Immediacy and Meaning : J. K. Huysmans and the Immemorial Origin of Metaphysics

__Immediacy and Meaning__ seeks to approach the odd uneasiness at root in all metaphysical meaning; that the human knower attempts to mediate what cannot be mediated; that there is a pre-cognitive immemorial immediacy to Being that renders its participants irreducible, incommunicable and personal. The dilemma of metaphysics rests on the relationship between the spectator and the player, both as essential responses to the immediacy of Being. __Immediacy and Meaning__ is an attempt to pause, but without retreat, to be a spectator within the game, to gain access into this immediate Presence, for a moment only perhaps, before the signatory failure into metaphysical language returns us to the mediated. J. K. Huysman's semi-autobiographical tetralogy anchors this book as a meditation, neither purely poetic nor only philosophical; it claims a unique territory when attempting to speak what cannot be spoken. The unnerving merits of nominalism, the difficulties of an honest appraisal of efficacious prayer, the mad sanity of the muse, the relationship between the uncreated and the created, and an originary ethics of antagonism, each serves to clarify the formation of a new epistemology. Cover 1 Contents 8 Preface: Stating the Problem of Metaphysics 11 Acknowledgments 27 Prologue: En Route to Memory 28 Grünewald’s Crucifixion: The emerging immemorial act 30 The relief from concentrated thinking 37 1 St. Thomas and the Paradox of Mediation and Intentionality 44 Et in arcadia ego 45 Where everything is a here and nothing is a “now” 50 The veil of oblivion 54 The ethical foreground of the immediate: On the outside looking in 56 The long goodbye 66 The lost horizon of the non-mediated here 70 Evil, temporality, and the unformed: The grassy pampas of the soul 74 Here’s that rainy day 88 And then my heart stood still: The immediate and the intuition of being 100 Potentiality, temporality, and the non-mediated 112 Nominalism: If only for a moment 119 2 Re-Approaching Immediacy 122 The unitive and the differentiating 128 Hegel: The spiritual meaning of the universals 141 The idealist sublation of the non-mediated 147 The unnerving merit of pantheism 149 Eckhart’s silent middle: In a desert place 155 No cabin in the sky 160 These foolish things 166 An engodded metaphysics 176 3 Efficacious Prayer, Suffering, and Self-Presence 180 From En Route to The Cathedral: Recovering the role of impetration 181 Strangers on a train 184 A prayer before dying: The uncreated presence and the paradoxes of impetration 193 Nor all your tears: The appointment in Samarra 197 Processing God: Watch on the Rhine 200 Unanswered prayers 210 All things bright and beautiful 222 Efficacious prayer and the uncreated mode of freedom 223 Uneasy consolation 231 The potency of prayer: From mechanics to living Praxis 243 The non-mediated ethics of antagonism 255 The inconsolability of prayer: Where all lost time is restored 258 Rope 267 Prayer and the suffering of Christ 269 Entheotic epistemology: Immediacy and the antagonism of the particular 273 Epilogue: Heaven: They do Things Differently There 292 The death of heaven: The anatomy of a murder 292 The mask of transiency 298 My blue heaven 303 Bibliography 308 Index 323 Machine Generated Contents Note: Grunewald's Crucifixion: The Emerging Immemorial Act -- The Relief From Concentrated Thinking -- 1. St. Thomas And The Paradox Of Mediation And Intentionality -- Et In Arcadia Ego -- Where Everything Is A Here And Nothing Is A Now -- The Veil Of Oblivion -- The Ethical Foreground Of The Immediate: On The Outside Looking In -- The Long Goodbye -- The Lost Horizon Of The Non-mediated Here -- Evil, Temporality, And The Unformed: The Grassy Pampas Of The Soul -- Here's That Rainy Day -- And Then My Heart Stood Still: The Immediate And The Intuition Of Being -- Potentiality, Temporality, And The Non-mediated -- Nominalism: If Only For A Moment -- 2. Re-approaching Immediacy -- The Unitive And The Differentiating -- Hegel: The Spiritual Meaning Of The Universals -- The Idealist Sublation Of The Non-mediated -- The Unnerving Merit Of Pantheism -- Eckhart's Silent Middle: In A Desert Place -- No Cabin In The Sky -- These Foolish Things -- An Engodded Metaphysics -- 3. Efficacious Prayer, Suffering, And Self-presence -- From En Route To The Cathedral: Recovering The Role Of Impetration -- Strangers On A Train -- A Prayer Before Dying: The Uncreated Presence And The Paradoxes Of Impetration -- Nor All Your Tears: The Appointment In Samarra -- Processing God: Watch On The Rhine -- Unanswered Prayers -- All Things Bright And Beautiful -- Efficacious Prayer And The Uncreated Mode Of Freedom -- Uneasy Consolation -- The Potency Of Prayer: From Mechanics To Living Praxis -- The Non-mediated Ethics Of Antagonism -- The Inconsolability Of Prayer: Where All Lost Time Is Restored -- Rope -- Prayer And The Suffering Of Christ -- Entheotic Epistemology: Immediacy And The Antagonism Of The Particular -- Epilogue: Heaven: They Do Things Differently There -- The Death Of Heaven: The Anatomy Of A Murder -- The Mask Of Transiency -- My Blue Heaven. Caitlin Smith Gilson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Immediacy and Meaning seeks to approach the odd uneasiness at root in all metaphysical meaning; that the human knower attempts to mediate what cannot be mediated; that there is a pre-cognitive immemorial immediacy to Being that renders its participants irreducible, incommunicable and personal. The dilemma of metaphysics rests on the relationship between the spectator and the player, both as essential responses to the immediacy of Being. Immediacy and Meaning is an attempt to pause, but without retreat, to be a spectator within the game, to gain access into this immediate Presence, for a moment only perhaps, before the signatory failure into metaphysical language returns us to the mediated. J.K. Huysman's semi-autobiographical tetralogy anchors this book as a meditation, neither purely poetic nor only philosophical; it claims a unique territory when attempting to speak what cannot be spoken. The unnerving merits of nominalism, the difficulties of an honest appraisal of efficacious prayer, the mad sanity of the muse, the relationship between the uncreated and the created, and an originary ethics of antagonism, each serves to clarify the formation of a new epistemology."--Bloomsbury Publishing.