From suffering to the joy of living

Michel Henry and the gnostic imagery of our time

Abstract

Michel Henry’s phenomenology can be seen as an antidote to the gnostic imagery of our time. Of course, there is a “gnosis” in his phenomenology, understood as a “knowledge” that occurs through access to oneself in the form of an original feeling. But this “gnosis” represents an emphatic rejection of any pessimistic view of life and human adventure. Going back to the original meaning of our ipseity, to its most intimate and immanent constitution, does not imply taking the truth of life, our incarnation, our essential link to the sensible as something to be denied or overcome. Michel Henry’s “gnosis” is not one that asks whether it is really worth continuing the human adventure, which calls into question the importance of acting for the benefit of the world. No! It manifests the desire to think about our existence in the world, with its expressions and works, with its pains and sufferings, as representation, affirmation and, above all, enjoyment of life. In this sense, his proposal can be seen as an explicit refusal of Gnosticism, even in its secularized versions.