Imagining Planetarity: Toward a Postcolonial Franciscan Theology of Creation Author: Daniel P. Horan Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:107266 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2016 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Boston College The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Department of Theology IMAGINING PLANETARITY: TOWARD A POSTCOLONIAL FRANCISCAN THEOLOGY OF CREATION A Dissertation By DANIEL P. HORAN, O.F.M. Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2016 © Copyright 2016 Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M. All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT IMAGINING PLANETARITY: TOWARD A POSTCOLONIAL FRANCISCAN THEOLOGY OF CREATION Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M. Advisor: Brian D. Robinette, Ph.D. The proliferation in recent decades of “stewardship model” approaches for developing a theology of creation, which places human beings at the center of the cosmos as caretakers or managers of the divine oikos, is the result of an intentional effort to correct overtly problematic “dominion model” approaches that have contributed both to reifying a sense of human sovereignty and the resulting environmental degradation. However, the first part of this dissertation argues that the stewardship model of creation actually operates under many of the same problematic presuppositions as the dominion model, and therefore does not offer a correction but rather a tacit re-inscription of the very same pitfalls. After close consideration and analysis of the stewardship model, this dissertation identifies scriptural, theological, and philosophical sources to support the adoption of a “kinship” or “community of creation” model. Drawing on postcolonial theorists and theologians as key critical and constructive interlocutors, this project then proposes the concept of “planetarity” as a framework for conceiving of the relationship between human and other-than-human creation, as well as the relationship between the whole of creation and the Creator, in a new way. This theoretical framework invites a theological supplément, which, this dissertation argues, is found best in the writings of the medieval Franciscan tradition. Several distinctive characteristics of the Franciscan theological iii tradition offer key constructive contributions. Among these themes are the foundational sense of the interrelatedness, mutuality, and intended harmony of creation within the early spiritual texts and later Franciscan theological and philosophical writings; John Duns Scotus’s distinctive principle of individuation; the alternative appropriation of Peter John Olivi’s category of usus pauper for use in navigating the tension between creation’s intrinsic and instrumental value; and the application of a Franciscan understanding of the virtue of pietas as a proposal for environmental praxis. The result is what can be called a postcolonial Franciscan theology of creation imagined in terms of planetarity as reconceived in a theological key. It is a constructive and non-anthropocentric response to the need for a new conceptualization of the doctrine of creation. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The number of people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude cannot be easily contained in such a limited space. And yet, I must acknowledge some of the key mentors, friends, and family members whose presence and support made this project and my doctoral studies at Boston College possible. First, to Professor Brian Robinette, my dissertation advisor: Thank you for your generosity in time, your wisdom in guidance, your insight in comments, and your kindness in challenge. From the exceptional generosity during your “God and Creation” seminar in which you allowed me to explore some of the ideas developed in this dissertation by writing a sixty-page seminar paper to the many multiple-hour conversations we would have in your office about these ideas, you helped me think through the difficulties, challenged me in the less-than-clear areas, and guided me to resources and ways of thinking that made this possible. I’m so grateful for your willingness to direct my research, to be a mentor, and for the opportunity to call you a dear friend. To Professor M. Shawn Copeland, my coursework advisor and second reader: you’ve been a source of wisdom and guidance, encouragement and support that has indelibly shaped the way I do theology and think about what it is that we do. Your seminar during my first year of coursework ignited in me an interest in the relationship between the human person and our embodiment and the other-than-human world. Thank you so much for your continued mentorship and direction. To Professor Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM, my third reader: you were one of the key faculty members in the department that strongly encouraged me to come to Boston v College and so, even before entering the program, I owe you a debt of gratitude for your