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Johannes Eckhart (1260 – 1328), also known as Eckhart von Hochheim and widely referred to as Meister Eckhart, was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Erfurt, in Thuringia. Meister is German for "Master", referring to the academic title he obtained in Paris. Near the end of his life he was tried as a heretic by Pope John XXII. Eckhart admitted his error or explained the reasoning behind all challenged articles of his writing, and was thus not burned, but he died before his trial was concluded. In his study of medieval humanism, Richard Southern includes him along with Bede and Saint Anselm as emblematic of the intellectual spirit of the late Middle Ages.R. W. Southern, Medieval Humanism. Harper & Row, 1970. pp. 19-26.
Overview
Eckhart was one of the most influential Christian Neoplatonists, and although technically a faithful Thomist (as a prominent member of the Dominican Order), Eckhart wrote on metaphysics and spiritual psychology, drawing extensively on mythic imagery. Major German philosophers have been influenced by his work.
Novel concepts Eckhart introduced into Christian metaphysics clearly deviate from the common scholastic canon: in Eckhart's vision, God is primarily fertile. Out of overabundance of love the fertile God gives birth to the Son, the Word. Clearly (aside from a rather striking metaphor of "fertility"), this is rooted in the Neoplatonic notion of "overflow" of the One that cannot hold back its abundance of Being. Eckhart had imagined the creation not as a "compulsory" overflowing (a metaphor based on a common hydrodynamic picture), but as the free act of will of the Trinitary God. Another bold assertion is Eckhart's distinction between God and Godhead (Gottheit in German). These notions had been present in the Pseudo-Dionysius's writings and John the Scot's De divisione naturae, but it was Eckhart who, with characteristic vigor and audacity, reshaped the germinal metaphors into profound images of polarity between the Unmanifest and Manifest Absolute.
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Catholic Encyclopedia: Meister Eckhart - Biographical article on Meister Johann Eckhart, Dominican theologian and mystic. Includes bibliography.
Meta Description: [ Biographical article on the Dominican theologian and mystic. Includes bibliography ]
Christian Classics Ethereal library: Eckhart, Johannes - Includes e-texts of writings: sermons, and a section of Inge's Light, Life, and Love.
Columbia Encyclopedia: Eckhart, Meister - Brief biographical article.
Meta Description: [ Eckhart, Meister. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05 ]
Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) - Brief summary from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Meister Eckhart Home Page - Steve Shanks presents some sayings of Meister Eckhart and Signs of the True Ground.
Meister Eckhart: A Medieval Christian Mystic - An outline of the pantheistic mysticism of the fourteenth century German mystic Meister Eckhart.
Meta Description: [ An outline of the pantheistic mysticism
of the fourteenth century German mystic Meister Eckhart. ]
Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age: Meister Eckhart - Chapter 4 from a book by Rudolf Steiner.
Meta Description: [ Rudolf Steiner Archive: Chapter: Meister Eckhart ]
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The Eckhart Society - Fosters understanding and appreciation of the thought of Meister Eckhart.
The Equanimous Eckhart - What Meister Eckhart has to teach us about living in peace and detachment. By Brian Pierce, O.P.
The Meister Eckhart Site - Includes introduction, life, works in English and German, essays, and links.
Meta Description: [ Works by Meister Eckhart, study material, on-line resources ]
| Television special on Airborne: Meister Eckhart, Created by Robert Davidson and performed by OTO Dance in Tucson, Arizona ... | |
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