The dark night of the soul described by St. John of the Cross and depression are two different realities, but they can penetrate each other and occur at the same time. These two phenomena, although different, share many similarities. One and the other involves some suffering, some kind of disintegration. A breakdown of internal balance which the person may experience can be the basis for unity on a new level and the whole process can be crowned with reaching a new identity. The night of St. John of the Cross, although not identical with a disease state, can sometimes be a state of disorder that can be described as depression.
The article contains a philosophical analysis of some aspects of the mysticism of St. John of the Cross. St. Jan was not a philosopher, but he used philosophical views in his ascetic and mystical views. The article is built in sucha a way that it brings out the philosophical content of the well-known Carmelite. First of all, the article focuses on John’s metaphysical views which are conainted in his writings. Next, the basics of the concept of man (philosophical anthropology) is discussed. After that, the problem of human cognition and the man’s way of getting to know God is presented. The issues of cognition turned out to be the most comprehensive subject matter, because it is the issus that Saint John devoted the most space in his works. This is understandable, because the aim of the Spanish mystic was to allow his readers to show a reliable way to unite with God. As a result of the analysis, it turned out that Saint John of the Cross captures reality with the help of philosophy, which is a certain mix of Neoplatonic, Aristotelian and Thomistic threads.
Artykuł porusza temat wpływu, jaki mogła mieć mistyczna doktryna św. Jana od Krzyża na filozoficzną koncepcję miłości Karola Wojtyły. Stawia się tu tezę, że oddziaływanie to mogło być dwojakie: pośrednie i bezpośrednie. Wpływ pośredni polegałby na przyczynieniu się do przyjęcia przez Wojtyłę postawy filozoficznej, zawierającej dwa sposoby filozofowania: tomistyczny i fenomenologiczny. Postawa ta następnie warunkowałaby podejście Wojtyły do tematu miłości. Natomiast wpływu bezpośredniego można się doszukiwać w tych fragmentach Miłości i odpowiedzialności, gdzie rozważana jest miłość oblubieńcza, która – podobnie jak w mistyce św. Jana od Krzyża – skupia się na idei zjednoczenia osób.
EN
This article discusses the possible impact of the mystical doctrine of St. John of the Cross on Karol Wojtyła’s conception of love. I formulate here the thesis that this influence could be two‑fold: indirect and direct. The indirect impact means the adoption of a philosophical attitude by Wojtyła containing two ways of philosophizing: Thomistic and phenomenological. In consequence, this attitude determines Wojtyła’s approach to the subject of love. While the direct impact can be traced in these passages of Love and Responsibility where spousal love is considered. This love is focused on the idea of unification of persons like in the mysticism of St. John of the Cross.
Konstancja Benisławska was the author of only one collection, entitled Pieśni sobie śpiewane [Songs Sung to Oneself, by Konstancja von Ryck Benisławska, wife of the pantler of the Duchy of Livonia, published with encouragement from friends and taken from rural shadow into daylight in Vilnus in 1776]. It was published in a special period for the Republic of Poland when ideologies from Western Europe became popular in our country. Under the influence of views of French encyclopaedists and Voltaire, efforts for a thorough reform of political, social and cultural institutions began to be made. Transformations were the major talking point in press and literature of those days. Some social circles i.e. representatives of aristocracy, rich nobility and even clergy, started to become interested in the new laic model of spiritual life proposed by Western thinkers. According to philosophers, the Catholic Church proclaimed outdated ideas and stood in the way of development and civilization. Despite the applause for anti-Catholic ideas, the role and teachings of the Catholic Church in the Republic of Poland were not questioned. It contributed to a free development of religious literature. The volume of Benisławska, who was shaped in the spirit of great Spanish mystics, was inspired by love towards God. That feeling mobilizes the poet to continuous search for contact with the Creator, entering into deeper relations. The volume, which is a sort of “poetic prayer book,” is an account of her spiritual experience and feelings.
Main Square of interest St. John of the Cross was a man in his relationship to God. For meringue these interests can create his anthropology. It moves the issue of human dignity as the image and likeness of God, who, despite the distortion of sin allows you to create a desire for union with the Creator, as a result of God’s initiative. The man in the vision of St. John of the Cross is seen as a psychosomatic unity as well as diversity. Author subjected to a detailed analysis of the two spheres of human life: physical and spiritual. In the sphere of bodily focus on sensuality, which, because of their condition appears to be a hurdle in union with God and therefore calls for purification. In the spiritual realm are: the soul and the spirit, and the spiritual power of intellect, memory and will. They are of fundamental importance in the relationship of man to God. The article raises the question of “apetitos” as disordered human attachments.
