The One Beyond Being: the Abrogation of Otherness in Meister Eckhart
Leandro BERTONCELLO
Original title: O Uno além do Ser: a ab-rogação da alteridade em Meister Eckhart
Published in The Kingdom of the Spirit
Keywords: Meister Eckhart, Negatio negationis, Non-dualism.
This article examines the concept of the abrogation of otherness in Meister Eckhart, with emphasis on his doctrine of the union between the human soul and the One, a reality that transcends being. Through the analysis of texts and sermons by the Rhenish mystic, it explores how the soul can overcome all distinctions and attain unity with God through the negation of negation (negatio negationis). The study discusses the transcendence of the One beyond being, the role of the ground of the soul (Grunde der Seele) as the locus of this union, and the dialectic between detachment and love for others. It concludes that abrogation does not imply contempt for the world but rather a new way of experiencing the divine in all creatures.
Waters of Otherness and Unity: the Mediterranean and the Western Currents of Non-Dualist Thought
Leandro BERTONCELLO
Original title: Águas de alteridade e de unidade: o Mediterrâneo e as correntes ocidentais do pensamento não dualista
Published in Intercultural Mediterranean
Keywords: Mediterranean, Non-dualism, Unity of Being, Western philosophy.
Language:
This article analyzes the development of non-dualist thought in the Mediterranean, challenging the traditional view that restricts it to Eastern spiritualities. Based on the region’s dynamics of fragmentation and connectivity, it argues that the search for the unity of Being permeated various Western philosophical traditions, from Parmenides to Ramon Llull. The circulation of ideas in the Mediterranean fostered the formulation of concepts that reject the absolute separation between subject and object, spirit and matter, divine and human. Furthermore, the study examines how modern philosophical historiography marginalized or reinterpreted non-dualist currents in the West, emphasizing dualism as a dominant feature. The reassessment of this intellectual legacy allows for the recognition of the Mediterranean as a space of philosophical synthesis, where unity and multiplicity were reconciled within a distinct tradition. Thus, the article proposes a critical reevaluation that situates Western non-dualism within a broader framework of intellectual history.
