The Religious and the Aesthetic Attitude

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2004

Author

Van Nieuwenhove, Rik

Journal

Literature and Theology

Volume

18

Number

2

Pages

174-186

Work Type

Art Religious Studies Philosophy

Language

English

Keywords

attention
aesthetics
beauty
detachment
Kant, Immanuel
Eckhart, Meister
John of the Cross, Saint

Annotation

Van Niewenhove argues in opposition to the divide many philosophers and theologians see between the religious and the aesthetic attitude, maintaining there is, in fact, a deep congruity between them. He develops his argument by looking at the notion of disinterestedness, primarily in Kant, tying it to epistemology by saying it is only the disinterested attitude that allows us to see reality and have a true engagement with beauty. He then moves on to discuss detachment and involvement drawing on the thought of Meister Eckhart and St. John of the Cross. He then looks at these ideas in Weil’s work arguing, for her, “detachment does not imply renunciation of the world but a radical involvement with it” (p. 181). Finally, he turns to Weil’s notion of attention as presented in her work “The Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God” to conclude his argument, claiming her notion of attention as presented in this work, arises naturally from a recognition of the importance of disinterestedness