This article posits that in Karol Wojtyła’s and Jerzy Grotowski’s thinking about art, it is possible to identify commonalities by which their aesthetic and ethical concepts can be associated with the work of John of the Cross. The author argues that in both cases, the link might be the writings and views of Polish theater artists fascinated by John of the Cross: Juliusz Osterwa and Mieczysław Kotlarczyk. She offers a comparative analysis of selected aspects of the writings of Wojtyła, Grotowski, and John of the Cross, revealing similarities and differences in their understanding of art, and highlighting elements characteristic of the aesthetics of performativity. Interpreting terminological convergences in the analysed texts, she focuses on concepts concerning the aims of art and the methods of achieving these aims. She tries to demonstrate that all three authors variously employed performativity and the epiphanic character of art in exploring human experiences concerning the sphere of numinosum.
PL
W artykule postawiona została teza, że w sposobie myślenia o sztuce Karola Wojtyły i Jerzego Grotowskiego znaleźć można punkty wspólne, które łączą ich estetyczno-etyczne koncepcje z dziełem Jana od Krzyża. Autorka dowodzi, że ogniwem pośrednim w obu przypadkach mogły być teksty i poglądy zafascynowanych Janem od Krzyża twórców teatralnych – Juliusza Osterwy i Mieczysława Kotlarczyka. W analizie porównawczej wybranych aspektów pism Wojtyły, Grotowskiego i Jana od Krzyża, odsłaniającej podobieństwa i różnice w ich rozumieniu sztuki, uwypuklone zostały elementy charakterystyczne dla estetyki performatywności. Autorka interpretuje zbieżności terminologiczne w analizowanych tekstach, skupiając się na pojęciach dotyczących celu sztuki oraz metod osiągania tego celu. Stara się pokazać, że wszyscy trzej twórcy wykorzystywali na różne sposoby performatywność i epifaniczność sztuki dla eksploracji ludzkich doświadczeń związanych ze sferą numinosum.
Celem szkicu jest wykazanie, że metaforyka poezji młodego Karola Wojtyły (Pieśń o Bogu ukrytym, Pieśń o słońcu niewyczerpanym), wskazująca na doświadczenie kontemplacyjne, może być interpretowana niezależnie od perspektywy biograficznej i duchowości autora. Artykuł analizuje metaforykę światła oraz związane z nią pojęcie nocy rozumu, oznaczające mistyczny sposób poznania Boga. Metafory światła występują w poematach trzydziestoletniego Karola Wojtyły i jego rozprawie filozoficznej o mistyce św. Jana od Krzyża. Mimo oczywistego związku z biografią, ich interpretacja opiera się na cechach immanentnych poetyckiej mistyki Wojtyły.
EN
The article has to show that the metaphors of the early poems of K. Wojtyła (The Song of the Hidden God, Song of the Inexhaustible Sun) can be interpreted not only as impression of his contemplative experience and biography. The text is focused on the metaphors of the Light and their associations with the night of the mind as a mystical recognition of God. They appear in the early poems of Karol Wojtyła and in his philosophical dissertation about the mysticism of St. John of the Cross. The interpretation of his poems is based on the immanent features of Wojtyła’s poetical mysticism.
Szkic prezentuje nowy przekład artystyczny wiersza „Vivo sin vivir en mí” św. Jana od Krzyża, opatrzony komentarzem będącym w częściowej opozycji do rozwiązań translatorskich przyjętych przez Stanisława Barańczaka. Podejmując polemikę z niektórymi koncepcjami uznanego translatologa, autorka zarazem pokazuje, jak trudnym wyzwaniem dla tłumaczy jest poezja hiszpańskiego mistyka.
EN
The sketch presents a new artistic rendition with a commentary of a poem “Vivo sin vivir en mí” (“I Live without Living in Me”) by John of the Cross that partially opposes the translational solutions adopted by Stanisław Barańczak. Entering into polemics with some of his conceptions, Aleksandra Agaciak at the same time demonstrates the huge challenge faced by the translator of the Spanish mystic’s poetry.
The Pope Francis in his Apostolic exhortation Gaudete et exultate points to two serious modern threats: Pelagianism and Gnosticism. Historical analysis of Gnosticism reveals a dangerous tendency towards rationalism. It also results, as Cardinal J. Ratzinger points, from the relativization of truth. The rejection of God in modern civilization must give rise to human concentration on oneself. This means that contemporary Gnosticism wants to lead to self-salvation, which means that it closes man in subjectivism and the intellectual ability to rise above the mystery of Jesus Christ. Analysis of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Paul II indicates the consistency of faith and reason. At the same time, we note the limitations of human cognition and understanding resulting from its nature. God’s truths are rational but beyond human capabilities, and therefore the faith can’t be reduced to the rationalist category. St. John of the Cross states thatthis crossing of the border takes place in cognition through love.
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