The Broken Whole

Thomas E. Reynolds

Description

In an increasingly precarious global situation, and in light of the postmodern emphasis on difference, efforts to grasp the "whole" as something universally shared by all human beings have fallen short, according to Thomas E. Reynolds. In this book, he explores the philosophical and theological significance of the problem of pluralism and asserts that the shared resources of the world's religious traditions can be used to cultivate peace and solidarity across diverse boundaries. He engages a range of philosophical thinkers—such as Gadamer, Marcel, Rorty, Foucault, Levinas, Derrida, and Habermas—and brings them into conversation with contemporary theologians and writers in religious studies. Presenting a vision of solidarity that is both religiously charged and philosophically astute, The Broken Whole outlines an inventive approach toward retrieving the relevance of God-talk, an approach rooted in a philosophy of dialogue and cross-cultural hospitality.
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Plurality and Historical Consciousness: From Heteronomous Belonging to a Traditioned Belonging to History

2. Pluralistic Consciousness: From Historical Belonging to the Challenge of Radical Contingency and Difference

3. Dwelling Together: Identity, Difference, and Relation

4. Dialectical Pluralism: Truth, the Other, and the Praxis of Solidarity

5. The Transcendent Grammar of Presence and the Religious Sensibility

6. Making the Difference: Rethinking Religious Pluralism in Local and Universal Horizons

Notes
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christianity
• Philosophy of religion
• Theology

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791482520
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

T H E

B R O K E N

W H O L E

SUNY series in Theology and Continental Thought

Douglas L. Donkel, editor

THE BROKEN WHOLE

Philosophical Steps Toward a Theology of Global Solidarity

Thomas E. Reynolds

State University of NewYork Press

Published by State University of New York

© 2006 State University of New York Press, Albany

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Reynolds, Thomas E. The broken whole : philosophical steps toward a theology of global solidarity / Thomas E. Reynolds. p. cm. — (SUNY series in theological and continental thought) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-7914-6611-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Religious pluralism. 2. Philosophical theology. 3. Globalization— Religious aspects. I. Title. II. Series.

BL85.R49 2005 201'.5—dc22

2005003766

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Contents

Plurality and Historical Consciousness: From Heteronomous Belonging to a Traditioned Belonging to History

Pluralistic Consciousness: From Historical Belonging to the Challenge of Radical Contingency and Difference

Dwelling Together: Identity, Difference, and Relation

Dialectical Pluralism: Truth, the Other, and the Praxis of Solidarity

The Transcendent Grammar of Presence and the Religious Sensibility

Making the Difference: Rethinking Religious Pluralism in Local and Universal Horizons

Notes

Index

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Acknowledgments

The following pages represent several years of thought on a topic that has become of increasing importance in an ever-complex world of global interac- tion. The luxury of such thought, however, is possible only because of the sup- port I have received from others in numerous ways. I owe a profound debt to St. Norbert College, the place of my present teaching employment. If not for the college’s show of confidence in me, I would still be a professional musician (a career that sustained my family during my grad- uate work), not only missing out on the joys of teaching, but lacking the time and means to complete this present work. I am indebted especially to my col- leagues in Religious Studies and Philosophy—in particular, to Donald Abel, Thomas Bolin, Bridget Burke Ravizza, Julie Claassens, Darin Davis, David Du- quette, Howard Ebert, Scott Geis, John Holder, Paul Johnson, Michael Lukens, and Paul Wadell—whose kindness and inspiration have helped sustain my efforts over the past four years. In this context, the most profound thanks goes to John Neary, my close friend and colleague from the English Department at St. Nor- bert, for his constant support and fruitful editorial commentary as preliminary forms of the manuscript took shape. It is not an overstatement to say that the ar- gument represented in these pages owes itself to the many hours of stimulating conversation I have had the fortune of sharing with John. The text as it appears now has gone through several preparatory stages. I am deeply grateful for the friendship, advice, and patience of Peter Hodgson and Edward Farley. Their careful readings and generous support helped to make the project “work” originally as my dissertation at Vanderbilt University, and for this I am grateful beyond measure. My appreciation also goes to Eugene TeSelle, Paula Arai and John Lachs, who offered their time and valuable sug- gestions as dissertation committee members. As the manuscript developed beyond the dissertation stage, several read- ers provided helpful commentary. I am appreciative of the anonymous readers

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

from State University of New York Press for their insightful criticisms and sug- gestions, both in terms of content and style. Thanks also go to Julie Claassens, Paul Johnson, Brian Robinette and Robert Vosloo, who read selected chapters and made recommendations that have no doubt improved the text. Finally, I am indebted to Eric Dobberton for his prudent counsel regarding more than a few stylistic changes. Of course, any faults that may remain in the text are due to my own shortsightedness. In a different way, I owe my family perhaps the greatest thanks. Through the years I have come to recognize that family, for all its fallibility, is the fertile ground out of which our deepest assurances and hopes blossom. My parents have always encouraged me despite my own misgivings about my abilities. My two brothers and sister, along with their spouses and children, have shown their love and support in ways too numerous to count. My two wonderful children, Chris and Evan, have offered me the gift of parenthood, a gift I fear I neglected far too often in the process of writing this book, but which they have graciously overlooked time and again. And finally, my partner and spouse, Mary, has given me more than I could ever ask for: patience, love, friendship, and more. Through it all, thank you Mary. This book is for you.

I n t r o d u c t i o n

THE PROBLEM AND ITS CONTEXT: BROKEN WHOLE

LOCATING THE

Perhaps one of the most salient features of our time, indelibly marking its ethos, is the flourishing of a dynamic cultural diversity. Stunning advances in commu- nication technologies and rapid means of transportation now make it possible for the widest variety of peoples to have direct access to each other, cultivating an increasingly global network of political and economic interdependency. Even as new possibilities emerge, however, certain perils present themselves. Varied per- spectives engage one another with unprecedented frequency and vigor, and be- cause of this a daunting sense of the heterogeneity of human life impresses itself upon our everyday awareness. Like trees in a dense forest, multiple ethnic, social, political, and religious perspectives surround us in ways that make it quite easy to lose our bearing. This is only intensified by the frequent militancy with which cultures and religions protect or revitalize themselves against pressures placed 1 upon them by undue contact with the “foreign” and threatening. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 and the resulting “War on Terror” are powerful and painful examples of our new global reality in its most alarming shape. Yet it is more than the mere acknowledgment of genuine cultural differ- ences or the precarious fact of their larger scale, and sometimes violent, interac- tion that has fostered the contemporary experience of heterogeneity. Our predicament is defined by the peculiar way in which the difference of the cul- turally other is recognized and accounted for. In the West, widespread exposure to diverse worldviews and lifestyles has been refracted through the paradigmatic lens of the “historical consciousness,” which has gradually grown to dominate Euramerican intellectual self-awareness since the advent of secularism. By emphasizing the historicity of human life—that is, the contextual and interpre- tive nature of all expressions of meaning and value—the historical consciousness

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