The Return of Participatory Scriptural Hermeneutics in Evangelicalism: an Augustinian Philosophy of Communication Joshua David Hill

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Return of Participatory Scriptural Hermeneutics in Evangelicalism: an Augustinian Philosophy of Communication Joshua David Hill Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 1-1-2016 The Return of Participatory Scriptural Hermeneutics in Evangelicalism: An Augustinian Philosophy of Communication Joshua David Hill Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Hill, J. (2016). The Return of Participatory Scriptural Hermeneutics in Evangelicalism: An Augustinian Philosophy of Communication (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/38 This Worldwide Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RETURN OF PARTICIPATORY SCRIPTURAL HERMENEUTICS IN EVANGELICALISM: AN AUGUSTINIAN PHILOSOPHY OF COMMUNICATION A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Joshua D. Hill December 2016 Copyright by Joshua D. Hill 2016 THE RETURN OF PARTICIPATORY SCRIPTURAL HERMENEUTICS IN EVANGELICALISM: AN AUGUSTINIAN PHILOSOPHY OF COMMUNICATION By Joshua D. Hill Approved October 28, 2016 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Janie Harden Fritz Dr. Ronald C. Arnett Professor of Communication Professor of Communication (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Dr. Richard Thames Associate Professor of Communication (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ James C. Swindal Dr. Ronald C. Arnett Dean, McAnulty College of Liberal Arts Chair, Dept. of Communication & Professor of Philosophy Rhetorical Studies Professor of Communication iii ABSTRACT THE RETURN OF PARTICIPATORY SCRIPTURAL HERMENEUTICS IN EVANGELICALISM: AN AUGUSTINIAN PHILOSOPHY OF COMMUNICATION By Joshua D. Hill December 2016 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Janie Harden Fritz Using a philosophy of communication approach adapted from St. Augustine’s rhetorical theory, I propose the recovery of Augustinian scriptural hermeneutics to meet the hermeneutical crisis in current Evangelicalism. Evangelical identity is centered on scripturally mediated belief and mission that ties together its ecumenical coalition, but its hermeneutic principles were co-opted by modernism and have now become further embattled by the turn away from modernism to philosophical hermeneutic approaches. Augustine’s hermeneutical principles of charity, hermeneutical humility through responsiveness to the Word, and the social/communal action of lived hermeneutics are explained in terms of Augustine’s pre-modern cosmology of “participation” and are clarified by comparison with the hermeneutic theories of Gadamer, Ricoeur, and their iv Evangelical respondents. Fulfilling its philosophy of communication emphasis, this project concludes with a conceptual sketch of Evangelical interpretation as practiced through Augustinian participatory hermeneutics. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful for the consistent support, clearly communicated mission, and intellectual freedom of the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies, a tradition built up and maintained rhetorically over several years by Ronald Arnett, Janie Harden Fritz, Richard Thames, Pat Arneson, and Calvin Troup. The organizational philosophy of communication on display has not only been helpful to me in my academic work but has also served me as a sign of hope for my possible future in academia. I give special thanks to my committee chair, Dr. Fritz, who modeled both academic breadth and charity in her review of my dissertation (and its early false starts). I also thank Dr. Troup for giving me an excellent set of coordinates by which to explore Augustine otherwise than convention, and I thank Dr. Thames for driving home the importance of the historical moment by means of his battery of required history readings. And I thank Dr. Arnett for his courage in preaching and practicing intellectual generosity. As part of the long intellectual tradition in the temporal measure of the city of God, I am thankful for Augustine’s labors, his love, and his life of service. Closer to home, I confess that I would not have been able to complete any part of my program here without the labors, love, and life of my wife, Stacy, who has endured much for the sake of a work whose value she can take only by faith. Finally, as befits my project, I confess that whatever good this work communicates to any reader is a result of its participation in the Truth, in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and apart from whom we “can do nothing” (John 15:5). I acknowledge God as the ground of being and communication. