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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

182778

Naming the unnameable god

Levinas, Derrida, and Marion

Anselm K. Min

pp. 99-116

Abstract

In this essay I present the postmodern phenomenological approach of Levinas, Derrida, and Marion to the problem of naming the unnameable God. For Levinas, God is never experienced directly but only as a third person whose infinity is testified to in the infinity of responsibility to the hungry. For Derrida, God remains the unnameable "wholly other" accessible only as the indeterminate term of pure reference in prayer. For Marion, God remains the object of "de-nomination" through praise. In all three, the problem of naming the unnameable God is necessarily linked to how we relate to fellow human beings, to the hungry in Levinas, justice in Derrida, and charity in Marion. I also reflect on the merits and adequacy of phenomenology as such for speaking of divine transcendence.

Publication details

Published in:

Long Eugene Thomas (2007) Self and other: essays in continental philosophy of religion. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 99-116

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-5861-5_7

Full citation:

Min Anselm K. (2007) „Naming the unnameable god: Levinas, Derrida, and Marion“, In: E. Long (ed.), Self and other, Dordrecht, Springer, 99–116.