From Acosmism to Dialogue: The Evolution of Buber’s Philosophical View on Mysticism

• Main Author: Peter Šajda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Society for Spirituality Studies 2020-05-01
• Series: Spirituality Studies
• Subjects: dialogical philosophy; community; mysticism; acosmism; hasidism
• Online Access: https://www.spirituality-studies.org/dp-volume6-issue1-spring2020/34/

The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber has long been known as a critic of dualistic religious paradigms that contain the imperative of renouncing the world. He denoted such paradigms as acosmic thus highlighting their problematic relation to the cosmos. However, the accusation of acosmism has been leveled also against Buber himself and has been aimed at his pre-dialogical authorship. In the article I track the acosmic tendencies in Buber’s pre-dialogical thought and since they are linked to his preoccupation with mysticism I follow the evolution of his philosophical view of the mystical tradition. I argue that although Buber’s early study of mysticism indeed contributed to the acosmic orientation of his thought, his discovery of the specific character of Jewish mysticism inspired him to shift the emphasis of his thinking from subjectivity and interiority to intersubjectivity and community.