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................54 Chapter 3 ..........................................................................................................................132 Chapter 4 ..........................................................................................................................214 Chapter 5 ..........................................................................................................................322 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................396 vii Chapter 1 Introduction: Hermeneutics in the Historical Moment of Evangelicalism This project takes an Augustinian philosophy of communication interpretive approach to the current problem of biblical hermeneutics that has taxed the confidence in both the interpretive praxis and communicative identity of the Evangelical coalitional community. Bypassing the long-traveled Christian rhetorical focus on homiletics, this project applies philosophy of communication to hermeneutics as the other main rhetorical concern of Evangelical “people of the book.” After setting out the complexities and history of the crisis in Evangelical biblical hermeneutics, this project explains and proposes the recovery of Augustinian participation (an early Christian view of the cosmos), interpretation, and social dynamics to provide linguistic-conceptual resources by which to meet that crisis. These Augustinian philosophical resources are developed in the context of Evangelical conversations about philosophical hermeneutics and Augustine for current biblical hermeneutics and ecclesiology. After developing these conceptual tools from an Augustinian philosophy of communication, the project concludes with a rhetorical turn, proposing a socially embodied praxis of scripture reading as one solution to the Evangelical hermeneutical problem. Telling the historical narrative of how Evangelical hermeneutics has interacted with the broader hermeneutic tradition—under the prevailing Evangelical identity markers of unity through mission and shared biblical reading practices1—this chapter sets the parameters of the larger project, defines the hermeneutical problem within its rhetorical context, clarifies the interpretive approach, and defends the appropriation of Augustine’s hermeneutic and social theory in the move towards a new Evangelical hermeneutical praxis. 1 The Problem of Evangelical Hermeneutics As Robert Bellah et al. have noted, the Christian church in the United States has been radically compromised in its ability to communicate to itself, its members, and the culture at large its mission/telos and rule of life, an indictment that holds for the significant Christian subculture of Evangelicals.2 From their origins in biblical communal narratives, Bellah says that American churches have largely shifted to being gathering places (“lifestyle enclaves”) for people operating according to “expressive” and “instrumental” concepts of individual meaning.3 According to Evangelical historian Mark Noll, Evangelicals in particular have “lost all sense of history” and have “ignored their own tradition’s resources” in their 20th century cultural transformation into a fideistic and pragmatic political powerhouse, and historian Molly Worthen argues that the root of this Evangelical “anti-intellectualism” stems from their community’s “deep disagreement over what the Bible means,” as seen in their contradictory hermeneutic that joins fideistic presuppositionalism and Enlightenment textual rationalism.4 The shift from an earlier Evangelical community for which the scriptures permeated community and mission (constituting the background) to a 20th century movement organized largely around the defense of a bible very much in the foreground was the result of a combination of factors—sociological, theological, and historical—but the most telling blow was to the practice of an evangelical biblical hermeneutics that, though undertheorized and imperfect, had enabled many earlier Evangelicals to be both historically responsive and scripturally focused, both socially constructive and
Recommended publications
  • 1 Armand Maurer. the Philosophy of William of Ockham in the Light of Its
    Armand Maurer. The Philosophy of William of Ockham in the Light of Its Principles. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1999. Someone must be looking out for William Ockham. Excommunicated and exiled in his own lifetime, Ockham's philosophical works were revitalized in the twentieth century like those of no other medieval author. The two best medieval monographs of the century, from a philosophical point of view, were studies of Ockham.i And while the still unfinished Opera Omnia of Aquinas and Scotus plodded along, a brilliant group of scholars assembled in Olean, New York, to publish Ockham's Opera Philosophica et Theologica over a mere twenty-three years.ii And in a century that saw sophisticated bodies of philosophical scholarship grow up around the ancient and early modern periods, only Ockham among the medievals can lay claim to anything remotely analogous.iii Now Armand Maurer, at a mere 84 years of age, has managed to slip one more contribution into a century that, for Ockham Studies, was already venerable enough. It should be said from the start that Maurer's volume cannot compare, in philosophical detail and sophistication, with Marilyn Adams's even longer book on the subject. But this is nevertheless an important and valuable work. Maurer seeks to provide an introduction to Ockham's philosophy (10) and he succeeds entirely, in a manner worthy of comparison to Copleston and perhaps even Gilson. 