The Logos and the Divine Attribute Torah in the Philosophy of Saul Kripke
Differences and Confluences with Alexandre Safran's Kabbalah
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/diakrisis.2026.3Keywords:
Alexandre Safran, Kabbalah, Torah, Saul Kripke, Divine Attributes, Logos, Rigid Designation, Mystical TheologyAbstract
This article explores the intersection between the analytic philosophy of language – specifically Saul Kripke’s theory of rigid designation – and the mystical ontology of language found in Alexandre Safran’s Kabbalah. By examining the Logos as a rigid designator and the Torah as a divine attribute, this paper bridges Kripkean metaphysical necessity with the Zoharic conception of divine emanation. To do so, this study makes an explicit methodological commitment to collapse semantic reference, nominative necessity, and metaphysical identity, illustrating how Kripke’s framework provides heuristic illumination for Zoharic panentheism. While Kripke approaches necessity through modal logic, Safran approaches the necessity of the divine word through mystical theology, highlighting profound conceptual convergences alongside stark methodological limits.
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