The Hidden Source of Hermeneutics: The Art of Reading in Hugh of St. Victor

It might be surprising to find in a journal of contemporary philosophy a text that is mostly about Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141). The hermeneutic question, however, did not begin only yesterday. While this question has its actual sources in Origen (concerning the meaning of Scripture) and Saint Augustine (the firmament of Scripture), it is in the Didascalicon or The Art of Reading by Hugh of St. Victor that it first finds its clearest formulation and its most methodical development. This “hidden source of hermeneutics” allows for a questioning of the foundations of the hermeneutics of the text from its outset (in weighing the short route versus the long route), and also for a return of hermeneutics, or better to turn it, to its primordial origin: a hermeneutics of the “world” or of “creation” [liber mundi], rather than of the “text” and of “Scripture” [liber Scripturae]. A “Catholic” hermeneutics of “the body and the voice” should, in my opinion, take the place of the “Protestant” hermeneutics of “the meaning of the text” (Ricœur) and the “Jewish” hermeneutics of the “body of the letter” (Levinas). This thesis, which is stated and developed in my book Crossing the Rubicon, has its roots and justification in this historical essay on Hugh of St. Victor. 

Is There a Flesh Without Body?

This paper was originally presented at a colloquium on Michel Henry’s book Incarnation at the Institut Catholique Paris. Michel Henry’s response to the present study can be found in “À Emmanuel Falque,” in Phénoménologie et christianisme chez Michel Henry, ed. Ph. Capelle  (Paris: Cerf, 2004): 168-182. This response was reprinted recently in Michel Henry, La Phénoménologie de la vie, vol. 5 (Paris: PUF, 2015)

O argumento teofânico: uma outra leitura de Anselmo de Cantuária

This paper re-reads the meaning and tenor of Anselm's argument in light of his life, which offers a rich perspective on the famous formula Deus est aliquid quo nihil majus cogitari possit – commonly translated, "God is something of which nothing greater can be thought". It will only receive its true meaning for today as it describes the common experience that is intended here [(I) hermeneutics] and shows the kind of manifestation that is considered here [(II) phenomenology]. In the light of this double reading - hermeneutic and phenomenological - the celebrated argument of the Proslogion will again find its true relevance for our time. Avoiding the restriction to its purely confessional (K. Barth, M. Corbin) or entirely secular (R. Roques, P. Vignaux, A. de Libera, K. Flash, etc.) readings, it is convenient to give it back its "theophanic" content, so that it can be seen by all through the prism of a lived experience, be it only conceptual or also religious. There is mysticism in philosophy pure and simple, if we extend it to a kind of experience that involves us completely.Reler o sentido e o teor do argumento de Anselmo à luz de sua vida oferece uma rica perspectiva sobre a famosa fórmula Deus est aliquid quo nihil majus cogitari possit – comumente traduzida: “Deus é algo do qual nada maior pode ser pensado”. Ela só receberá seu verdadeiro sentido para hoje à medida que descrever, por um lado, a experiência comum que se pretende aqui [(I) hermenêutica] e mostrar, por outro lado, o tipo de manifestação que aqui se considera [(II) fenomenologia]. À luz dessa dupla leitura – tanto hermenêutica como fenomenológica – o célebre argumento do Proslogion reencontrará a sua verdadeira relevância para o nosso tempo. Evitando nos restringirmos às suas leituras puramente confessionais (K. Barth, M. Corbin) ou inteiramente laicas (R. Roques, P. Vignaux, A. de Libera, K. Flash, etc.), convém, ao contrário, devolver-lhe o seu teor “teofânico”, para que possa ser visto por uns e outros através do prisma de uma experiência vivida, seja ela apenas conceitual ou também religiosa. Há mística na filosofia pura e simples, se a estendermos a um tipo de experiência que nos envolve por completo

Filosofía y teología: ida "y" vuelta

Esta conferencia indaga las relaciones entre filosofía (fenomenología) y teología como un "ida y vuelta" en una vía en doble sentido, donde sin confundirse ambas se enriquecen en la travesía y el paso de una a otra orilla. Se focaliza aquí en la transformación de la filosofía, siguiendo el lema: cuanto más se teologiza mejor se filosofa

The Hidden Source of Hermeneutics: The Art of Reading in Hugh of St. Victor

It might be surprising to find in a journal of contemporary philosophy a text that is mostly about Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141). The hermeneutic question, however, did not begin only yesterday. While this question has its actual sources in Origen (concerning the meaning of Scripture) and Saint Augustine (the firmament of Scripture), it is in the Didascalicon or The Art of Reading by Hugh of St. Victor that it first finds its clearest formulation and its most methodical development. This “hidden source of hermeneutics” allows for a questioning of the foundations of the hermeneutics of the text from its outset (in weighing the short route versus the long route), and also for a return of hermeneutics, or better to turn it, to its primordial origin: a hermeneutics of the “world” or of “creation” [liber mundi], rather than of the “text” and of “Scripture” [liber Scripturae]. A “Catholic” hermeneutics of “the body and the voice” should, in my opinion, take the place of the “Protestant” hermeneutics of “the meaning of the text” (Ricœur) and the “Jewish” hermeneutics of the “body of the letter” (Levinas). This thesis, which is stated and developed in my book Crossing the Rubicon, has its roots and justification in this historical essay on Hugh of St. Victor

Agustín y la fenomenología del siglo XX

This paper addresses the reception of Augustine of Hippo´s thought throughout the history of phenomenology in the 20th century. To do this, the paper divides this reception into various themes or approaches with their respective authors. In the first place, he deals with the “phenomenological origins” (Husserl, Heidegger, and Arendt), showing there the German matrix of Augustine’s interpretation. Secondly, the author analyzes, already within the framework of Augustine’s French readings, what he calls the “hermeneutical turn” (Gadamer and Ricoeur). Finally, he examines what he defines as “phenomenological descriptions” (Marion and Chrétien).El presente trabajo aborda la recepción del pensamiento de Agustín de Hipona a lo largo de la historia de la fenomenología en el siglo XX. Para ello, divide esta recepción en diversos temas o enfoques con sus respectivos autores. En primer lugar, trata los “orígenes fenomenológicos” (Husserl, Heidegger y Arendt), mostrando allí la matriz alemana de interpretación de Agustín. En segundo lugar, el autor analiza, ya en el marco de las lecturas francesas de Agustín, lo que denomina el “giro hermenéutico” (Gadamer y Ricoeur). Finalmente, en tercer lugar, examina lo que define como “Descripciones fenomenológicas” (Marion y Chrétien)