This dissertation examines the formations, historical developments, and contextual regulations of negative speech (apophasis) in pre-modern Sufism, and its contemporary representations in Islamic Studies. The dissertation (i) problematizes the current approaches to apophasis and negative theologies in the study of religion, particularly in relation to Islam (Ch.1-3); (ii) constructs a genealogy of the terms âapophasisâ and ânegative theologyâ in the last two centuries (Ch.1-2); (iii) presents in-depth case studies that provide contextual analyses of Sufi performances of apophasis in the fields of theology (Ch.4-7), and mystical union (Ch.8).
The first two chapters bring a fresh perspective to the field by approaching âapophasis,â and ânegative theologyâ as second-order, scholarly categories that are not sui generis religious, critical, or mystical. This shift in perspective makes clear that contemporary studies on apophasis and negative theologies, as well as their reflections on Islamic Studies and Sufism, are in large part responses to the challenges and demands of modernity. Chapter 3 argues that ânegative theologyâ is a blanket term that cannot distinguish between the varieties of theological questions that medieval scholars asked. I differentiate ânegative theologies of the divine essenceâ from ânegative theologies of divine attributes.â Chapters 4-to-7 introduce the formations and historical developments of four prominent negative theological positions on the divine essence that circulated among medieval Sufis. Chapter 8 examines Sufi approaches to the unio mystica in the thirteenth century, in order to display the ways in which negative speech is governed by context-specific norms and institutions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03222016-235650 |
| Date | 23 March 2016 |
| Creators | Kars, Aydogan |
| Contributors | Ellen T. Armour, Devin A. DeWeese, Lenn E. Goodman, Allen Hibbard, Richard McGregor, David J. Wasserstein |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03222016-235650/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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