The transcendent infinite and the immanent infinite

Abstract

The paper makes a distinction between the transcendent infinite and the immanent infinite. The transcendent infinite means the infiniteness of a necessity beyond conditions. In contrast, the immanent infinite means an infinite within conditions. The first part of the paper brings three examples for the immanent infinite from works by Thomas of Acquinas, Immanuel Kant, and Emmanuel Levinas. These examples can be related to the concept of the transcendent infinite as well. The second part surveys two complementary versions of immanent infinite in Hegel and Deleuze. Finally, the example of the differential calculus in Hegel and in Deleuze serves to illustrate the differences between two concepts of the immanent infinite.