Negativity and Self-limitation: approximations between Kabbalah and Hegelian philosophy

Abstract

It is intended, in this paper, to make approximations between dimensions of Jewish mysticism, especially the Lurian school, and the German idealist romantic philosophy, particularly in Hegel, having as a background the perspective of establishing a set of parallels that can account for adequately understand the importance and fascination that Jewish mysticism exerted on a significant portion of Central European Jewish intelligentsia at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. It starts with critical considerations of Michael Löwy's work, entitled Redenção e Utopia, in which the aforementioned author establishes important investigations, which, although limited, in our view, suggest the latent possibility of a deeper investigation. This article specifically aims to perceive and expose parallels and the importance of negativity, as a fundamental and common constitutive element in the movement of thought of the two cultural configurations at stake.