3 4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 6 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 0 From Acosmism to Dialogue: The Evolution of Buber’s Philosophical View on Mysticism Received February 3, 2020 Revised February 27, 2020 Accepted March 3, 2020 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 asacosmic 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. Key words Dialogical philosophy, community, mysticism, acosmism, Hasidism Peter Šajda
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