Performative Finitude: Theological Language and the God–World Relationship in Nicholas of Cusa’s De Non Aliud

Abstract

Abstract: In Christ the Heart of Creation, Rowan Williams regrets that he cannot explore Nicholas of Cusa’s ‘uniquely lucid insights’ concerning the relationship between God and the world. This article takes up the challenge, enquiring how Cusanus approaches this relationship in his treatise De Non Aliud. First, the article attends to how Cusanus understands theological language, arguing that he invites his readers into a self‐reflective process, taking seriously the finite mode of our knowing and speaking. Secondly, it is shown how this same attention to human finitude, and to the performative aspect of attempting to understand a relationship which defines our very being, is evident in Cusanus’ approach to theological metaphysics.