Experiences of ineffable significance

Fabb, Nigel; Ifantidou, Elly and de Saussure, Louis and Wharton, Tim, eds. (2021) Experiences of ineffable significance. In: Beyond Meaning. John Benjamins Publishing, Amsterdam, 134–150. ISBN 9789027259592 (https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.324.c8)

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Abstract

An 'experience of ineffable significance' is sudden feeling of knowing something very significant but which cannot be described in words, sometimes accompanied by chills or tears. Amongst its types are the sublime and (secular) 'epiphanies'. Drawing on work by Huron and by Meyer, I propose that it is a type of surprise, arising from perceptions whose match to our schematic knowledge falls outside the normal range of discrepancy, either by radical discrepancy or by uncanny identity. Assuming a theoretical context of Relevance Theory, and drawing on work by Sperber and by Raffman, I explore some reasons how we are able to suddenly judge that the perception produces deeply significant knowledge, and why that knowledge cannot be expressed in words.

ORCID iDs

Fabb, Nigel ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4820-7612; Ifantidou, Elly, de Saussure, Louis and Wharton, Tim
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)