Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

Zugl.: Berlin, Freie Univ., Diss.

Zugl.: Rostock, Univ., Diss., 2003

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 2007

Zugl.: Eichstätt, Ingolstadt, Univ., Diss., 2004

Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2000--Aachen.

This thesis is first and foremost the result of my grappling with the works of Meister Eckhart. Accordingly, I intend to present here my reading of Eckhart's thought. This reading, my struggle to interpret the Meister, was, from the beginning, however, motivated by the aim to join a certain conversation. This conversation is what I have come to know as 'Christian philosophy'. I am new to the circles of those who admit to be participating in this scandalous project, yet already I have become quite aware of the controversy pervading this notion. It comes to the fore not only in the critical voices from the 'outside', questioning its meaning, relevance and legitimacy, but also in a lack of 'internal' consensus concerning its entailments. This is not necessarily a point of criticism on my part. In fact, I am much a proponent of conversations or projects that have an openness to them and lack clear cut deliminations. It does, however, make a brief apologia in preparation to this thesis necessary. I have no ambition whatsoever to state here what Christian philosophy is or should be. God forbid! I merely deem it important to place my project in context, and for that purpose I intend here to point out to the reader the direction I am facing. Thus, what needs to be clarified at the outset of my argument is that particular understanding of Christian philosophy this thesis intends to engage. The question here is, where and how to locate the conversation this thesis hopes to join. [from Prologue, p. 3]

Zugl. leicht bearb. Fassung von: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 2009

This thesis investigates the role of practical activity in the union of the soul and God in Meister Eckhart. Since Eckhart’s attitude toward temporal works is highly inconsistent, the thesis begins by examining the complex and intimate relationship between God and the temporal order in Eckhart’s discussions of creation in principio. Next it considers the creation of man and how he, through the natural function of the intellect interacting with the created order, is transformed into the image of God. Finally it examines the relationship between the intellectual and practical acts and considers the possibility of a union between God and the soul which takes place in practical activity in Eckhart’s thought. Throughout, the thesis makes reference to Eckhart’s creative use of the term indistinctum (indistinct) and its Middle High German equivalents with respect to God, the soul, and the union between the two.

Depuis ses débuts, la recherche eckhartienne somme toute relativement récente s'est fréquemment et assidûment penchée sur les grandes inspirations philosophiques et théologiques de Maître Eckhart; on ne compte plus les travaux valorisant les influences néoplatoniciennes, maïmonidiennes ou bien encore thomistes de la production du Maître thuringien. Celui-ci fut néanmoins inspiré par d'autres penseurs auxquels la communauté scientifique a accordé jusqu'à présent moins d'intérêt, c'est notamment le cas des mystiques rhéno-flamandes. Dans ce travail de recherche, nous nous proposerons d'analyser la pensée eckhartienne au regard de plusieurs oeuvres béguinales que sont Le Miroir des âmes simples, La lumière fluente de la Divinité ainsi que les Lettres, les Poèmes et les Visions hadewigiens afin d'affiner l'approche théologique et philosophique d'Eckhart et, ainsi, de mettre en valeur son originalité, de mieux comprendre sa quête singulière d'universalité et de mieux saisir son point d'ancrage. Comment la prodigiosité de la théologie eckhartienne s'est-elle affinée au contact de ces textes en langue vernaculaire? / Overall, Eckhartian research has frequently and assiduously leaned on the great philosophical and theological inspirations of Meister Eckhart since its beginnings; works that value Neoplatonist influences, as well as those of Maimonides and the Thomists of Thuringia are no longer given a second thought. This work, however, was inspired by other thinkers to whom the scientific community has, until now, accorded less interest, such as the Rhinish-Flemish mystics, who have notably been the subjects of this kind of indifference. In this paper, we will compare Eckhartian thought to several beguine works, namely, The Mirror of Simple Souls, The Flowing Light of Divinity, as well as the letters, poems, and visions of Hadewijch of Antwerp, in order to refine Eckhart’s theological and philosophical approaches, as well as to highlight his originality, to better understand his singular quest for universality, and his point of focus. How is it that the grandness of Eckhartian theology is refined through the analysis of these texts written in the vernacular of the period?