The Dialectic of Distress in Romano Guardini’s Ethical Lessons

Abstract

Romano Guardini is a significant figure of German thought and cultural life in the 20th century. In his work, a special concern about ethical issues of contemporary man might be perceived. This dimension of his thought is revealed in his Ethical Lessons, lectured in Munich and published posthumously. Analyzing the situation of the man in his time, Guardini uses the category “dialectic of distress” to describe the existential situation of the person, aiming to exhibit the consequences of moral postulates in modernity.