The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin
Despite his impeccable academic pedigree, a protégé of Josiah Royce and a friend and student of William James, John Elof Boodin is nearly forgotten today among American philosophers; hence, an essential aspect of his thought lost to history is his contribution to process theology. The leading featur...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/238 |
| _version_ | 1827755815826620416 |
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| author | Michael A. Flannery |
| author_facet | Michael A. Flannery |
| author_sort | Michael A. Flannery |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite his impeccable academic pedigree, a protégé of Josiah Royce and a friend and student of William James, John Elof Boodin is nearly forgotten today among American philosophers; hence, an essential aspect of his thought lost to history is his contribution to process theology. The leading features of process thought demonstrate Boodin’s connections to this unique theology and show it to have been established early on, as early as 1900 and 1904. This places Boodin’s writing on process philosophy/theology well <i>before</i> Alfred North Whitehead, the putative pioneer in modern process metaphysics, by more than twenty years, and co-extensive with Henri Bergson, who influenced Whitehead. Nevertheless, when Boodin is discussed today, it is usually as an early pragmatist rather than as a process philosopher. The central claim of this essay argues that Boodin is best understood as a pragmatically influenced process theist, one of the first in a modern context. This historiographical revision will permit a better portrayal of process thought by revealing a more nuanced and pluralistic theological landscape beyond the standard Bergsonian/Whiteheadian/Hartshornian triumvirate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:13:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eba5e32c7ad640638aa297903cfaac89 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:13:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-eba5e32c7ad640638aa297903cfaac892023-11-16T22:59:58ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-02-0114223810.3390/rel14020238The Process Theology of John Elof BoodinMichael A. Flannery0UAB Libraries, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USADespite his impeccable academic pedigree, a protégé of Josiah Royce and a friend and student of William James, John Elof Boodin is nearly forgotten today among American philosophers; hence, an essential aspect of his thought lost to history is his contribution to process theology. The leading features of process thought demonstrate Boodin’s connections to this unique theology and show it to have been established early on, as early as 1900 and 1904. This places Boodin’s writing on process philosophy/theology well <i>before</i> Alfred North Whitehead, the putative pioneer in modern process metaphysics, by more than twenty years, and co-extensive with Henri Bergson, who influenced Whitehead. Nevertheless, when Boodin is discussed today, it is usually as an early pragmatist rather than as a process philosopher. The central claim of this essay argues that Boodin is best understood as a pragmatically influenced process theist, one of the first in a modern context. This historiographical revision will permit a better portrayal of process thought by revealing a more nuanced and pluralistic theological landscape beyond the standard Bergsonian/Whiteheadian/Hartshornian triumvirate.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/238process theologymetaphysicsJohn Elof BoodinAlfred North WhiteheadCharles HartshorneHenri Bergson |
| spellingShingle | Michael A. Flannery The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin Religions process theology metaphysics John Elof Boodin Alfred North Whitehead Charles Hartshorne Henri Bergson |
| title | The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin |
| title_full | The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin |
| title_fullStr | The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin |
| title_short | The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin |
| title_sort | process theology of john elof boodin |
| topic | process theology metaphysics John Elof Boodin Alfred North Whitehead Charles Hartshorne Henri Bergson |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/2/238 |
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