Research

18 pages, 368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Freedom, Intentionality, and Trinitarian Love in Edith Stein’s Thought—The Need for a Phenomenology–Theology Dialogue to Have a Deeper Understanding of It

by Haddy Bello

Religions 2023, 14(11), 1377; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14111377 - 01 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1075

Abstract

The school of phenomenology went with Edith Stein all her life and became one of the guiding strings of her thought, which deepens more and more on the experience of the crucified. The Steinian idea of freedom starts from philosophy. However, it is [...] Read more.

The school of phenomenology went with Edith Stein all her life and became one of the guiding strings of her thought, which deepens more and more on the experience of the crucified. The Steinian idea of freedom starts from philosophy. However, it is intimately crossed by the theological (and mystical) question, since, for the author, the historical realization of the human life is possible when it participates in the divine life because God configures his own life in perfect freedom. The basic idea in Stein’s proposal on human freedom is the self-configuration of oneself in the divine image. On the other hand, when Stein asks herself, “What is freedom?” she answers, “It means the same as this: I can”. What does this answer mean? In order to understand the comprehensiveness of Ich kann and its relation to self-configuration, it is necessary to realize the foundations that support this “I can”. Therefore, the present study will consider the two essential points of support for it: the phenomenological concept of intentionality (Intentionalität), proper to Brentano’s thought and inherited from Husserl, and the human experience of the phenomenon of divine love. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

13 pages, 906 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From the Human Logos to the Divine Logos: The Anthropological Implications of the Christian Logos-Flesh in Klaus Hemmerle

by Valentina Gaudiano

Religions 2023, 14(8), 1075; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081075 - 21 Aug 2023

Viewed by 848

Abstract

The concept of logos takes on a new and interesting connotation through Christian revelation. The logos—word, discourse, reason—becomes human-divine flesh. Moreover, God, who is Word, needs human words to explain and reveal himself to human beings. In so doing, God lowers himself [...] Read more.

The concept of logos takes on a new and interesting connotation through Christian revelation. The logos—word, discourse, reason—becomes human-divine flesh. Moreover, God, who is Word, needs human words to explain and reveal himself to human beings. In so doing, God lowers himself to the human level, thus becoming manipulable, but at the same time, he makes human words and, consequently, human beings greater and of higher dignity. As a result, the human person becomes the giver of language to the one who allows him to speak. In this paper, I will highlight the consequences of a logos becoming flesh for anthropology, following the line of thought of Klaus Hemmerle. In particular, I will focus on Hemmerle’s trinitarian perspective and his phenomenology of language as a means for explaining Christian revelation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

12 pages, 263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

God as “The Highest and Most Elevated Thing”: Contributions to the Theological, Phenomenological Interpretations of God-Experiences in Heidegger, Conrad-Martius, and Stein

by Anna Jani

Religions 2023, 14(8), 1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081064 - 19 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 773

Abstract

Maybe the most divisive topic of the Heideggerian reception is whether the question of God is part of the disclosure of being in Heidegger’s thinking, or if Heidegger rather obscures the phenomenological inquiry on God by way of his questions on being and [...] Read more.

Maybe the most divisive topic of the Heideggerian reception is whether the question of God is part of the disclosure of being in Heidegger’s thinking, or if Heidegger rather obscures the phenomenological inquiry on God by way of his questions on being and his reinterpretation of the meaning of being as historical beyng. It is not accidental that Hedwig Conrad-Martius, the contemporary of Heidegger, writes in her critique on Being and Time that it is “like when, with tremendous force of wise prudence and unflagging tenacity, a door that has been closed for a long time and is almost impossible to open is blown open and then immediately slammed shut again, locked, and barricaded so tightly that it seems impossible to open it again.” (Cf. Heideggers ‘Sein und Zeit’). Unfortunately, the different stages of Heidegger’s thinking do not help further clarify the question of whether it is a conscious program of Heideggerian thinking to involve theological questions into the fundamental ontological analysis of being, if it follows from his theological background and from the relation to theology (as a positivistic science in Heidegger’s sense), or if that he includes theological knowledges into his thinking and shows a critical turn against the theological statements. Heidegger’s reflections on his own thinking in relation to theological questions and his influence on the Munich–Göttingen Phenomenology raises the present argumentation for the common phenomenological interpretation of God-Experiences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

17 pages, 270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phenomenology of Conversion: John H. Newman and Aurel Kolnai

by Zoltan Balazs

Religions 2023, 14(8), 1022; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081022 - 09 Aug 2023

Viewed by 673

Abstract

This essay considers J. H. Newman’s and Aurel Kolnai’s conversions from a phenomenological point of view. Newman’s conversion or conversions are often cited as classic examples, though he was reluctant to use this notion, preferring to see his journey as a long process, [...] Read more.

