Description
Night Journeys
Book Summary
In Night Journeys, ZENIA YEBENES explores the unsettling links between mystical experience and madness. Through three profound essays, the author analyzes how historical figures such as Joan of Arc, Nicholas of Cusa, John of the Cross, Georges Bataille, and Teresa of Ávila traverse the boundary where spiritual communion and the dissolution of the self become blurred. This book offers a rigorous and fascinating look at the construction of the mystical subject and the paradox of a sacred communication born on the threshold of reason.
What is it about?
The work is structured into three independent essays connected by a single axis: the diffuse border between spiritual elevation and psychic disturbance. The first essay traces an itinerary from Joan of Arc to Nicholas of Cusa and John of the Cross, where the constitution of the mystical subject depends on the response to an inner voice. The second essay focuses on Georges Bataille and his fascination with cases of self-mutilation, questioning whether an authentic communion between beings is possible without resorting to the self-destruction of the ego, and whether a sacred writing capable of communicating can emerge from that apparent, ridiculous madness. The third essay addresses the interpretation of holiness as a symptom in the 19th and 20th centuries, taking Teresa of Ávila as a paradigmatic example of the figure of the hysteric.
Main Themes
- The relationship between mysticism and madness at the limit of human experience.
- The constitution of the mystical subject through the response to a voice or calling.
- Communion between beings and the role of the self-destruction of the ego.
- Sacred writing as a potential form of communication originating from madness.
- Holiness interpreted as a psychiatric symptom in modernity.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for readers interested in philosophy, social psychology, the history of religion, and cultural criticism. It is especially relevant for those seeking to understand the intersections between extreme spiritual experience and psychic disorders, as well as for students and academics in the humanities who wish to explore interdisciplinary approaches to mysticism and subjectivity.
What this book contributes
- A profound and original analysis of the intersection between mysticism and psychopathology.
- A critical review of key historical figures from a contemporary perspective.
- A reflection on the limits of communication and human experience.
- An interdisciplinary approach that connects philosophy, religion, and social psychology.
- Conceptual tools to rethink holiness and madness as cultural phenomena.
Technical Specifications
- Author: ZENIA YEBENES
- Publisher: ANTHROPOS EDITORIAL
- Language: Spanish
- Topic: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY FICTION, RELIGION AND BELIEFS, PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL, GROUP, OR COLLECTIVE PSYCHOLOGY
- Collection: NO COLLECTION
- Binding: Other
- Publication date: July 2011
- Number of pages: 208
- Weight: 239 g
Editorial Assessment
Night Journeys is a work that invites demanding and reflective reading. Its value lies in its ability to build bridges between seemingly disparate disciplines, offering a novel perspective on mysticism and madness. Readers seeking a rigorous analysis, free from simplifications, will find in these essays a source of stimulating and well-founded ideas, ideal for delving into the limits of human experience and the construction of the subject.