The Oral Other and the Question of Discipleship in Michel de Certeau

Abstract The thought of the French Jesuit Michel de Certeau revolves around the figure of the absent Other. This article is dedicated to this enigmatic figure and its elusive appearance. The account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and their encounter with a stranger serves as a point of departure for an examination of the interplay between absence and presence of this Other. The article thus analyzes the nature of the relationship that can be established with the stranger, who, upon closer inspection, emerges as the risen Christ in the narrative. In this manner, the article draws upon psychoanalytic theory of mourning developed by Freud to identify the concept of incorporation as a crucial tool to elucidating the relationship between the self and the Other and its significance for the question of discipleship.