Omnia creata deum laudant. Contributions to the language of saturation in Nicholas of Cusa’s scientia laudis

Abstract

Jean-Luc Marion’s phenomenology of givenness, from its origins to the present, has been nourished by a productive reception of Christian Neoplatonism. Marion’s main themes include the relationship between phenomenology and language, or more specifically, the possibility of a non-predicative language that allows naming saturated phenomena. The reference to Dionysius the Areopagite is unavoidable in relation to this issue, as can be seen in his writings L’Idole et la distance (1977) and De surcroît (2001), among others. Also worth noting is Marion’s reading of Augustine’s views on the problem of praise/confession, as can be seen in his work Au lieu de soi (2008). Furthermore, the fundamental influence of Nicholas of Cusa in various issues of the phenomenology of givenness (intersubjectivity, the counter-intentionality of the icon, among others) cannot be ignored, as can be seen in Marion’s reading of De visione Dei (1453). For all these reasons, the objective of this paper is to offer an extension of Marion’s phenomenological analysis of praise from a study of the scientia laudis present in Nicholas of Cusa’s senescence work De venatione sapientiae (1463).