On the Darkness of the Will

by Nicola Masciandaro

"For the will desires not to be dark, and this very desire causes the darkness” (Jacob Boehme). Moving through the fundamental question of this paradox, this book offers a constellation of theoretical and critical essays that shed light on the darkness of the its obscurity to itself. Through in-depth analysis of medieval and modern sources—Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Eriugena, Dante, Meister Eckhart, Chaucer, Nietzsche, Cioran, Meher Baba—this volume interrogates the nature and meaning of the will, along seven spontaneity, potentiality, sorrow, matter, vision, eros, and sacrifice. These multiple lines of inquiry are finally presented to coalesce around one fundamental point of the will says yes, yet only a will that knows how to say no to itself, entering the silence of its own darkness, will ever be free.

Table of Contents

Introduction
I. The Whim of On the Question of Will
II. Of a Leaden Chaucerian Non-Mysticism
III. Sorrow of In Calignem
IV. The Tears of On the Crucifixion Darkness
V. Because It's Not A Vision of Climbing and Life
VI. The Inverted On the Color of Love
VII. Inner Life | Inner On the Threshold of the Sacred

Genres: Philosophy

178 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2018

Reviews

[nethescurial]

some really interesting ideas and concepts (the chapters on chaucer and cosmic pessimism//crucifixion darkness were excellent in particular) but dear god what a fucking mess of self-aggrandized esoteric nonsense overall. i picked this up on a whim which is a gamble for any book let alone philosophy so i feel lucky that it wasnt flat out bad, but still this cranks the dial off when it comes to philosophy's almost comically obscure language making itself both inaccessible and apparently hostile to anyone reading this outside academic ivory towers. and ig that does make sense since this is a work far more in line with occult (christian) mysticism than continental philosophy so i acknowledge its also largely on me for having the wrong expectations from this, but tbf to myself the title and blurb here absolutely did not suggest this being the primarily religious work it is, but that's on me for being dumb i guess. like i said there are a couple really fantastic essays here but i can't help thinking that cutting away all the absurdly up-its-own-ass stuff would result in this being a solid 70 some pages and as it stands it goes on for 300+. glad i read it but equally glad to be done with it.

[mina]

Cosmic pessimism is not properly an -ism, but an act of showing, outside the parameters of formal proof, the non-philosophizability of the universe. It is a demonstration of the fact that the human, by virtue of its own event, is constitutively incapable of intellectually navigating the negativity binding thought and being, of definitely illuminating the darkness of one's relation to the real.