Beyond the Negative: Appropriation and Surpassing of Negative Theology in Vladimir Jankélévitch's Philosophie Première.

In this article, we propose to question the accuracy of Jean Wahl's definition of Vladimir Jankélévitch's Philosophie Première (1953) as one of the "ultimate efflorescences of negative theology." In fact, we maintain that—although conceiving the apophatic discourse as a necessary (but insufficient)...

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Published in:Sophia Vol. 62; no. 2; pp. 265 - 274
Main Author: Marques, Vasco Baptista
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Jun2023
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Beyond the Negative: Appropriation and Surpassing of Negative Theology in Vladimir Jankélévitch's Philosophie Première.
      aug:
        au: Marques, Vasco Baptista
        affil: Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade, 1600-214, Lisboa, Portugal
      su:
        Theology
        Efflorescence
        Nicholas, of Cusa, Cardinal, 1401-1464
        Discourse
      sug:
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          Theology
          Efflorescence
          Nicholas, of Cusa, Cardinal, 1401-1464
          Discourse
      keyword:
        Absolute
        Divine names
        Negative theology
      ab: In this article, we propose to question the accuracy of Jean Wahl's definition of Vladimir Jankélévitch's Philosophie Première (1953) as one of the "ultimate efflorescences of negative theology." In fact, we maintain that—although conceiving the apophatic discourse as a necessary (but insufficient) stepping-stone to the absolute—the aforementioned work constitutes, if anything, an effort to overcome it by means of what we shall call a tesiphatic philosophy, i.e., one that identifies the first principle, not as the absolute negation of being, but as the absolute position of being. To defend our thesis, we shall start by discussing the meaning of the five divine names that Jankélévitch bestows upon his absolute, namely, (1) the "totally-other-order," (2) the "super-truth," (3) "the itself," (4) the "I-know-not-what," and (5) the "almost-nothing." In this section of our paper, we will try to show how Jankélévitch's discourse is, in fact, shaped by the whole negative theology tradition (from Plotinus to Nicholas of Cusa). Finally, in the last part of our paper, we will strive to reflect upon Jankélévitch's interpretation of the limits of a apophatic metaphysical discourse, questioning whether his Philosophie Première effectively overcomes negative theology's conception of the absolute.
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