Jakob Böhme

German mystic and philosopher. A representative of German mysticism in the early modern period. Born near Görlitz in eastern Germany, he became a shoemaker. Through meditation and self-study, he became an extraordinary and original thinker. After a visionary experience, he wrote about his new realizations in his debut work, Aurora (1612), but this brought him into conflict with the church and he was forced to stop writing. After a period of spiritual conflict, he resumed his writing in 1618, and produced many works in his later years. His earlier works had a strong interest in metaphysics, but his later works were said to be easier to understand as they were more practical and religious in nature.

His entire thought was centered on the problem of "God and nature," and he tried to connect nature to God without adopting pantheism. In the end, his task was to explore the origin and reason for the existence of "evil." Evil is not a negative lack, but a positive force. In his mystical thought, the traditional harmonious Neoplatonic metaphysics is understood in terms of natural philosophy, but it is greatly changed by Lutheran voluntaristic dualism. His intense and dynamic concept of God also follows the lineage of Luther's idea of ​​God's exclusive omnipotence. In nature there is a dualistic struggle between good and evil, and its origin is in "nature in God." The spiritual condition of evil lies in free will. In God, free will is good, but in angels and humans, when it is directed toward the opposite direction to God, that is, toward the isolated ego, it becomes evil and becomes independent in opposition to God. However, its origin lies deeper in the "eternal and unfathomable will" as the basis of God's self-birth. Just as the existence of darkness is necessary for the revelation of light, the existence of evil is necessary for the revelation and self-manifestation of God. His works were popular not only in Germany but also in the Netherlands and England. His works were recognized as valuable by Romantics and German Idealists, but Hegel recognized in him the forerunner of his own dialectical thought and praised him as "the first German philosopher." Franz Xavier von Baader (1765-1841) and the later Schelling also had deep ties with him.

[Kenji Tokoha April 17, 2015]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツの神秘思想家、哲学者。ドイツ神秘主義の近世初頭の代表者。ドイツ東部のゲルリッツ近郊に生まれ、靴工となる。瞑想(めいそう)と独学によって非凡で独自な思想家となった。幻想的な体験ののち、新しい認識を処女作『黎明(あけぼの)』Aurora（1612）に著したが、教会との対立を招き筆を折らざるをえなかった。精神的葛藤(かっとう)ののち1618年以降ふたたび筆をとり、晩年には多くの著作をなした。前期の著作では形而上(けいじじょう)学的関心が強かったが、後期においては実践的、宗教的関心が前面に出ており、より理解しやすいといわれている。

　彼の全思索は「神と自然」の問題に集中しており、汎神(はんしん)論にたつことなく自然を神に結び付けようとした。結局、「悪」の起源・存在理由の探求がその課題となったのである。悪は消極的な欠如ではなく積極的な力である。彼の神秘思想では、従来の調和的な新プラトン主義的形而上学は、自然哲学的に理解されているが、ルター的な主意主義的二元論によって大きな変化を被っている。その激しい動的な神概念も、ルターの神の独占的全能性思想の系譜をくんでいる。自然のうちには善と悪との二元の闘争が存在し、その起源は「神における自然」にある。悪の精神的条件は自由意志に存する。神においては善である自由意志は、天使、人間にあっては、神への方向とは反対のもの、すなわち孤立せる自我に向けられたとき悪となり、神に対抗して独立する。しかしより深く、神の自己誕生の根底としての「永遠の無底の意志」にその起源は存在するのである。闇(やみ)の存在が光の啓示に不可欠なように、悪の存在は神の啓示・自己顕現にとって必然的なのである。彼の著作はドイツのみならずオランダ、イギリスでも親しまれた。ロマン主義、ドイツ観念論の人々によって真価を認められたが、ヘーゲルは彼に自己の弁証法思想の先駆者をみいだし「最初のドイツの哲学者」と賞賛している。バーダーFranz Xavier von Baader（1765―1841）、後期シェリングも彼と深く結び付いている。

［常葉謙二　2015年4月17日］

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