Human Subjectivity 'in Christ' in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Theology
Integrating Simplicity and Wisdom
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Jacob Phillips presents a critical study of a neglected aspect of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s theology: his writing on human subjectivity, self-reflection, and individual identity ‘in Christ’. In response to the rise of chronic self-representation through digital technology, Phillips argues that Bonhoeffer presents a radical challenge, maintaining that – from the perspective of Christian theology - there is something deeply negative about beholding representations of oneself. Bonhoeffer instead holds that discipleship means adopting a posture of radical agnosticism toward one’s own identity.
Phillips focuses on the interrelation of ‘simplicity’ and ‘reflection’ in theological cognition and ethical deliberation, showing a wider significance in contemporary theological anthropology, soteriology and ethics. By following the tradition of reading Bonhoeffer in relation to the philosophical sources, such as Wüstenberg , Janz, Whitson-Floyd, Marsh, Zimmermann, Gregor, Phillips highlights the ways in which Bonhoeffer’s work relates to modern debates in epistemology and ethics generally, and that of Wilhelm Dilthey and hermeneutical phenomenology in particular. This volume offers a detailed theological analysis of the themes of self-identity, human subjectivity, and self-understanding, which are highly pertinent for contemporary society.
List of Abbreviations
Chapter 1: Simplicity and Wisdom
Chapter 2: The Simplicity of Discipleship
Chapter 3: Interpreting the Simplicity of Discipleship
Chapter 4: Simplicity and the Transcendental Attempt
Chapter 5: The Actus Reflectus as Wisdom: Reconciling the Unreflective and Reflective in Act and Being
Chapter 6: Towards Practical Discernment as Wisdom: Unreflective and Reflective Agency in Ethics
Chapter 7: The ‘Transcendental Unity of Apperception’ and the ‘Categorical Imperative’ in
the ‘Flow of Life’
Chapter 8: Articulating the ‘Original Togetherness’ of Life: Wilhelm Dilthey in Relation to Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Chapter 9: The Unreflective ‘I’ and Reflective Self-Understanding in Dilthey
Chapter 10: Unreflective and Reflective Agency in Dilthey
Chapter 11: Gestalt: Aesthetics and Agency in Wilhelm Dilthey
Chapter 12: Integrating Simplicity and Wisdom
Bibliography
Index