De Docta Ignorantia

De docta ignorantia (Latin: On learned ignorance/on Scientific Ignorance) is a book on philosophy and theology by Nicholas of Cusa (or Nicolaus Cusanus), who finished writing it on 12 February 1440 in his mother-town of Kues, Germany.

Earlier scholars had discussed the matter, e.g.

• Augustine of Hippo stated »Est ergo in nobis quaedam, ut dicam, docta ignorantia, sed docta spiritu dei, qui adiuvat infirmitatem nostram« (Epist. ad Probam 130, c. 15, § 28)
• Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite advises his reader to ἀγνώστως ἀνατάθητι "strive upwards unknowingly" (De myst. theol.c. 1, § 1)
• Bonaventura of Bagnoregio declared »spiritus noster non solum efficitur agilis ad ascensum verum etiam quadam ignorantia docta supra se ipsum rapitur in caliginem et excessum« (Übinger, Docta ignor S. 8)

For Cusanus, the docta ignorantia means a »visio sine comprehensione, speculatio« (De docta ignor. I, 26). As mankind can not grasp the infinity of a deity through rational knowledge, the limits of science need to be passed by means of speculation that blur the borders between science and ignorantia. In other words both reason and a supra-rational understanding is needed to understand God. This leads to the idea coincidentia oppositorum, a Union of Opposites, a doctrine common in mystic beliefs from the Middle Ages. These ideas influenced other contemporary Renaissance scholars such as Pico della Mirandola.

External links

• On Learned Ignorance and other works by Nicolas de Cusa — Full-texts in English