Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History

This article presents an analysis of the Sino-Christian philosophy of history created by Archbishop Stanislaus Lo Kuang (1911–2004), whose comprehensive view of historiography and the historical process situates him amongst very few contemporary thinkers interested in developing a distinctively Chri...

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Main Author: Dawid Rogacz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/3/218
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author Dawid Rogacz
author_facet Dawid Rogacz
author_sort Dawid Rogacz
collection DOAJ
description This article presents an analysis of the Sino-Christian philosophy of history created by Archbishop Stanislaus Lo Kuang (1911–2004), whose comprehensive view of historiography and the historical process situates him amongst very few contemporary thinkers interested in developing a distinctively Christian yet strictly philosophical outlook of human history. It is shown that for Lo, an inquiry into the structure of historical facts leads to uncovering their meaning, which is identical with the meaning of human life, namely the search for happiness. Humans, driven by their nature and led by heroes, move freely towards what they consider greater happiness, realizing that this requires ever greater freedom and equality. God is introduced in this approach only as a guarantee of the fulfillment of the deepest desires and the One who inscribed them into human hearts. Importantly, in his discussion of God’s relation to history, Lo Kuang refers to the Confucian conceptions of human nature, Heaven, and destiny, offering a cross-cultural synthesis at the intersection of the theology and philosophy of history. It is argued that despite its inconsistencies, Lo Kuang’s contribution is original and could still be relevant for global society today.
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spelling doaj.art-58b799b77a6c4521a001691b134010e32023-11-30T22:09:57ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-03-0113321810.3390/rel13030218Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of HistoryDawid Rogacz0Faculty of Philosophy, Adam Mickiewicz University, 60-568 Poznan, PolandThis article presents an analysis of the Sino-Christian philosophy of history created by Archbishop Stanislaus Lo Kuang (1911–2004), whose comprehensive view of historiography and the historical process situates him amongst very few contemporary thinkers interested in developing a distinctively Christian yet strictly philosophical outlook of human history. It is shown that for Lo, an inquiry into the structure of historical facts leads to uncovering their meaning, which is identical with the meaning of human life, namely the search for happiness. Humans, driven by their nature and led by heroes, move freely towards what they consider greater happiness, realizing that this requires ever greater freedom and equality. God is introduced in this approach only as a guarantee of the fulfillment of the deepest desires and the One who inscribed them into human hearts. Importantly, in his discussion of God’s relation to history, Lo Kuang refers to the Confucian conceptions of human nature, Heaven, and destiny, offering a cross-cultural synthesis at the intersection of the theology and philosophy of history. It is argued that despite its inconsistencies, Lo Kuang’s contribution is original and could still be relevant for global society today.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/3/218Lo KuangSino-TheologyNeo-ScholasticismNew ConfucianismTaiwanese philosophyphilosophy of history
spellingShingle Dawid Rogacz
Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History
Religions
Lo Kuang
Sino-Theology
Neo-Scholasticism
New Confucianism
Taiwanese philosophy
philosophy of history
title Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History
title_full Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History
title_fullStr Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History
title_full_unstemmed Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History
title_short Pushed Forward by Lifted Hearts: On Stanislaus Lo Kuang’s Sino-Christian Philosophy of History
title_sort pushed forward by lifted hearts on stanislaus lo kuang s sino christian philosophy of history
topic Lo Kuang
Sino-Theology
Neo-Scholasticism
New Confucianism
Taiwanese philosophy
philosophy of history
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/3/218
work_keys_str_mv AT dawidrogacz pushedforwardbyliftedheartsonstanislauslokuangssinochristianphilosophyofhistory