The Metaphysics of Dante's Comedy (AAR Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion)

Thomas Aquinas said of allegory that it is useful both to present spiritual truths to those accustomed to thinking only in the terms of sensual reality and, simultaneously, to hide them from the unworthy (St. I.1.9 res 3). In the first two canticles of the Comedy (Inferno and Purgatorio) Dante has a strong physical-sensual image: the Earth. Spiritual realities are described in terms of movement in physical space. In Inferno the pilgrim descends into a pit, in Purgatorio, he climbs a mountain. In Paradiso, the central image is light, which is, no doubt, sensual but not really physical. It is, in fact, psychical. In Paradiso, Dante's mystical-metaphysical concerns come to the fore. He begins Paradiso 2 with a warning: those struggling to follow him (who have not partaken of the "bread of angels") should put the book down NOW (he will not be responsible for lost luggage). Moreover, those who think themselves capable of following had better keep up (there are no maps to where he is going and no place ask directions). Then, to reenforce his warning, the canto continues with Dante and Beatrice landing on the moon and getting into an abstruse disputation about the "moonspots" including a Fourteenth Century map of the cosmos and experiments you can do at home. I admit to my shame and chagrin that I have, more than once, been forced to submit and put the book down. Which is why I recommend this book. The point of allegory, after all, is its subtext and this book shines in conveying you past the surface conversation to what Dante and Beatrice are really talking about (if you believe they are "really" discussing "moonspots," Moevs can't help you). Also, if you like, you can check out my author's pageDante's Journey: A Field Guide to the Infernal Regionsand keep a look out for my new book on Purgatorio which will be out shortly. Dante's metaphysics--his understanding of reality--is very different from our own. To present Dante's ideas about the cosmos, or God, or salvation, or history, or poetry within the context of post-Enlightenment presuppositions, as is usually done, is thus to capture only imperfectly the essence of those ideas. The recovery of Dante's metaphysics is essential, argues Christian Moevs, if we are to resolve what has been called'the central problem in the interpretation of the Comedy.'That problem is what to make of the Comedy's claim to the'status of revelation, vision, or experiential record--as something more than imaginative literature.'In this book Moevs offers the first sustained treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates the Comedy, and of the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. He carries this out through a detailed examination of three notoriously complex cantos of the Paradiso, read against the background of the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian tradition from which they arise. Moevs finds the key to the Comedy's metaphysics and poetics in the concept of creation, which implies three fundamental insights into the nature of reality: 1) The world (finite being) is radically contingent, dependent at every instant on what gives it being. 2) The relation between the world and the ground of its being is non-dualistic. (God is not a thing, and there is nothing the world is'made of') 3) Human beings are radically free, unbound by the limits of nature, and thus can find all of time and space within themselves. These insights are the foundation of the pilgrim Dante's journey from the center of the world to the Empyrean which contains it. For Dante, in sum, what we perceive as reality, the spatio-temporal world, is a creation or projection of conscious being, which can only be known as oneself. Moevs argues that self-knowledge is in fact the keystone of the Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophical tradition, and the essence of the Christian revelation in which that tradition culminates. Armed with this new understanding, Moevs is able to shed light on a series of perennial issues in the interpretation of the Comedy. In particular, it becomes clear that poetry coincides with theology and philosophy in the poem: Dante poeta cannot be distinguished from Dante theologus. ## Abstract Dante's metaphysics — his understanding of reality — is very different from our own. To present Dante's ideas about the cosmos, or God, or salvation, or history, or poetry within the context of post-Enlightenment presuppositions, as is usually done, is thus to capture only imperfectly the essence of those ideas. This book argues that the recovery of Dante's metaphysics is essential if we are to resolve what has been called “the central problem in the interpretation of the Comedy. ”That problem is what to make of the Comedy's claim to the “status of revelation, vision, or experiential record — as something more than imaginative literature.” This book offers a sustained treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates the Comedy, and of the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. The book carries this out through an examination of three notoriously complex cantos of the Paradiso, read against the background of the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian tradition from which they arise. Dante's metaphysics — his understanding of reality — is very different from our own. To present Dante's ideas about the cosmos, or God, or salvation, or history, or poetry within the context of post-Enlightenment presuppositions, as is usually done, is thus to capture only imperfectly the essence of those ideas. This book argues that the recovery of Dante's metaphysics is essential if we are to resolve what has been called “the central problem in the interpretation of the Comedy . ”That problem is what to make of the Comedy 's claim to the “status of revelation, vision, or experiential record — as something more than imaginative literature.” This book offers a sustained treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates the Comedy , and of the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. The book carries this out through an examination of three notoriously complex cantos of the Paradiso , read against the background of the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian tradition from which they arise

