Guido Kreis: Negative Dialektik des Unendlichen. Kant, Hegel, Cantor, Berlin. Suhrkamp 2015. 490 S.

The negative theology of absolute infinity: Cantor, mathematics, and humility

“…All in all, the discussion in the second part shows that the theological significance of Cantor's treatment of absolute infinity can be interpreted in terms of negative theology. Kreis (2015) agrees with this interpretation (Kreis, 2015, 402-403), but also points to a serious problem of this approach to infinity that we want to discuss now. For Kreis, the claim that the absolute exists (ontologically) without being conceivable (epistemically) constitutes the center of negative theology (ibid.).…”

“…We argued above that, for Cantor, absolute infinity exists but is beyond human comprehension. For Kreis (2015), this approach is in line with negative theology, but constitutes an incoherent position. However, we think that the diagonalization argument that leads to Cantor's paradox can be interpreted as a performative undermining of the notion of absolute infinity that evokes a transformative experience.…”

“…The problem of absolute generality shows that human life takes place inside a 'domain'-the incomplete universe-that is beyond human comprehension. Correspondingly, Kreis (2015) points out in some detail that this problem undermines our grasp of the notion of the world and argues that it seems impossible to resolve this problem (Kreis, 2015, 435-460).…”