermeneutics to Aquinas; and third, it will enable me to set the whole problem into the historical context. By doing so in this introduction, it will not be necessary to return to these topics further in the text. Hence, the main focus will be on Teresa’s teaching. For all these reasons, this introduction is more extended than is usual. In fact, it forms a whole chapter. But I consider the time and space devoted to these topics well spent. The first specification concerns my approach. I have always been interested in the possibilities of expressing the ‘mysti- cal’ (its nature, its grounding, etc.) in a rational way without the necessity of relying solely on the theology, or without falling into the trap of exalted emotional expressions, or silence too great for our reason. It may well be that the latter is true, and we really cannot make a rational statement thereof. But to say so without even an attempt seems a bit cheap. That is to say that the main focus of this work is the philosophical questions concerning the will and intellect in the mystical stage of the spiritual life culminating in the mysterious ‘mystical marriage’. Even though I could directly jump into those questions, I will not do so. The reason is simple: it would be incomprehensible why I ask the question I do, why I ask them in the manner I do, and last but not least, both the question and the answers may be easily seem ungrounded in Teresa’s texts and distant from her teaching.
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