This essay considers J. H. Newman’s and Aurel Kolnai’s conversions from a phenomenological point of view. Newman’s conversion or conversions are often cited as classic examples, though he was reluctant to use this notion, preferring to see his journey as a long process, an account of which is provided in his Apologia Pro Vita Sua. His Grammar of Assent is less often cited in this context, but it helps more to make sense of conversion as an experience. Kolnai was a phenomenologist himself. He also provided a personal account of his conversion in his autobiography. The two thinkers’ reflections on conversion are highly congruent, highlighting four dimensions: familiarity or homecoming (conversion makes one at peace with oneself); discovery of reality or real meaning of a notion (of truth, of God, of the scriptures, of the Church); the paramount importance of conscience (the indispensability of the approval of moral authority); the intelligibility of conversion which makes it, in the end, the proper subject of philosophical inquiry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

14 pages, 318 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phenomenology of Language as Praeambula Fidei: A Study Based on Edith Stein

by Miriam Ramos Gómez

Religions 2023, 14(8), 969; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14080969 - 26 Jul 2023

Viewed by 620

Abstract

The 20th century “linguistic turn” seems to have established itself as one of the main defining aspects of contemporary philosophy. This is especially visible in analytic philosophy’s emphasis on the study of language, ultimately disconnecting and isolating it from its deep connection to [...] Read more.

The 20th century “linguistic turn” seems to have established itself as one of the main defining aspects of contemporary philosophy. This is especially visible in analytic philosophy’s emphasis on the study of language, ultimately disconnecting and isolating it from its deep connection to the person. Without denying the validity and meaning of this type of approach, the aim of this article is to highlight that, in Edith Stein’s work, it is possible to find a phenomenology of language, in which the connection with the totality of the person, with its spiritual dimension, is essential. Although it is true that none of the works by this author systematically deal with questions related to language as such, both in her more strictly phenomenological works as well as in those that are also inspired in the philosophy of Aquinas, we find thought-provoking reflections on the question of language. Once the philosophy of language becomes re-connected to philosophical anthropology, it is transformed by Stein into the praeambula fidei, which enables dialogue with theology, especially with the theology of the body and what Vatican II calls the “ecclesiology of the sign”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

10 pages, 265 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stein’s Phenomenology of Grace

by Mette Lebech

Religions 2023, 14(7), 950; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070950 - 24 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1013

Abstract

Stein’s Freedom and Grace (Freiheit und Gnade) phenomenologically describes the experience of grace as the desire, communication, or acceptance of God’s Spirit of Love, accessed in the act of faith motivated by the soul’s otherwise unfulfilled desire for self-mastery. This article [...] Read more.

Stein’s Freedom and Grace (Freiheit und Gnade) phenomenologically describes the experience of grace as the desire, communication, or acceptance of God’s Spirit of Love, accessed in the act of faith motivated by the soul’s otherwise unfulfilled desire for self-mastery. This article first discusses the affordances of Stein’s phenomenology which equip her to see grace as a fulfilment of the natural life of the soul, which is experienced as coming from beyond itself. It then addresses how the individual, personal I fails to satisfy its implicit desire for rational and free action in the natural life of the soul and how, in contrast, its opposite, the graced, liberated life of the soul, allows it to, but not on its own, only through union with God’s Spirit. It proceeds from this existential alternative to show how the treatise unfolds as an investigation of the various a priori possibilities for grace to be experienced and why it makes sense to acknowledge faith as a legitimate source of knowledge, as Stein does in work postdating Freedom and Grace. Finally, it is argued that the treatise is phenomenological in nature and that it does not presuppose either metaphysics or Christian doctrine but instead contributes to underpinning both. This argument simultaneously explains Stein’s own subsequent engagement as a Christian philosopher. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

10 pages, 975 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Is Phenomenological Thomism? Its Principles and an Application: The Anthropological Square

by Jadwiga Helena Guerrero van der Meijden

Religions 2023, 14(7), 938; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070938 - 20 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1181

Abstract

In the debates over various kinds and traditions of Thomism, the term “Phenomenological Thomism” does not appear often. However, once uttered, it is instantly linked to two figures: Edith Stein and Karol Wojtyła. In her attempt at contrasting and bringing together Husserl’s phenomenology [...] Read more.

