absolutized a fragment of the Absolute, having
made of consciousness, or mind, or being, the
ground of knowledge. They have obscured, so
Buber argues, the Holy which is beyond cate-
gories, which exists only in meeting, never in
pure thought.

The peculiarity of modern philosophy which
Buber indicates with admirable directness is the
metaphysical status to which dissatisfaction has
been elevated. Where once man's face before God
could be described by Rudolf Otto as that of
awe before the numen, it has now become
anxiety (angst) before the wholly unknown.
Philosophy has employed a reverse ontological
argument. Having ascertained that there is no
avenue by which God may be known, it has con-
cluded that God does not exist. Previously,
philosophy had argued, until Kant's refutation
gained currency, that God's existence could be
proved from the character of knowledge. This
proof has faded away, however frequent the
attempts to revive it. In its place has been
established the utter negation of proof, the
irrationality of the very conception of God, the
fruitlessness of all effort to achieve clarity of
understanding. In substance, however, there is a
deeper source to the repudiation of God. When

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