For Cusa, the all-seeing gaze itself constitutes God’s representation
Evidence
It is possible to comprehend God only by means of such a gaze, God is ‘visible’ only in such a gaze: in a word, God is the gaze itself. Every picture that creates the illusion of an all-seeing gaze – regardless of what it portrays, whether it is an image of Christ, an angel or a self-portrait of the painter – thus discloses God and can be called an ‘icon of God’. — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 51
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines Cusa’s doctrine that God is not depicted by the icon’s subject but by the gaze itself.
- XREF: connects to: Abrahamic scripture centers devotion on a God who sees everything always; The panopticon’s gaze functions as God independent of the human inspector — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 59; The examination is a normalizing gaze that classifies and punishes through visibility — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 284 (+3 more)
Related
- God’s self-seeing in a single moment is Christianity’s speculative principle. (similarity 0.84)
- The panopticon’s gaze functions as God independent of the human inspector (similarity 0.83)
- Abrahamic scripture centers devotion on a God who sees everything always (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- The panopticon’s gaze functions as God independent of the human inspector
#corroborates(0.80) — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 59 - Abrahamic scripture centers devotion on a God who sees everything always
#expands(0.78) - The examination is a normalizing gaze that classifies and punishes through visibility
#exemplifies(0.72) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 284