1 It is surprisingly difficult to determine just what Maurer means by `the philosophy of Ockham.' He does not have in mind the medieval sense of `philosophy.' Though the volume begins with logic and metaphysics, and devotes a long chapter to physics, it is Ockham's Opera Theologica that receive most of Maurer's attention.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature of the Participatory Worldview Chapter 1 – the Nature of the Participatory Worldview
    The Nature of the Participatory Worldview Chapter 1 – The Nature of the Participatory Worldview Chapter 1 – The Nature of the Participatory Worldview 1) The Participatory Worldview and the Spiral of Western Civilization As we find ourselves at the beginning of the third Millennium, Western civilization faces an epochal change. This change is far more profound than the mere numerical advance of the calendar. Our secular, dualistic, reductionist view of the world -- our Mechanistic Worldview, also known as the Newtonian or Cartesian worldview -- is showing signs of old age. After 400 years of guiding our inquiry and actions, after many successes and a growing number of failures, the Mechanistic Worldview is increasingly under attack on many fronts: philosophically, ethically, spiritually, even from within itself, from the scientific and technological perspective. Our intellectual and social lives have become vastly more complicated than in past generations. Social and environmental problems are rapidly mounting, and depression and apathy seem increasingly prevalent. Unfortunately, the Mechanistic Worldview -- the source of our values, the justification for our actions, the framework upon which all our ideas are laid out -- seems less and less able to cope, and less able to provide satisfactory resolution. The time has come to deeply reexamine our present worldview, and, to the greatest degree possible, to creatively transcend it. Even though the Zeitgeist affects us all, the task of articulating a new worldview falls primarily to those philosophically-inclined thinkers of all disciplines1. Traditionally the greatest burden for this task has fallen upon the philosophers proper. Philosophers are, after all, in the business of examining things deeply, of understanding the root causes of our intellectual and emotional deficiencies, and of charting new paths for society.
    [Show full text]
  • Editor's Note Development of a Spiritual Emergency Scale
    VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2, 2013 THE JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY Editor’s Note v Development of a Spiritual Emergency Scale 105 TABLE OF MONIKA GORETZKI CONTENTS MICHAEL THALBOURNE LANCE STORM Neo-Piagetian Transpersonal Psychology: A New Perspective 118 EDWARD J. DALE Yoga Psychotherapy: The Integration of Western Psycholog- ical Theory and Ancient Yogic Wisdom 139 MARIANA CAPLAN ADRIANA PORTILLO LYNSIE SEELY Beyond the Evolutionary Paradigm in Consciousness Studies 159 ROBIN S. BROWN Building Bridges Between Spirituality and Psychology: An Indigenous Healer’s Teachings About Befriending the Self 172 ROCKEY ROBBINS JI Y. HONG Book Reviews Wisdom of the senses: The untold story of their SAMUEL BENDECK 198 inner life. J. Herlihy SOTILLOS Awaken inside yoga meditation. J. Carrera CHANELL JARAMILLO 203 The rebirth of the hero: Mythology as a guide to JAY DUFRECHOU 204 spiritual transformation. K. Le Grice Books Our Editors are Reading 214 EDITOR Marcie Boucouvalas ASSOCIATE Douglas A. MacDonald (Research) EDITOR EDITORIAL Carla Pacalo ASSISTANT BOOK REVIEW Arthur Hastings EDITOR BOOK REVIEW Lauren Bracciodieta EDITORIAL ASSISTANT BOARD OF Paul Clemens, Nevada City, California EDITORS Jack Engler, Schiff Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts James Fadiman, Menlo Park, California Jorge Ferrer, California Institute of Integral Studies Daniel Goleman, Williamstown, Massachusetts Elmer Green, Ozawkie, Kansas Stanislav Grof, Mill Valley, California Tobin Hart, State University of West Georgia Michael Hutton, Victoria, British Columbia Stanley Krippner, San Francisco, California Irene Lazarus, Raleigh, North Carolina Lawrence LeShan, New York, New York John Levy, Mill Valley, California David Loy, Bunkyo University, Japan Francis G. Lu, San Francisco, California David Lukoff, Petaluma, California Michael Murphy, San Rafael, California Peter L.
