Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
ZENODOarrow_drop_down
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY NC
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY NC
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

Why the Center Does Not Run Out: Hope, Thirst, and the Source That Does Not Deplete

Authors: Gaitan, Oscar;

Why the Center Does Not Run Out: Hope, Thirst, and the Source That Does Not Deplete

Abstract

This essay develops a theological and phenomenological account of why the center of human experience—the crossing point in the Gaitan Topology—does not deplete, in contrast to the self-sustaining but ultimately exhausting loops of displacement. Building on prior analyses of the Ghost Zone, temporal deferral, and asymptotic movement, the text examines how hope, when detached from the present, becomes the sustaining mechanism of a structure that never arrives. Through a series of structural comparisons, the essay argues that fulfillment is determined not by the content of what is received but by the position from which it is received. Off the center, every satisfaction generates renewed lack, producing cycles of thirst that perpetuate themselves through anticipation. At the crossing point, the same conditions yield a different structure: reception without depletion, where what is given does not exhaust because it is grounded in presence. This principle is developed through scriptural and narrative figures, including the Samaritan woman, the widow of Zarephath, Penelope, and Esther, each of whom embodies a distinct relation to hope, fulfillment, and non-arrival. The analysis introduces the concept of topological relativity, according to which identical experiences produce opposite effects depending on their relation to the center, and distinguishes between hope as present-tense habitation and hope as deferred projection. The essay concludes that the non-depletion of the center is not a property of the self but of its source. The present, when inhabited, is sustained by the Eternal Present, understood not as a temporal moment but as the ontological ground of being, where the human “I am” participates in the inexhaustible reality of the divine “I am.”

Keywords

Theological Anthropology, The Gaitan Topology, Philosophy of Time, Ontology, Topology of Presence, Philosophy of Mind, Biblical Hermeneutics, Philosophy of Religion, Catholic Theology, Metaphysics, Phenomenology, The Ghost Zone, Eternity and Timelesness

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Related to Research communities
Upload OA version
Are you the author of this publication? Upload your Open Access version to Zenodo!
It’s fast and easy, just two clicks!