The Concept of Durchbruch in Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart is one of the most ambiguous and controversial late medieval thinkers. Many of the concepts in his teachings still remain under-studied and difficult for understanding. So B. McGinn (1981) and D. Caputo (1978) have paid particular attention to the concept of “breakthrough” (der Durchbruch), but even they, it seems to us, have not been able to establish fully the connection of this concept with other themes in Eckhart's teachings. The meaning of the concept itself in the context of solving one of the most important problems of late medieval theology and philosophy – the justification of mystical knowledge and its forms – remains insufficiently clarified.