    [Show full text]
  • History and Theory of Philosophy
    FEDERAL STATE BUDGETARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION "BASHKIR STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY" OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTHCARE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (FSBEI HE BSMU MOH Russia) HISTORY AND THEORY OF PHILOSOPHY Textbook Ufa 2020 1 UDC 1(09)(075.8) BBC 87.3я7 H90 Reviewers: Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Head of the department «Social work» FSBEI HE «Bashkir State University» U.S. Vildanov Doctor of Philosophy, Professor at the Department of Philosophy and History FSBEIHE «Bashkir State Agricultural University» A.I. Stoletov History and theory of philosophy:textbook/ K.V. Khramova, H90 R.I. Devyatkina, Z.R. Sadikova, O.M. Ivanova, O.G. Afanasyeva, A.S. Zubairova-Valeeva, N.R. Mingazova, G.R. Davletshina — Ufa: Ufa: FSBEIHEBSMUMOHRussia, 2020. – 127 p. The manual was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education in specialty 31.05.01 «General Medicine» the current curriculum and on the basis of the work program on the discipline of philosophy. The manual is focused on the competence-based learning model. It has an original, uniform for all classes structure, including the topic, a summary of the training questions, the subject of essays, training materials, test items with response standards, recommended literature. This manual covers topics related to the periods of development of world philosophy. Designed for students in the specialty 31.05.01 «General Medicine». It is recommended to be published by the Coordinating Scientific and Methodological Council and was approved by the decision of the Editorial and Publishing Council of the BSMU of the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia.
    [Show full text]
  • HERMENEUTICAL CRITICISMS: by Mark E
    Issues of Interpretation Ozark Christian College, GB 216-2 Professor Mark E. Moore, Ph.D. Table of Contents: 1. Hermeneutical Constructs .......................................................................................................2 2. A Chart of the History of Hermeneutics .................................................................................5 3. History of Interpretation .........................................................................................................7 4. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 1.1.10.......................................................................29 5. Allegory of 153 Fish, Jn 21:11 .............................................................................................30 6. How the Holy Spirit Helps in Interpretation .........................................................................31 7. Problem Passages ..................................................................................................................32 8. Principles for Dealing with Problem Passages .....................................................................33 9. Cultural vs. Universal ...........................................................................................................34 10. Hermeneutical Constructs .....................................................................................................36 11. Hermeneutical Shifts .............................................................................................................38 12. Hermeneutical Constructs:
    [Show full text]
  • Hegelian Phenomenology and the Critique of Reason and Society Peter Osborne
    Hegelian Phenomenology and the Critique of Reason and Society Peter Osborne Abhot Terrasson has rema~cked that if the size of a volume be measured not by the number of its pages but by the time required for mastering it, it can be said of many a book, that it would be much shorter if it were not so short. (Kant, Preface'to First Edition, Critique of Pure Reason) Gillian Qnse's Hegel Contra Sociology (Athlone Press, of Hegel's thought which focuses on the socio­ 1981, £6.95 pb, 26lpp) would be much shorter were it political significance of his idea of speculative not so short. It is unashamedly, and sadly, an experience. extremely difficult book; not just in terms of the The argument is that Marx's critique of Hegel is complexity and subtlety of the position it puts for­ based on a Fichtean reading of his system which fails ward, but, primarily, in terms of the way in which to grasp the true meaning of his concepts of actual­ this position is presented. But it is, nonetheless, ity and spirit, and that in fact these concepts pro­ in many ways an important book. For it challenges, vide the theoretical basis for the conceptualisation at a fundamental level, the generally accepted frame­ of the subjective mediations of objective social work within which Hegel has been interpreted; and, forms. Marx's own conception of practical material­ in so doing, it challenges accepted beliefs not only ism is seen as theoretically incapable of.conceptual­ about the relationship between Marx and Hegel, but ising such mediations, since it involv~s abstract also about the philosophical adequacy of Marxism and dichotomies between being and consciousness, and the redundancy of Hegelianism.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Ethics
    p.1 Introduction to Ethics Place: TBD Time: TBD Instructor: Eric de Araujo Office: TBD Email: [email protected] Office Hours: TBD Texts & Materials An Introduction to Moral Philosophy (2018) by Jonathan Wolff. Readings in Moral Philosophy (2018) by Jonathan Wolff. Readings will come from the above text and anthology. Additional readings might be posted on Carmen. Bring either your textbook or appropriate readings to class. Course Description In this introduction to ethics will think about ethical issues like philosophers. First, we will learn how to reason morally and consider challenges to moral theorizing. Ten we will examine some major ethical theories along with some objections to them.Syllabus Once we understand these, we will discuss some ethical debates on particular topics. Course Goals & Objectives A. You will be able to articulate and evaluate major ethical theoriesAraujo by: Articulating main positions within ethical debates, identifying differences between ethical theories, presenting objections to ethical theories, applying ethical theories to cases, and communicating philosophical views to others. B. You will be able to comprehend and critique others' views by: Identifying the main conclusion ofde others' arguments, identifying the support given for a conclusion, evaluating the arguments of others, representing the logical structure of arguments, and determining what evidence is relevant to a conclusion. CourseC. You will be able to contribute to ethical debates by: Articulating main positions within ethical debates, applying ethical theories to cases, constructing an original argument, identifying the main conclusion of others' arguments,Eric identifying the support given for a conclusion, evaluating the arguments of p.2 others, distinguishing moral and non-moral questions, communicating philosophical views to others, and anticipating and defending views from objections.
