Romano Guardini’s Conception of Melancholy, or On the Sense of Mis-Connection

Abstract

In the article, drawing on Romano Guardini’s Vom Sinn der Schwermut (On the Meaning of Melancholy) (1949), I examine the theological and existential significance of melancholy – an experience now classified as depression and treated therapeutically and pharmacologically, sometimes up to hospitalisation. This confrontation between two paradigms – the humanities and the sciences, philosophy and theology versus medicine – becomes even more significant in the context of the quasi-religious status psychotherapy has acquired, a phenomenon analyzed by Paul Tillich in Theology of Culture (1959), as a part of his broader critique of contemporary cultural revolutions. Tillich’s argument provides a framework for my interpretation of Guardini’s thought, particularly his assertion that melancholy is more than a mere psychological disorder. My primary contribution to this discussion is an exploration of the state of so-called mis-connection – a condition deeply embedded in human experience of the world of values, regardless of their nature. An emblematic illustration of this idea appears in the Old Testament: Samuel, called by God and addressed directly, repeatedly turns to Eli instead (1 Samuel 3:4–6). A number of Guardini’s reflections on melancholy suggest a similar theme of existential mis-connection. Finally, I argue that melancholy, rooted in the sense of mis-connection and as a state closer to human existential truth than it may appear, should not be seen as a burden or a flaw. Instead, it should be embraced as a challenge and a possibility.