Mądre spojrzenie/spojrzenie Mądrości

Abstract

The article raises the question about the way one may confront the vicissitudes of life, in broader terms, one’s attitude towards the world, God and other people. To deal with so complex an issue, I employ the symbolic of the gaze and spatial relations. The major points of reference are biblical: the gaze the Creator endows his creation with, the blank look of Ecclesiastes, Cain’s averted eye, the energy of Wisdom, Job’s humility. Yet the positions thus outlined have their non-biblical and/or non-religious counterparts, both in the past (St. Theresa of Avila) and in the present (R. Spaemann, J.-L. Marion, G.K. Chesterton). They all make a contrast to destructive self-focusing typical for some of the dominant philosophical trends, existentialism inclusive. Ultimately, the article formulates the idea of the wise gaze/the gaze of Wisdom that carries us away from ourselves, gives a (new) chance to life, God and others, thus offering a protection against despair.