Reflections on Man as a Creature of Dynamic–Dialectical Tension in Some Works of Romano Guardini

Abstract

The essay strives to cast a light on the specificity of Guardini’s dialectical reasoning involving man whom he understands as a being whose maturation or authentic self–realization occurs insofar as the oscillations of polarity are achieved through the spiritual and corporeal internal–individual and external–social dimensions of his self in adequate measure. With the aim of discovering the dialectical thread that runs through all principal dimensions of the »I«, the beginning of the essay describes the manner in which Guardini sees the dialectical structure of reality. The author continues by seeking to make tangible the same dialecticity in examples pertaining to the »structure« of man and his individual–social–developmental capacities. Thus, polar moments are elaborated in regard to the relationship between the soul and the body, the strata of being, and briefly also the developmental dynamics of human maturation from childhood to adulthood. Finally, virtues are discussed as spiritual values which may direct the course of development of those capabilities which, on the one hand, would make possible man’s internal and external equilibrium, and on the other hand, an openness toward the Absolute.