Love's Transcendence and the Problem of Theodicy

1. Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-3-16-149561-8
Verlag: Mohr Siebeck

Buch, Englisch, Band 30, 437 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 232 mm, Gewicht: 684 g

Reihe: Religion in Philosophy and Theology

Since the problem of theodicy concerns all dimensions of human existence and cannot be reduced to a logical problem of consistency, it cannot be resolved by means of a theodicy, a rational defense of God before the tribunal of human reason. But how can we deal with 'the wound of negativity?' Claudia Welz explores responses that do not end up in a theodicy. Instead of asking about the origin and sense (or non-sense) of evil and suffering, she considers God's (non)phenomenality, the dialectics of God's givenness and hiddenness. Neither God nor evil is given 'as such;' rather, God and evil are determined for someone as something within specific contexts of experience. How does God appear in human life, and how is his phenomenal presence or non-presence related to the ambiguities of our lives? In the center of the book, Kierkegaard's and Rosenzweig's answers, their reasons for having no reason to defend God and their ethics of love are discussed 'between' German idealism and French phenomenology. Both of them follow Kant's practical turn of the problem of theodicy, oppose Hegel's theodicy through history and anticipate Levinas' idea to look for the traces of God's transcendence in human movements of self-transcendence. Moreover, they have remarkable contributions to the current debates on 'metaphysics of presence' and 'onto-theology.' In dialogue with Levinas, the presence of God's love is in question, in dialogue with Derrida God's presence as a gift, and in dialogue with Marion the gift of God's presence as a so-called 'saturated' self-giving phenomenon. In conclusion to these discussions, theology is developed as semiotic phenomenology of the Invisible.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Welz, Claudia

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Ethik, Moraltheologie, Sozialethik
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie Christliche Philosophie

Über Autor(innen)

Welz, Claudia
Born 1974; studied theology and philosophy in Tübingen, Jerusalem, Munich and Heidelberg; PhD and habilitation at the Institute for Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Religion, University of Zurich; since 2010 Professor of Systematic Theology with special responsibilities in Ethics and Philosophy and Religion, and since 2014 Director of the Center for the Study of Jewish Thought in Modern Culture at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen.

Claudia Welz: Born 1974; studied theology and philosophy in Tübingen, Jerusalem, Munich and Heidelberg; 2003-06 PhD at the Institut für Hermeneutik und Religionsphilosophie, Universität Zürich; currently in a post-doctoral position at the Center for Subjectivity Research and lecturer at the Theology Faculty at the University of Copenhagen. Students and scholars of theology, philosophy, religious studies, phenomenology; jewish studies; corresponding institutes and libraries.