METAPHYSICIANS OF MODERNITY: COLIN GUNTON AND GEORGE P. GRANT CONFRONT THE ZEITGEIST By Arthur Gregory Daggett Th.B., Kingswood University, 2010 Submitted to the Faculty of Theology at Acadia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Theology) Acadia University Spring Convocation 2013 © 2013 Arthur Gregory Daggett This thesis by ARTHUR GREGORY DAGGETT was defended successfully in an oral examination on 3 April 2013. The examining committee for the thesis was: Dr. Jody Linkletter, Chair Dr. James Perkin, External Examiner Dr. Carol Anne Janzen, Internal Examiner Dr. William Brackney, Supervisor Dr. Craig Evans, MA Director This thesis is accepted in its present form by Acadia Divinity College, the Faculty of Theology of Acadia University, as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Theology). ii I, ARTHUR GREGORY DAGGETT, hereby grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to provide copies of my thesis, upon request, on a non- profit basis. Arthur Gregory Daggett Author Dr. William Brackney Supervisor 3 April 2013 Date iii Acknowledgements While I take credit as the author, I do not consider this project a solitary endeavor. Friends, family members, and colleagues who contributed in some way are too numerous to mention, but I would like to acknowledge several people for their help in making this thesis a reality. Dr. Kennth Gavel’s mentorship during my first few years as a student of theology helped lay the foundation for this work, for which I am forever grateful. Blaine Hanna has been a great friend and conversation partner, tolerating my late-night rants through many years of study together. Dr. William Brackney’s supervision of this thesis has challenged me academically, helping me transition from an observer to a participant in the historic conversation which is theology. Aside from his supervision, Dr. Brackney has been a great professor, friend, and has modeled the life of a pastor/scholar. To my wife Alexandra and my daughter Sophia - I love you both very much. I look forward to our life together, and to our ongoing experiments in truth. You are God’s greatest blessings to me. iv Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCING COLIN GUNTON: LIFE, CONTEXT, AND THEOLOGICAL PROJECT ..................... 3 I - LIFE AND CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Theology ‘After Barth’ ............................................................................................................................ 4 th Theology in 20 -Century Britain ............................................................................................................ 8 II - GUNTON’S TRINITARIAN THEOLOGICAL PROJECT ............................................................................................. 11 Gunton’s Trinitarian Theology ............................................................................................................. 11 Gunton’s Pneumatology ...................................................................................................................... 16 What Does the Eschatological “Perfecting Cause” Look Like? ............................................................. 38 SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 2: COLIN GUNTON’S CONCEPTION AND CRITIQUE OF MODERNITY ......................................... 43 I - WHAT IS MODERNITY? ............................................................................................................................... 43 II – GUNTON’S CONCEPTION AND CRITIQUE OF MODERNITY .................................................................................. 54 Is Gunton’s Critique of Augustine Valid? .............................................................................................. 54 Gunton’s Critique of Modernity ........................................................................................................... 59 SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 3: GEORGE GRANT: HIS LIFE, CONTEXT AND THOUGHT ON TECHNOLOGY .............................. 69 I – GEORGE GRANT’S LIFE AND CONTEXT ........................................................................................................... 70 II – GRANT’S THOUGHT ON TECHNOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 78 “The Perfection of God” – Grant’s Controversial Definition of Philosophy .......................................... 78 Grant’s Thought on Technology ........................................................................................................... 81 Heidegger’s Influence on Grant ........................................................................................................... 86 Thinking about Technology – ‘The Computer does not impose on us…’ .............................................. 93 Myth, Freedom and the Fact/Value Distinction ................................................................................... 95 The Ontology of Technology and University Education ....................................................................... 98 SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................. 104 CHAPTER 4 – CONCLUSION: METAPHYSICIANS OF MODERNITY: GUNTON’S AND GRANT’S DIAGNOSES & REMEDIES ............................................................................................................................................ 105 Convergences ..................................................................................................................................... 105 Divergences ........................................................................................................................................ 109 A Synthesis? ....................................................................................................................................... 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 114 Introduction This thesis grew out of coursework in the Master of Arts in Theology program at Acadia Divinity College. Margaret Somerville’s The Ethical Imagination, a textbook, helped alert me to the problems arising in an increasingly technological world, and in seeking guidance on issues surrounding technology I encountered the work of George P. Grant (1918-1988), a Canadian public intellectual who taught at Dalhousie and McMaster Universities for most of his academic career. For the Introduction to Theology course I wrote a paper and made a presentation on Colin Gunton (1941-2003), a British theologian and pastor who sought to separate the proverbial “wheat from the chaff” in modern thought and life, as well as prescribing a theological remedy for problems created by certain weaknesses of modern thought. While these two thinkers come from very different backgrounds and enjoyed academic careers on different continents, they shared many common concerns, even though their approaches and responses to modernity were varied. This thesis explores the life and thought of Colin Gunton (1941-2003) and George Parkin Grant (1918-1988), and is a comparison of Colin Gunton’s and George P. Grant’s conceptions of modernity, their critiques of modernity, and their remedies for the problems of modernity. Chapter one outlines Colin Gunton’s life and context, and explores his Trinitarian theological project with special attention given to his doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Chapter two explores the question ‘What is Modernity?’, then explains Colin Gunton’s conception and critique of modernity. Chapter three outlines George P. Grant’s life, his conception and critique of modernity, and his remedy for its problems. Chapter four compares their conceptions, critiques and remedies for modernity, 1 highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses in their respective treatments, and suggests a constructive synthesis of their work. 2 Chapter 1 - Introducing Colin Gunton: Life, Context, and Theological Project This chapter will introduce Colin Gunton in context. He was a British theologian who worked ‘after Barth’, and was part of a late twentieth century movement spanning all major branches of the Christian church which emphasized the centrality of the Trinity in theological discourse and methodology. A prominent element of Gunton’s Trinitarian project was his pneumatology which is addressed below. Much of Gunton’s work can be understood as a response to the crises of modernity, and Gunton’s understanding and critique of the historical era of modernity is the focus of chapter two. I - Life and Context Colin Gunton (1941-2003) studied Classics1 at Hertford College, Oxford, and theology at Mansfield College, Oxford, followed by doctoral studies under the supervision of the Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson.2 His thesis was on the doctrine of God in the works of Charles Hartshorne and Karl Barth.3 He taught philosophy