Exploring the Nothing in Relation to Meister Eckhart’s God and Martin Heidegger’s Being

This paper aims to establish a parallel between Meister Eckhart’s statement that ‘God is Nothing’ and Martin Heidegger’s claim that ‘Being is Nothing.’ By observing a pattern of negation in the thought of both thinkers I will ultimately suggest that in these statements, they have reached the same co...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Parsons, Elizabeth (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group 2021
In: Medieval mystical theology
Jahr: 2021, Band: 30, Heft: 1, Seiten: 37-46
weitere Schlagwörter:B Negation
B Transcendence
B (in)distinction
B God
B Nothing
B Being
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:This paper aims to establish a parallel between Meister Eckhart’s statement that ‘God is Nothing’ and Martin Heidegger’s claim that ‘Being is Nothing.’ By observing a pattern of negation in the thought of both thinkers I will ultimately suggest that in these statements, they have reached the same conclusion. To observe negation in Eckhart I will examine his principle of indistinct distinction, which ultimately negates negation itself; for Heidegger I will consider the ontological difference between Being and beings, which too must necessarily be negated to disclose the Nothing. One key distinction that I aim to demonstrate between the two thinkers is how each considers the pertinence of the Nothing in human experience. For Eckhart, our experience of the Nothing has a unifying role, whereas for Heidegger it remains wholly repellent, in the literal sense of ‘driving back.’ Moreover, beyond the particulars of Eckhart and Heidegger, I will aim to defend the legitimacy of the Nothing as a philosophical concept.
ISSN:2046-5734
Enthält:Enthalten in: Medieval mystical theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/20465726.2021.1923244