Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural

In the article we propose an interpretation by H. de Lubac of the limits of Catholic theology and philosophy (the theory of the “two levels”), that fail to attribute enough importance to the category of “openness of man to otherness”, which lies at the core of the Catholic concept of “person”. The F...

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Main Author: S. ZOFFOLI
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: St. Tikhon's Orthodox University 2015-10-01
Series:Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия
Subjects:
Online Access:http://periodical.pstgu.ru/en/pdf/article/3071
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author S. ZOFFOLI
author_facet S. ZOFFOLI
author_sort S. ZOFFOLI
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description In the article we propose an interpretation by H. de Lubac of the limits of Catholic theology and philosophy (the theory of the “two levels”), that fail to attribute enough importance to the category of “openness of man to otherness”, which lies at the core of the Catholic concept of “person”. The French theologian first cleared the dangerous reduction of dualism between natural and supernatural. For this reason at the beginning of his career he was accused of trying to create a nouvelle théologie (new theology) different from neo-thomism, which in the first half of the 20th century was at the peak of its development and diff usion. According to de Lubac, it is necessary to go back to the teachings of the Fathers of the Church in order to open anew a vivifying bond between thought and life: he defended the thought of the Fathers and Thomas Aquinas about a dynamic link between human nature and divine life. De Lubac achieved this by studying the trait of “openness”: he speaks about a mysterious desire, that is an ineradicable part of human nature that strives for the eternal and doesn’t compel God to give an answer. This sublime characteristic of human nature, that reveals the inscrutable depth of its essence, is disclosed through an apophatic method and highlights a necessity, experienced only by the finest and deepest minds of Catholicism: the necessity of avoiding the transformation of Christianity into a rigid, monolithic system of abstract truths.
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spelling doaj.art-d59c76bb4a1043d29e3425a12708c62e2022-12-21T22:27:33ZrusSt. Tikhon's Orthodox UniversityВестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия1991-640X1991-640X2015-10-01561273710.15382/sturI201561.27-37Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and SupernaturalS. ZOFFOLIIn the article we propose an interpretation by H. de Lubac of the limits of Catholic theology and philosophy (the theory of the “two levels”), that fail to attribute enough importance to the category of “openness of man to otherness”, which lies at the core of the Catholic concept of “person”. The French theologian first cleared the dangerous reduction of dualism between natural and supernatural. For this reason at the beginning of his career he was accused of trying to create a nouvelle théologie (new theology) different from neo-thomism, which in the first half of the 20th century was at the peak of its development and diff usion. According to de Lubac, it is necessary to go back to the teachings of the Fathers of the Church in order to open anew a vivifying bond between thought and life: he defended the thought of the Fathers and Thomas Aquinas about a dynamic link between human nature and divine life. De Lubac achieved this by studying the trait of “openness”: he speaks about a mysterious desire, that is an ineradicable part of human nature that strives for the eternal and doesn’t compel God to give an answer. This sublime characteristic of human nature, that reveals the inscrutable depth of its essence, is disclosed through an apophatic method and highlights a necessity, experienced only by the finest and deepest minds of Catholicism: the necessity of avoiding the transformation of Christianity into a rigid, monolithic system of abstract truths.http://periodical.pstgu.ru/en/pdf/article/3071de LubacopennessCatholicismdualismhuman beingsupernaturalneo-ThomismThomas Aquinasdesireapophatism.
spellingShingle S. ZOFFOLI
Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural
Вестник Православного Свято-Тихоновского гуманитарного университета: Серия I. Богословие, философия
de Lubac
openness
Catholicism
dualism
human being
supernatural
neo-Thomism
Thomas Aquinas
desire
apophatism.
title Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural
title_full Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural
title_fullStr Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural
title_full_unstemmed Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural
title_short Man is Openness. Henri de Lubac and his Criticism of the Dualistic Split between the Natural and Supernatural
title_sort man is openness henri de lubac and his criticism of the dualistic split between the natural and supernatural
topic de Lubac
openness
Catholicism
dualism
human being
supernatural
neo-Thomism
Thomas Aquinas
desire
apophatism.
url http://periodical.pstgu.ru/en/pdf/article/3071
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