In the debates over various kinds and traditions of Thomism, the term “Phenomenological Thomism” does not appear often. However, once uttered, it is instantly linked to two figures: Edith Stein and Karol Wojtyła. In her attempt at contrasting and bringing together Husserl’s phenomenology and the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, the founder of the new approach, Edith Stein, pioneered a philosophy that innovatively united phenomenological and Thomistic methods. This article analyses the essential features of her method, proposing to call it “Phenomenological Thomism”. In order to demonstrate the internal logic of this approach, I apply it to one topic, that of the human being, construing the Anthropological Square. The thesis of the article holds that Phenomenological Thomism is sui generis, yet not an estranged tradition in the history of philosophy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 277 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phenomenological Fragments of Trinitarian Discourse: Being, Having, Relating

by Robert J. Woźniak

Religions 2023, 14(7), 929; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070929 - 18 Jul 2023

Viewed by 760

Abstract

Among the important tasks of Trinitarian theology today is the need to rethink its basic conceptual coordinates. This contribution is a proposal for a phenomenological and existential approach to Trinitarian theology. The starting point is the analysis of three essential existential operators, by [...] Read more.

Among the important tasks of Trinitarian theology today is the need to rethink its basic conceptual coordinates. This contribution is a proposal for a phenomenological and existential approach to Trinitarian theology. The starting point is the analysis of three essential existential operators, by means of which the depth of the filial experience of Jesus is expressed. These operators are: being, having, and entering into relations. Their analysis in light of the data of the Gospel narrative allows us to create an interesting conceptual framework for a new articulation of the Trinitarian discourse. The article builds on the conviction that the concrete shapes and modalities of Jesus’ life are essential moments of the revelation of the Trinity. Before it is simultaneously closed and opened in concrete historical forms of discourse and in concrete metaphysical concepts, it is accomplished in the categorical decisions, actions, and words of Jesus, in which his filial consciousness is revealed. The ambition of the text is to reintroduce metaphysics into theology, however, from a different perspective than was conducted, for example, by classical scholasticism. It is about the existential recovery of metaphysical potential in theology. Revelation takes place in history and in the concrete of life. The metaphysics that theology needs must realize this and, above all, be up to the task of pointing to the living, historical center of Revelation and all theology. The article argues that such an existential deepening of metaphysics for Trinitarian theology can be conducted through collaboration with phenomenology. In such a perspective, the fragments of Jesus’ life, especially his way of being, having, and entering into relations, are ways in which the Trinity reveals itself in history. In this way, Trinitarian theology ceases to be a mere intellectual puzzle, becoming an existential paradigm, and the fragments of Revelation reveal an impressive structure in which speculation and life become integral paths toward the Mystery. On the formal side, the text argues for the integration and use of both metaphysics and phenomenology in Trinitarian theology to enhance its existential impact. This in turn implies a rethinking of how metaphysics, phenomenology, and theology itself are usually understood as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

8 pages, 270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In the Midst of the Rhythms of the Earth: Rediscovering Humanity, Community, and the Church

by Miguel Escobar Torres

Religions 2023, 14(7), 919; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070919 - 17 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1098

Abstract

This article focuses on the need to reconnect with the Earth, not in an abstract sense, but in a real one, to lay the foundations that will allow us to achieve a deep understanding of the position that man occupies in the cosmos [...] Read more.

This article focuses on the need to reconnect with the Earth, not in an abstract sense, but in a real one, to lay the foundations that will allow us to achieve a deep understanding of the position that man occupies in the cosmos and, consequently, bring to light what really defines the human community. Likewise, it seeks to demonstrate, through the interpretation of texts by Hildegard of Bingen, Wendell Berry, and Maximus the Confessor, that it is not possible, without falling into error, to conceive humanity, the community, and the Church as separate realities from the Earth and the rest of Creation. I also maintain that only from a paradigm rooted in the Earth, with an agrarian and nonindustrial mentality, it is possible to rediscover the cosmic character of the Church in the connection between the cosmic and liturgical cycles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

13 pages, 423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Revelations from the Underground: Trinitarian Metaphysics and the Underground Church

by Eduard Fiedler

Religions 2023, 14(7), 875; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070875 - 05 Jul 2023

Viewed by 907

Abstract

The ancient concept of the underground is mainly associated with the outdated triadic cosmology. In modernity, some authors such as Dostoevsky and Nietzsche have dialectically referred to the underground as an alternative to the principle of reason or ground. Others—such as Hegel or [...] Read more.