    [Show full text]
  • Naturalized Metaphilosophy
    Synthese DOI 10.1007/s11229-009-9662-1 Naturalized metaphilosophy David R. Morrow · Chris Alen Sula Received: 6 January 2008 / Accepted: 30 November 2008 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract Traditional representations of philosophy have tended to prize the role of reason in the discipline. These accounts focus exclusively on ideas and arguments as animating forces in the field. But anecdotal evidence and more rigorous sociological studies suggest there is more going on in philosophy. In this article, we present two hypotheses about social factors in the field: that social factors influence the develop- ment of philosophy, and that status and reputation—and thus social influence—will tend to be awarded to philosophers who offer rationally compelling arguments for their views. In order to test these hypotheses, we need a more comprehensive grasp on the field than traditional representations afford. In particular, we need more substantial data about various social connections between philosophers. This investigation belongs to a naturalized metaphilosophy, an empirical study of the discipline itself, and it offers prospects for a fuller and more reliable understanding of philosophy. Keywords Philosophy · Sociology · Networks · Reason · Naturalism In addressing questions of how to represent philosophy, we should begin—in good philosophical fashion—by first asking what philosophy is. Historical answers have often prized the role of reason in addressing questions of existence, knowledge, and value. Thus, Plato recommends contemplation of the forms, Descartes’ meditator at- tempts to deduce self-evident truths from first principles, Spinoza discusses an activity carried out sub specie aeternitatis by a rational thinker who has removed all traces of subjectivity and individuality from his thought, and Kant describes philosophy as D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Conflict Between Liberty of Conscience and Church Authority
    Reformed Theological Seminary THE CONFLICT BETWEEN LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE AND CHURCH AUTHORITY IN TODAY’S EVANGELICAL CHURCH An Integrated Thesis Submitted to Dr. Donald Fortson In Candidacy for the Degree Of Master of Arts By Gregory W. Perry July 2005 Table of Contents Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………. iii 1. The Conflict between Liberty of Conscience and Church Authority Introduction…………………………………………………………………… 1 The Power Struggle…………………………………………………………… 6 2. The Bible on Liberty of Conscience and Church Authority The Liberty of the Conscience in Its Proper Place……………………………. 14 Church Authority: The Obligation to Obedience……………………………... 30 The Scope of Church Authority………………………………………………. 40 Church Discipline: The Practical Application of Church Authority………….. 54 3. The History of Liberty of Conscience and Church Authority The Reformed Conscience……………………………………………………. 69 The Puritan Conscience………………………………………………………. 81 The Evolution of the American Conscience………………………………….. 95 4. Application for Today The State of the Church Today………………………………………………. 110 The Purpose-Driven Conscience…………………………………………….. 117 Feeding the Fear of Church Authority……………………………………….. 127 Practical Implications………………………………………………………… 139 Selected Bibliography………………………………………………………………... 153 ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Reverend P.G. Mathew and the elders of Grace Valley Christian Center in Davis, California for their inspiration behind this thesis topic. The first way they inspired this thesis is through their faithful preaching of God’s Word, right administration of the sacraments, and their uncompromising resolve to exercise biblical discipline. Their godly example of faithfulness in leading their flock in the manner that the Scriptures require was the best resource in formulating these ideas. The second inspiration was particularly a set of sermons that Pastor Mathew preached on Libertinism from March 28-May 2, 2004.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Poststructuralism Understanding Movements in Modern Thought Series Editor: Jack Reynolds