enthusiasm and support. Your seminars during my coursework became opportunities to think through some of the significant thinkers and source materials that helped shape this dissertation. Thank you! To Ilia Delio, OSF, Susan Abraham, and Joshua Benson, you have been some of my earliest mentors and have remained dear friends and colleagues who continue to occupy a special place in my heart and intellect. Your respective love for theology has been infectious, and I’m grateful to have been so infected. To my friends and colleagues at BC, especially Jess Coblentz, Kevin Brown, Andrew Massena, Katie Wrisley Shelby, Jaisy Joseph, Kim Bauser, and so many others, thank you! In a discipline and field known for contentious fights within the “ivory tower,” my experience has only ever been collegial and joyful and fun. How lucky I have been to get to know you and spend so much time with you all! To my non-BC friends, especially David Golemboski and Brianna Copley, Julianne Wallace, and Andrew and Sarah Kneller, you are my inner circle of love and support and I can’t express my gratitude adequately enough in words. To my family, especially my parents Kevin and Ann Marie Horan, who were my first teachers and who have always been supportive of this wacky life of academic theology; and to my brothers and sisters-in-law, Sean and Jessica, Matt and Jessica, and Ryan Horan—thanks! To my faculty colleagues at and the students of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, thank you for the encouragement, support, and an academic environment in which we all share the joy and challenge of theological education and ministerial vi preparation of the church’s current and future ministers. It is an awesome task and a deeply rewarding responsibility! Finally, to my friar brothers, especially my Provincial Minister Kevin Mullen, OFM, and BC faculty member Ken Himes, OFM, both of whom have helped me discern and navigate the hybrid religious-academic life of a theologian. Kevin has supported me in such tremendous ways going all the way back to when he was President of Siena College and I taught there for a year. During the last four years, regular dinners with Ken and Jim Sabak, OFM, allowed for fraternal celebration and occasional lament about our shared academic ministries. To all the friars with whom I have been privileged to live over the years in Boston and elsewhere, especially my brothers at Blessed Giles Friary in Chicago—John, John, Juan, Henry, and Colin—thank you for such a supportive, fraternal, and hilarious community. To all those who I regretfully failed to name here explicitly, know of my love and appreciation for all that you have done. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The Problematic of Anthropocentric Theologies of Creation 1 A. Identifying the Problem 5 B. The Proposed Response 7 C. Overview of the Dissertation 9 CHAPTER ONE Tracing the Development of the Stewardship Model of Creation 19 A. Reviewing the Dominion Model of Creation 21 1. Pre-Modern Hellenistic Influence 21 2. Italian Humanism During the Renaissance 28 3. The Development of Modern Natural Sciences and Philosophy 33 4. The Industrial and Technological Ages 40 B. Introducing Stewardship: Beyond the Dominion Approach 45 1. Returning to Scripture, Discerning the Human Vocation in Genesis 47 2. Reconsidering Creation in Christian History 50 3. Pragmatic Imperatives 57 C. Characteristics of the Stewardship Model 62 1. Theocentric Vision of the Cosmos 63 2. Other-than-Human Creation as God’s Oikos for Humanity 67 3. ‘Human Separatist’ Interpretations of Imago Dei 69 4. Deontological Sense of the Human Vocation 71 D. Contemporary Iterations of Stewardship 75 1. Douglas John Hall: Steward as Key Symbol of Christianity 75 2. Pope Francis: Stewardship for our ‘Common Home’ 83 CHAPTER TWO Critiquing The Stewardship Model of Creation 91 A. Hierarchical Dualism and the Problem of Alterity in Stewardship 92 B. Managerial or Caretaker Qualities of the Stewardship Model 104 C. Eschatological Implications of the Stewardship Model 112 1. Selected New Testament Resources 114 2. Irenaeus of Lyons and Athanasius of Alexandria 118 3. Modern Theological Resources 124 D. Anthropocentric Phenomenology of Modern Philosophy 133 1. Martin Heidegger’s ‘Comparative Examination’ 133 2. Jacques Derrida: Heidegger’s Insufficiency 141 3. Giorgio Agamben: Against the ‘Anthropological Machine’ 146 CHAPTER THREE From the Stewardship Model to a Theology of Kinship: Scriptural Sources for a Community of Creation Paradigm 153 A. The Book of Genesis 154 B. The Book of Job 163 C. The Wisdom Literature and the Psalms 172 D. The Prophets 181 viii E. The New Testament 187 CHAPTER FOUR From The Stewardship Model to a Theology of Kinship: Theological Sources for a Community of Creation Paradigm 194 A. The Intended Mutuality and Interrelationship of All Creation 194 B. The Cosmic Chorus 203 C. Reconsidering the Imago Dei 214 D. The Relationship Between God and Creation 232 CHAPTER FIVE Postcolonial Theory, Theology, and ‘Planetarity’ 238 A.