Mistyczne implikacje Arystotelesowskiej koncepcji miejsca naturalnego

Abstrakt

The principal object of this paper is to depict a basic outline of the Aristotelian theory of natural place and to analyze its little known adaptations to  express mystical thoughts of chosen Christians authors in different periods  of history. To achieve a determined purpose in such a way, first there were  presented principal assumptions of Aristotelian model of cosmos and in this  context fundamental statements of the theory of natural place were sketched.  Next there were discussed selected fragments of the writings of Christian authors containing the adaptations of Aristotelian view. There were analyzed  fragments of the following texts: Confessions of St. Augustin, sermons and  treatises of Meister Eckhart and works of St. John of the Cross. In the analyzed  fragments Aristotle’s theory was adopted in a metaphorical sense to express  and explain the spiritual realities of human life in its most fundamental perspective of the union with God. On the grounds of Christian mystical thought  Aristotelian model of the world was used by several authors as exemplifications  of many different aspects of a mystical process.