The ancient concept of the underground is mainly associated with the outdated triadic cosmology. In modernity, some authors such as Dostoevsky and Nietzsche have dialectically referred to the underground as an alternative to the principle of reason or ground. Others—such as Hegel or Heidegger—have more radically linked this dialectic to the abyssal unground, recalling Boehme and Hölderlin. However, all these modern dialectical constellations of ground, underground, or unground have failed to provide a philosophical vision that would overcome the aporetic relationship between metaphysical grounding and phenomenal appearance. They have left aside the reality of the Marian underground, overshadowed by the Spirit and Cross and marked by Christ’s descent into the underground, by which the powers of the ancient underground were apocalyptically drawn into the liturgical celebration of a persecuted Church. In this article, I will link Jan Patočka’s phenomenology of the underground experience and Zdeněk Neubauer’s Marian metaphysics to prove that, in the apocalyptic horizon of suffering and persecution, the Sophianic and Marian revelations spell out the created form of Trinitarian being, that becomes a miraculous rescue of all relations and phenomena as the ground shining from within the underground, and the underground within the ground. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

10 pages, 264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solidarity as a Challenge and a Task

by Jarosław Jagiełło

Religions 2023, 14(7), 869; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070869 - 03 Jul 2023

Viewed by 788

Abstract

Towards the end of the 20th century, the word “solidarity” became one of the most important and famous words, not only in the sphere of Euro–Atlantic civilization but the word was also readily used in political milieus. In the religious sphere, and especially [...] Read more.

Towards the end of the 20th century, the word “solidarity” became one of the most important and famous words, not only in the sphere of Euro–Atlantic civilization but the word was also readily used in political milieus. In the religious sphere, and especially in the Judeo–Christian tradition, the anthropological, ethical as well as biblical sense of this important concept was emphasized. This sense was recalled in the postulate: Bear one another’s burdens. Never one against the other, but always one and the other, one together with the other. In this day and age, solidarity as a source of inter-human hope poses a real challenge and task for us because we are experiencing such great migrations of people who—for a variety of reasons, frequently very painful ones, and among them the devastating ravages of war—leave behind their places of residence and go into exile. In my study, I will try to show how, in the contemporary world of philosophy and socio-political changes, a modern sense of the concept of “solidarity” has been generated. In order to achieve this goal, I will refer to the anthropological and ethical thoughts of two Polish philosophers—Karol Wojtyła and Józef Tischner. It was these two thinkers who introduced us to the contemporary school of solidarity, reminding us that the fulfillment of solidarity still lies ahead of us. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

8 pages, 234 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interreligious Solidarity as a Benefit of Divine Hiddenness—On the Meaning of the Ambiguity of Religious Phenomena

by Miłosz Hołda

Religions 2023, 14(7), 866; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14070866 - 03 Jul 2023

Viewed by 733

Abstract

Divine hiddenness appears today as one of the most important and serious religious problems. This problem has been posed most clearly by the proponents of the “argument from hiddenness”. They point to religious diversity as an important element working in the background of [...] Read more.

Divine hiddenness appears today as one of the most important and serious religious problems. This problem has been posed most clearly by the proponents of the “argument from hiddenness”. They point to religious diversity as an important element working in the background of this argument and strengthening the force of its impact. In turn, religious diversity is seen as a result of the ambiguity of religious phenomena and the lack of conclusive testimony in favor of religious beliefs. In my paper, I pose the thesis that the ambiguity of religious phenomena can be counted among the “benefits of divine hiddenness”. This will be possible when the ambiguity of religious phenomena becomes the basis for the formation of interreligious solidarity. I define the concept of interreligious solidarity and show the theoretical aspects of this attitude. In discussing the theoretical aspect of interreligious solidarity, I draw attention to the possible role of phenomenology. I also argue that in the context of divine hiddenness, the most important question is not the one concerning the genesis of this problem (“why are religious phenomena not more unambiguous?”), but the question concerning the meaning of this problem (“what to do with the ambiguity of religious phenomena?”). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology)

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Transition - Translation - Transformation: Phenomenology and Systematic Theology

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (12 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI