Vera Moritz Ontologie des Panentheismus bei Spinoza und bei Dōgen

About this book

This book offers a comparative-philosophical study of the pathways of thought in Spinoza and Dōgen. At its center lies the search for orientation in a complex world: What is God or the Absolute? Does human freedom exist? If so, what does it concretely mean, and where is it possible? What is the highest goal? Does the human being have a vocation or destiny?

The study juxtaposes the philosophical positions of Dōgen and Spinoza and highlights both their differences and their common ground. It shows that the essential difference lies in their ontologies. This does not, however, exclude the similar intentions and shared features of their ethical reflections. On the contrary, in their ethical thought the two come remarkably close to one another and still have much to offer our contemporary everyday lives. They show us what truly matters in this life, what is genuine and natural, and how we can, even today, return again and again to our true core.

The strength of the book lies in its connection of philosophical theory with reflections on the contemporary relevance of Dōgen’s and Spinoza’s worlds of thought—particularly with regard to ecology, the world of work, and digitalization. How can these philosophical approaches from the 13th and 17th centuries be meaningfully applied in everyday life today? In addition, the author encourages readers to consider combining both bodies of thought and using them in the development of further methods in life counseling and psychotherapy.

One does not have to be a monk to cultivate receptivity to reality and truth. Spinoza and Dōgen offer us different paths or methods for coming closer to reality and truth. These approaches, which at first glance may seem quite different, can, from the author’s perspective, also be meaningfully combined.

This book is aimed at students of philosophy and related disciplines, at teachers, life counselors, psychotherapists, mental coaches, as well as all those who are interested in fundamental questions of life or who are seeking meaning and connectedness.