Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Voyage of Unknowing cover art

The Voyage of Unknowing

By: David Christopher Lane, Andrea Diem-Lane
Narrated by: Paul Stefano
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $9.99

Buy Now for $9.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

I first encountered the mystical logic of Nicholas of Cusa when I read S.L. Frank's magnificent (and underappreciated) volume, The Unknowable. I was both mesmerized and haunted by Cusa's koan-like summation of his philosophy when he wrote, "The unattainable is attained by its unattainment." As Socrates and other mystic-philosophers before him, Nicholas of Cusa had realized through mathematics and geometry that infinity cannot be comprehended by that which is finite. Thus what is the best way to "know" that which exceeds us? By being profoundly learned in our own ignorance and understanding that "unknowingness" is the only pathway before us.

This volume contains two elemental writings from Nicholas of Cusa: Dialogue on the Hidden God and key excerpts from On Learned Ignorance. Both of these readings deserve a very close reading, since Cusa wrote in a compacted, yet deeply pregnant, fashion, providing an intellectual landscape of precious jewels of inquiry. I have now read Nicholas of Cusa for nearly four decades and each time I find something new to contemplate. We have bookended Cusa's two selections with essays that were deeply influenced by his thinking. The first is entitled "The Mystical Dimension" and demonstrates that even as science progresses over time, there will still remain a "Mystery" given the limits of our cranial capacities and given the parameters of the universe's spatial and time specific dimensions. The second essay, "The Cerebral Mirage", is by Professor Andrea Diem and touches upon neuroscience and evolution, illustrating how easy it is for us to be deceived not only by others but also by the very make-up of our neurology. In this regard, we must be keenly aware not to confuse our present brain state (and what it conveys via its filtration system) with absolute reality. Simply put, don't confuse map-making with the actual territory itself.

©2016 David Christopher Lane (P)2017 David Christopher Lane

What listeners say about The Voyage of Unknowing

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.