A Mystical Philosophy : Transcendence and Immanence in the Works of Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch

A Mystical Philosophy contributes to the contemporary resurgence of interest in Spirituality, but from a new direction. Revealing, in an original and provocative study, the mystical contents of the works of the famous atheists Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, the author shows how these women thinkers' refusal to construe worldviews on available reductive models brought them to offer radically alternative pictures of life which maintain its mysteriousness, and promote a mystical way of knowing. This study makes a daring claim: that a return to 'pure' experience is suffi cient to demonstrate, for the contemporary imagination, the irreducibly mystical contents of everyday life, and, therefore, the enduring appropriateness of theological conversations. The author reveals how these atheist thinkers offer crucial spiritual-intellectual advice for our times: a warning against reductive scientifi c and philosophical models that impoverish our understanding of our selves and the world, and a powerful endorsement of ways of knowing that give art, and a restored concept of ## Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Cover 1 HalfTitle 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Dedication 8 Abbreviations 9 Acknowledgements 11 Copyright Acknowledgements 12 1 Introduction 14 Part One: The Point of Departure 24 2. The Point of Departure: Readdressing the Mystical in Virginia Woolf 26 (i) Readdressing the Mystical in Woolf: A Literary Context 26 (ii) Readdressing the Mystical in Woolf: A Philosophical and Aesthetic Context 39 3. The Point of Departure : Readdressing the Mystical in Iris Murdoch 60 (i) Mysticism in Murdoch: A Philosophical and Aesthetic Context 60 Part Two: A Mystical Philosophy 82 4. Exploring the Cataphatic Dimension of Virginia Woolf ’s Work: Virginia Woolf and Plotinus 84 (i) On Unity 90 (ii) The Mystical Self 115 (iii) Vision and Light 126 (iv) Love and Ecstasy: The Ethics of Vision 135 5. Exploring the Cataphatic Dimension of Iris Murdoch’s Work 142 (i) On Unity 145 (ii) The Restored (Mystical) Self 168 (iii) Vision and Light: the Process of Becoming 177 (iv) The Ethics of Vision: Love and the Everyday 185 6. Exploring the Apophatic Dimension of Virginia Woolf ’s Work: Virginia Woolf, Pseudo-Dionysius, and the Aesthetics of Excess 193 (i) Exploring the Apophatic Dimension of Woolf ’s Literature 193 (ii) The Mystical Shape of a Theological Aesthetic 216 7. Exploring the Apophatic Dimension of Iris Murdoch’s Work: An Iconoclastic Pilgrimage 226 Part Three: Contributions to a Contemporary Theological Aesthetic 266 8. Conclusion: Mystical Contributions to a Theological Aesthetic: Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch 268 Concluding Summary 275 Notes 277 Bibliography 322 Index 332 "A Mystical Philosophy contributes to the contemporary resurgence of interest in Spirituality, but from a new direction. Revealing, in an original and provocative study, the mystical contents of the works of famous atheists Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, Donna Lazenby shows how these thinkers' refusal to construe worldviews on available reductive models brought them to offer radically alternative pictures of life which maintain its mysteriousness, and promote a mystical way of knowing. This book makes a daring claim: that a return to 'pure' experience is sufficient to demonstrate, for the contemporary imagination, the irreducibly mystical contents of everyday life: and, therefore, the enduring appropriateness of theological conversations. Lazenby reveals how these atheist thinkers offer crucial spiritual-intellectual advice for our times: a warning against reductive scientific and philosophical models that impoverish our understanding of our selves and the world, and a powerful endorsement of ways of knowing that give art, and a restored concept of contemplation, their consummative place"-- "A provocative re-reading of famous atheists Irish Murdoch and Virginia Woolf as profoundly mystical thinkers"-- "A Mystical Philosophy contributes to the contemporary resurgence of interest in Spirituality, but from a new direction. Revealing, in an original and provocative study, the mystical contents of the works of famous atheists Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, Donna Lazenby shows how these thinkers' refusal to construe worldviews on available reductive models brought them to offer radically alternative pictures of life which maintain its mysteriousness, and promote a mystical way of knowing. This book makes a daring claim: that a return to 'pure' experience is sufficient to demonstrate, for the contemporary imagination, the irreducibly mystical contents of everyday life: and, therefore, the enduring appropriateness of theological conversations. Lazenby reveals how these atheist thinkers offer crucial spiritual-intellectual advice for our times: a warning against reductive scientific and philosophical models that impoverish our understanding of our selves and the world, and a powerful endorsement of ways of knowing that give art, and a restored concept of contemplation, their consummative place"-- Provided by publisher Machine generated contents note: 1.Introduction Part I: The Point of Departure 2.The Point of Departure: Readdressing the Mystical in Virginia Woolf 3.The Point of Departure: Readdressing the Mystical in Iris Murdoch Mysticism in Murdoch: A Philosophical and Aesthetic Context Part II: A Mystical Philosophy 4.Exploring the Cataphatic Dimension of Virginia Woolf's Work: Virginia Woolf and Plotinus5.Exploring the Cataphatic Dimension of Iris Murdoch's Work 6.Exploring the Apophatic Dimension of Virginia Woolf's Work: Virginia Woolf, Pseudo-Dionysius, and the Aesthetics of Excess 7.Exploring the Apophatic Dimension of Iris Murdoch's Work 8.Conclusion Mystical Contributions to a Theological Aesthetic: Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch Concluding Summary Notes Bibliography Index. Revealing, in an original and provocative study, the mystical contents of the works of famous atheists Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdoch, Donna Lazenby shows how these thinkers' refusal to construe worldviews on available reductive models brought them to offer radically alternative pictures of life which maintain its mysteriousness, and promote a mystical way of knowing. A Mystical Philosophy contributes to the contemporary resurgence of interest in Spirituality, but from an entirely new direction. This book provides a warning against reductive scientific and philosophical models that impoverish our understanding of ourselves and the world, and a powerful endorsement of ways of knowing that give art, and a restored concept of contemplation, their consummative place.