Ja, Inny i (Nie)obecny. (Idee kabalistyczne w filozofii Boga Emmanuela Levinasa)

• Authors: Kornacka Katarzyna

Title variants

EN

I, THE OTHER, AND THE ONE ABSENT BUT PRESENT. KABBALISTIC IDEAS IN EMMANUEL LEVINAS`S PHILOSOPHY OF GOD

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Emmanuel Lévinas is often regarded as incomprehensible. The author shows, however, that the core of his perception of reality consists of relatively clear assumptions of the mystical thought of Kabbalists and Hasidic thinkers. Lévinas claims that the only adequate name of the Godhead is that of Creator. Eventually, He can be called “Infinity” or “Nothingness”. The divine Nothingness, however, is not pantheistically present in the world, for this would imply the lack of any ontic separation between creation and the Godhead. This would inevitably imply radical postulates in the area of ethics, for “the Other” is just where man’s connection with Transcendence is to a certain extent possible. This is because according to the mystical views, God created the world inside Himself, by the means of His auto-negation, which justifies the statement that God left the world. And, since the Absolute has left the world, people can count solely on themselves. As a result, they are obliged to act positively or even heroically in the ethical order. Otherwise, their existence would become an unbearable torment.

Keywords

EN

EMMANUEL LEVINAS; PHILOSOPHY OF GOD; JEWISH MYSTICISM; THE KABBALAH; HASIDISM; EYHICAL RADICALISM; PHILOSOPHY OF DIALOGUE

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Umiejętności / Uniwersytet Jagielloński
• Journal: Kwartalnik Filozoficzny
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 81-102

Contributors

author

Kornacka Katarzyna

• Instytut Kultury Europejskiej, Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza, ul. Kostrzewskiego 5, 62-200 Gniezno, Poland