To Be Oneself in order to Go Beyond Oneself: Reflections on the Issue of Self-transcendence as worked out by Tadeusz Styczeń and Karol Wojtyła–John Paul II

Stanisław SUWIŃSKI

Chair of Systematic Theology, Faculty of Theology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, ul. Gagarina 37, 87-100 Toruń, Poland , Poland

Abstract

Based on the thought of, among others, Tadeusz Styczeń and Karol Wojtyła, the author addresses the topics of being oneself and going beyond oneself. After discussing the idea of Christian spirituality as a foundation for the understanding of the essence of humanity, the author considers the notion of being oneself in relation to others. The author claims that engaging in an effort to be himself or herself is necessary for the human being to develop the attitude of openness and solidarity with others. Every human being, existing at a particular time in history, faces the task of achieving spiritual maturity. The author believes that it is important to present the truth about human nature to contemporary man and thus help him develop, on the basis of this truth, the capacity for self-transcendence.

 

The article is a modified version of the paper delivered during the seminar “On Personal Identity and Transcendence: Insights into the Ideas put forward by Tadeusz Styczeń in his ‘Być sobą to przekraczać siebie,’” held by the John Paul II Institute at the Catholic University of Lublin on 13 December 2019.

 

 

Keywords:

spirituality, being oneself, affirmation, self-transcendence