Open Secret: Henry Corbin, Elliot Wolfson, and the Mystical Poetics of Deification

dc.contributor.advisorKripal, Jeffrey J.en_US
dc.creatorPerron, Gregoryen_US
dc.date.accessioned2020-03-11T12:52:02Zen_US
dc.date.available2020-03-11T12:52:02Zen_US
dc.date.created2020-05en_US
dc.date.issued2020-03-10en_US
dc.date.submittedMay 2020en_US
dc.date.updated2020-03-11T12:52:02Zen_US
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation seeks to answer two fundamental questions. First, what is theosis or deification? And second, given that mystics in the three Abrahamic faiths have written experientially of deification, what might be some of the phenomenological and anthropological lessons that we can learn today from their insights into the nature of reality and from those of the scholars who study them? To answer these questions, a working definition of theosis or deification from the Christian tradition is offered that is then refracted through the lens of what is essentially a history of religions or reflexively comparative approach to a deep reading of the same theme in some representative texts of two major authors in the modern study of Islamic and Jewish mysticism, namely, Henry Corbin and Elliot Wolfson, respectively. This exploration is done in the service of gaining greater insight into the phenomenological and anthropological significance of the specific mystical category of deification via the “academic esotericism” (to borrow Jeffrey Kripal’s designation) of these two authors. The goal of undertaking such a dialogical study of each author’s treatment of deification is to journey toward a more mystical, poetic, and, hence, constructive understanding of what it means to be human. The fundamental argument of the dissertation is that, when viewed in the dialogical light of Corbin’s and Wolfson’s esoteric works, deification can be seen to be pointing to a relatively common cross-cultural mystical experience that bears witness to the essential and paradoxical oneness of humanity and divinity.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationPerron, Gregory. "Open Secret: Henry Corbin, Elliot Wolfson, and the Mystical Poetics of Deification." (2020) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108111">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108111</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/108111en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectHenry Corbinen_US
dc.subjectElliot Wolfsonen_US
dc.subjectmysticismen_US
dc.subjectpoeticsen_US
dc.subjectdeificationen_US
dc.titleOpen Secret: Henry Corbin, Elliot Wolfson, and the Mystical Poetics of Deificationen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentReligious Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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