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Work #1386 · Mid

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

Nicholas of Cusa (Nicolaus Cusanus)
c. 1444 · Latin
Theological dialogue · Late-medieval mysticism / Cusan philosophy

Cusa's c.1444 short dialogue on the hidden God

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito) (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Revelation
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Reversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

Composed c. 1444; early-mature post-De-Docta-Ignorantia period.

Space

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

Late-medieval Italian-German setting; Cusa's transnational ecclesiastical-philosophical ambit.

Matter

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

God's hiddenness; the apophatic; the limits of finite categorial knowledge; the convergence between negative-theological Christian and other-religious approaches.

Observer

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

Cusa as cardinal-philosopher-mystic operating between scholastic, Neoplatonic, and comparative-religious-eirenic registers.

Energy

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

Apophatic-mystical, dialogical-eirenic, philosophical-theological energies.

Information

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

Very short Latin dialogue; two-character philosophical-theological exchange; aphoristic-condensed style.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Hidden God (De Deo Abscondito)

De Deo Abscondito has remained a continuing reference for negative-theological reflection and comparative-religious-philosophy. Cusa's apophaticism — that God transcends every category by which intellect could grasp Him — anticipates parts of the German-Idealist and Heideggerian engagement with the limits of categorial thought, and continues to feed contemporary apophatic and 'God-without-being' theological proposals.