Griggs, Jennifer Fiona (2015) Epistemological dialogue with aspects of the Western discipline of the study of mysticism as it relates to Barhebraeus in conversation with al- Ghazālī on the question of the ‘Concept of God’. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23669 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Epistemological dialogue with aspects of the Western discipline of the study of mysticism as it relates to Barhebraeus in conversation with al-Ghazālī on the question of the ‘Concept of God’ Jennifer Fiona Griggs Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2014 Department of Study of Religions SOAS, University of London 1 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ______________ Date: 16/08/15 2 Acknowledgements My supervisory committee has given me invaluable advice and guidance in the preparation for and completion of my doctoral studies over these four years, Dr Cosimo Zene, Dr Peter Hartung, and especially my principal supervisor Dr Erica C D Hunter. The inspiration for my PhD began with my masters at SOAS in 2008-09, and the Mysticism in the Great Traditions course convened by Dr Cosimo Zene (and Dr Tullio Lobetti). Without Cosimo’s encouragement to pursue my own studies in mysticism and his enthusiasm for Michel de Certeau, my doctoral thesis would not have come about. My involvement with the Samvada Centre for Research Resources has similarly been invaluable for my engagement with dialogical hermeneutics in the development of a methodology for my thesis. I would like to give special mention to Dr Brainerd Prince, for all our conversations over the past few years and for introducing me to the Samvada tradition of hermeneutics. I am grateful to the AHRC for their support of my second and third years of study, and to the Spalding Trust for contributing towards the expenses of my first and my fourth year, and to my Arabic studies in Syria prior to commencing the PhD. Dr Atef Alshaer has also helped me greatly with Arabic, especially the nuances of translation. Professor Sebastian Brock, whose insights I have benefitted from greatly, also allowed me to join his Greek and Syriac Reading Class at the Warburg Institute in 2010-11. Getting published with the Journal of OCMS, Transformation, allowed me to further engage with the role of dialogue in Christian apologetics, and I’m very grateful to the Editor Dr David Singh, Research Tutor at OCMS, for accepting my contribution to their special issue on Christian-Muslim relations. With thanks also to Dr Richard Shumack at RZIM, for his informative feedback on this piece. Presenting at Dr Erica Hunter’s Christianity in Iraq X seminar day at SOAS, was another excellent opportunity to present my research and benefit from the response of both specialists and non-specialists alike. Finally, I must express my deep appreciation of the continued support of my family throughout the duration of my studies, my aunts for their sustained interest in my work and my mum for her endless patience. 3 Abstract This thesis examines Barhebraeus’ contribution to the medieval Syrian Christian discourse on the concept of God, concerning his understanding of the ontology of God through the love of God. Barhebraeus’ thinking can contribute to the understanding of God presupposed in the contemporary western academic study of mysticism. Both the medieval Syrian tradition and the modern study of mysticism reach an impasse in the discourse about God due to the conflict between two rival epistemologies. In response to the epistemological impasse, Barhebraeus turns to insights from al-Ghazālī on the understanding of God based on the love of God, to critique the metaphysical background of the thinking which Syrian hermeneutics inherited from the Greeks. The main texts used for the argument of this thesis are the Book of the Dove and the Ethicon, which reveal the development of Barhebraeus’ main theme and his resolution of the impasse in the Syrian tradition. The academic discipline of mysticism is brought into dialogue with this contribution to Syrian hermeneutics, so that Barhebraeus’ mysticism is shown to make a methodological contribution in resolving the epistemological basis of the conflict over the intentionality of mystical consciousness in the contemporary study of mysticism. This conflict is between two main schools of thought, objectivist and relativist, which inform the metaphysical presuppositions of both approaches to the study of mysticism, based on a materialist and essentialist view of religion. Barhebraeus’ mysticism is shown to resolve the substantive problem of making metaphysical assertions concerning transcendence in the study of mysticism, through his understanding of the love of God which overcomes the concept of God derived from metaphysics. Barhebraeus’ mysticism thus goes beyond both the classical approach to the study of mysticism and the relativist critique, to provide a hermeneutical understanding of the claims of mystic discourse. 4 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 3 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 8 OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2: A HERMENEUTICAL APPROACH FOR THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF MYSTICISM ..... 14 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Background to the Debate .............................................................................................................................................. 15 ENLIGHTENMENT OBJECTIVISM ................................................................................................................................................. 19 Sociology and Explanation ............................................................................................................................................. 20 Mysticism and the Psychology of Religion ............................................................................................................... 22 Experience of the Sacred .................................................................................................................................................. 24 Perennialism and the Spiritual Consciousness ....................................................................................................... 27 Descriptive Phenomenologies ........................................................................................................................................ 29 GENEALOGICAL CRITIQUE OF OBJECTIVIST APPROACHES ..................................................................................................... 33 Constructivism and the Mediation of Experience ................................................................................................. 34 Epistemologies of Experience in Anglo-American Philosophy ........................................................................ 36 A HERMENEUTICAL APPROACH FOR THE STUDY OF MYSTICISM ......................................................................................... 38 The Linguistic Genealogy of la mystique .................................................................................................................. 39 From Mystical Experience to Mystic Tradition ...................................................................................................... 41 Mysticism in Syriac Studies ............................................................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 3: LOCATING BARHEBRAEUS HISTORICALLY – TRADITIONS, TEXTS AND THEMES ................................................................................................................................................................................. 46 INTRODUCTION: A