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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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Parsons, Elizabeth (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group 2021
Dans: Medieval mystical theology
Année: 2021, Volume: 30, Numéro: 1, Pages: 37-46
Sujets non-standardisés:B Transcendence
B (in)distinction
B God
B Négation
B Nothing
B Being
Accès en ligne: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Résumé: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
Contient:Enthalten in: Medieval mystical theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/20465726.2021.1923244