The Nature of Divine Immanence in Meister Eckhart’s Thought
For Eckhart, God is indistinct to creation; that is, supremely immanent or present to it. What, then, is left to be said about the creature’s union with God? Surely all the work is already done? Eckhart answers: yes and no. This paper traces the philosophical meaning of difference and sameness, dist...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
2023
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| In: |
Medieval mystical theology
Year: 2023, Volume: 32, Issue: 2, Pages: 107-126 |
| Further subjects: | B
principium
B Meister Eckhart B Negation B indistinction B Union B Immanence |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | For Eckhart, God is indistinct to creation; that is, supremely immanent or present to it. What, then, is left to be said about the creature’s union with God? Surely all the work is already done? Eckhart answers: yes and no. This paper traces the philosophical meaning of difference and sameness, distinction and indistinction, and finally transcendence and immanence in Eckhart’s thought. This does not yield the idea that we should straightforwardly turn from our composite nature in order to achieve union with God (a position long attributed to Eckhart). Instead, it shows that through an asymmetrical relation we become indistinct to God in virtue of our distinction; we are to discover union through our composite nature. Necessarily this means union with God is simultaneously and perpetually complete and incomplete. This follows from the fact that God is beyond the oppositional structure between distinction and indistinction, transcendence and immanence. |
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| ISSN: | 2046-5734 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Medieval mystical theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/20465726.2023.2268461 |