    understanding poststructuralism Understanding Movements in Modern Thought Series Editor: Jack Reynolds Th is series provides short, accessible and lively introductions to the major schools, movements and traditions in philosophy and the history of ideas since the beginning of the Enlightenment. All books in the series are written for undergraduates meeting the subject for the fi rst time. Published Understanding Existentialism Understanding Virtue Ethics Jack Reynolds Stan van Hooft Understanding Poststructuralism James Williams Forthcoming titles include Understanding Empiricism Understanding Hermeneutics Robert Meyers Lawrence Schmidt Understanding Ethics Understanding Naturalism Tim Chappell Jack Ritchie Understanding Feminism Understanding Phenomenology Peta Bowden and Jane Mummery David Cerbone Understanding German Idealism Understanding Rationalism Will Dudley Charlie Heunemann Understanding Hegelianism Understanding Utilitarianism Robert Sinnerbrink Tim Mulgan understanding poststructuralism James Williams For Richard and Olive It is always about who you learn from. © James Williams, 2005 Th is book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved. First published in 2005 by Acumen Acumen Publishing Limited 15a Lewins Yard East Street Chesham Bucks HP5 1HQ www.acumenpublishing.co.uk ISBN 1-84465-032-4 (hardcover) ISBN 1-84465-033-2 (paperback) Work on Chapter 3 was supported by British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
    [Show full text]
  • The Triune God As Similarity in Difference: an Engagement with Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutical Detour JH Ahn Orcid.Org / 0000-00
    The Triune God as similarity in difference: An engagement with Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutical detour JH Ahn orcid.org / 0000-0002-0574-3183 Thesis accepted for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Dogmatics at the North-West University Promoter: Prof S Van Der Walt Graduation: May 2020 Student number: 28883179 Acknowledgments The last moment of the long journey to the Triune God probably should inevitably end with Augustine’s confession: “I [Augustine] confess rather that the highest Trinity’s sublime knowledge has been too great for me, and that I am unable to reach to it” (Ps 138:6) (De Trin. 15.27.50). I also praise the Holy Triune God: “Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul” (Ps 146:1). I would like to express my gratitude to my promoter Prof. Sarel Van Der Walt who gave me guidance and advice as well as encouragement. I would also like to give thanks to Prof. Hae Moo Yoo. Through him, I gained trinitarian perspectives for theology. I would like to express my special gratitude to my wife Hyo Jung Lee and my lovely children; Dong Eun, Si Eun, Cho Eun. I want to dedicate this thesis to my family. I Abstract The aim of this study is to apply Ricoeur’s (1913-2005) philosophical hermeneutics to the doctrine of the Trinity and to move and expand the doctrine from the notional sphere to the pragmatic field through trinitarian hermeneutics. The basic structure of this thesis is constituted by interaction between three fields: Ricoeur’s hermeneutical detour (symbols, metaphors, and narratives), doctrine of the Trinity (the analogical, the immanent, and the economical Trinity) and biblical texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Heidegger and the Hermeneutics of the Body
    International Journal of Gender and Women’s Studies June 2015, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 16-25 ISSN: 2333-6021 (Print), 2333-603X (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v3n1p3 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.15640/ijgws.v3n1p3 Heidegger and the Hermeneutics of the Body Jesus Adrian Escudero1 Abstract Phenomenology, Feminist Studies and Ecologism have accused Heidegger repeatedly for not having taken into account the phenomenon of the body. Without denying the validity of such critiques, the present article focuses its attention first on the question of Dasein’s neutrality and asexuality. Then it analyzes Heidegger’s remarks on temporality as the horizon of all meaning, paying special attention to its significance for Butler’s notion of performativity. Keywords: body, Dasein, gesture, performativity, temporality In Being and Time we find only one reference to corporeality in the context of Heidegger’s analysis of spatiality. Therefore, his analysis of human existence is often accused of forgetting about the body. This criticism has particular force in the field of French phenomenology. Alphonse de Waehlens, for instance, lamented the absence of the fundamental role that the body and perception play in our everyday understanding of things. Jean-Paul Sartre expanded upon this line of criticism by emphasizing the importance of the body as the first point of contact that human beings establish with their world. However, in the context of the first generation of French phenomenologists, Maurice Merleau-Ponty was undoubtedly the first whose systematic analysis of bodily perception established the basis for a revision of Heidegger’s understanding of human life (Askay, 1999: 29-35).
    [Show full text]