title: The Nudity of theEgo. An Eckhartian Perspective on the Levinas/Derrida Debate on Alterity.
abstract: The present paper examines the Eckhartian motives in Derrida's critique of Levinas' concept of the "Other". The focus is put on the Husserlian concept ofalter egothat is at the core of the debate between Levinas and Derrida. Against Levinas, Derrida argues thatalteris not an epithet that expresses a mere accidental modification of theego, but an indicator of radical exteriority. Interestingly enough, this position is virtually identical with Meister Eckhart's interpretation of the famous proposition from Exodus 3:14 "I am who I am". Eckhart claims that the pronounegodenotes the absolutely simple substance of the uncreated intellect, which can, by definition, never receive any accidental determination whatsoever. The reduplication of the "I am" is by no means tautological, but expresses the intra-divine dynamic of the Father who engenders the Son as his perfect equal andalter ego. This transcendental conception of egoity also governs the relationships between human beings: the ethical encounter with the "Other" requires that we consider them not primarily in their empirical, contingent existence but in the transcendental purity of their indeclinableego, which is identical with the incessant act in which God knows himself in the Son as his absolutely Other. Thus, Meister Eckhart's approach proves, against Levinas, that it is possible to develop an "egological" philosophy that avoids the pitfalls of a naturalistic and potentially violent ontology of the subject.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Bibelwissenschaft/Altes Testament, Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät, Universität Wien , Schenkenstr. 8-10, A-1010 Wien , Austria.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1130-0116
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roesner