1978/10/01 by Richard Kieckhefer
Arts and Humanities · #Epistemology #Karl Barth and Christian Theology #Medieval Philosophy and Theology #Mysticism #Philosophy #Philosophy and Historical Thought #Soul #Theology
paper · doi:10.1017/s0017816000026092
openalex publication_date 1978/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Although Meister Eckhart himself might have been puzzled by the term, he is traditionally known as a mystic. The designation surely does apply, in the sense that Eckhart sought and recommended a kind of union between the soul and God. But as soon as one proceeds to analyze the precise nature of that union, difficulties abound. In recent literature it has become clear that the Christian mystical tradition has employed various distinct concepts of union with God, and scholars have inquired what sort of union one or another mystic sought. This effort has been made, for example, in studies of John Tauler and The Cloud of Unknowing . In examining these and other mystics, particularly those of the Western medieval tradition, scholars have asked whether they viewed union with God as a momentary experience or as an ongoing way of life, and whether they saw this union as continuous and compatible with ordinary religious experience and knowledge or as discontinuous and incompatible. The present article will attempt to answer such questions in regard to Meister Eckhart, in hopes of clarifying an aspect of his thought which, though fundamental, is most commonly approached only tangentially in the literature.