The recovery of Dante's metaphysics - which are very different from our own - is essential, argues Christian Moevs, if we are to resolve what has been called "the central problem in the interpretation of the Comedy." That problem is what to make of the Comedy's claim to the status of revelation, vision, or experiential record - as something more than imaginative literature. In this book Moevs offers the first sustained treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates the Comedy, and the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. Moevs arrives at the radical conclusion that Dante believed that all of what we perceive as reality, the spatio-temporal world, is in fact a creation or projection of conscious being. Armed with this new understanding, Moevs is able to shed light on a series of perennial issues in the interpretation of the Comedy.

The recovery of Dante's metaphysics - which are very different from our own - is essential, argues Christian Moevs, if we are to resolve what has been called "the central problem in the interpretation of the Comedy ." That problem is what to make of the Comedy's claim to the status of revelation, vision, or experiential record - as something more than imaginative literature. In this book Moevs offers the first sustained treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates the Comedy , and the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. Moevs arrives at the radical conclusion that Dante believed that all of what we perceive as reality, the spatio-temporal world, is in fact a creation or projection of conscious being. Armed with this new understanding, Moevs is able to shed light on a series of perennial issues in the interpretation of the Comedy . Contents......Page 10 Abbreviations, Editions, Translations......Page 12 Introduction: Non-Duality and Self-Knowledge......Page 16 1. The Empyrean......Page 28 2. Matter......Page 50 3. Form......Page 62 4. Creation......Page 120 5. Sunrises and Sunsets......Page 160 Conclusion: Is Dante Telling the Truth?......Page 182 Epilogue: No Mind, No Matter......Page 200 Notes......Page 206 Works Cited......Page 254 A......Page 306 B......Page 307 C......Page 308 D......Page 309 E......Page 310 H......Page 311 K......Page 312 M......Page 313 N......Page 314 O......Page 315 P......Page 316 R......Page 317 S......Page 318 T......Page 319 W......Page 320 Z......Page 321 An American Academy of Religion Book Contents 10 Abbreviations, Editions, Translations 12 Introduction: Non-Duality and Self-Knowledge 16 1. The Empyrean 28 2. Matter 50 3. Form 62 4. Creation 120 5. Sunrises and Sunsets 160 Conclusion: Is Dante Telling the Truth? 182 Epilogue: No Mind, No Matter 200 Notes 206 Works Cited 254 Index 306 A 306 B 307 C 308 D 309 E 310 F 311 G 311 H 311 I 312 J 312 K 312 L 313 M 313 N 314 O 315 P 316 Q 317 R 317 S 318 T 319 U 320 V 320 W 320 Z 321 ISBN-13:,9780195174618 "Christian Moevs offers the first sustained treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates the Comedy and of the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. He carries this out through a detailed examination of three complex cantos of the Paradiso, read against the background of the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian tradition from which they arise."--BOOK JACKET Moevs offers a treatment of the metaphysical picture that grounds and motivates 'The Divine Comedy', and the relation between those metaphysics and Dante's poetics. He arrives at the conclusion that Dante believed that all of what we perceive as reality is in fact a creation or projection of conscious being Dante and Beatrice arrive in the Primo Mobile around line 100 of Paradiso 27, and abandon it for the Empyrean at approximately Paradiso 30.37.