Geben and Geboren: on the Dimension of Negative Theology in the Thought of Heidegger and Eckhart
Author: WU Sanxi, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Philosophy, Nankai University
Abstract:
There is a close relationship between Heidegger and Eckhart. The concept geben is one of the most important themes in the mid and late thought of Heidegger, and a latent concept in his early thought. There is a change in the significance of geben from Heidegger’s early period to his later: from an emphasis on “giving” to “withdrawing”. The concept geboren in Eckhart also has dual meanings: giving completely and the forgetting of giving. Based on a parallel analysis of Heidegger and Eckhart, I apply a method of hermeneutics in my paper, and adopt a comparative method to synthesize Heidegger, Eckhart and Negative Theology. In form, it is a study of two philosophers; from the content point of view, the study focuses on the question of Negation. It is exactly the negative significance in gebenand geboren that locates Heidegger and Eckhart in the very place which belongs to the tradition of Negative Theology, and moreover, they make the tradition of Negative Theology into one of the sources of new theology.
Keywords:
geben, geboren, God,Gottheit, negation
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