The Problem Of The Idea Of Culture In John Paul Ii

In The Problem of the Idea of Culture in John Paul II: Exposing the Disruptive Agency of the Philosophy of Karol Wojtyła, John Corrigan provides a new lens with which to view and understand the philosophy of Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II. He exposes Wojtyła as a major player in contemporary philosophical debates. The work reformulates the “problem of experience” in light of the questions surrounding our idea of culture. Corrigan argues that for Wojtyła the drama of the “problem of experience” manifests in the apparently divergent accounts of the meaning of human experience as presented by the philosophies of being and of consciousness. Solving this conundrum results in an idea of the person capable of explaining human experience in relation to human culture,unfolding the experiences of self-knowledge, conscience, and the ontic-causal relationship of the person to human culture. The first part of the book concerns formal considerations regarding the constitutive aspects of Wojtyła’s approach, while the second part deals with pragmatic considerations drawn from his comments on culture.

Finding that a coherent philosophical view is present throughout much of Wojtyla's work, Schmitz also discovers that Wojtyla's sensitivity to both modern and ancient thought and culture was already vividly present in his work as a young student in Cracow. As Pope John Paul II continues to make his mark in the history of the Roman Catholic Church and of the world, this book will prove invaluable to philosophers, theologians, and the educated reader who wishes learn more about his thought.

This work undertakes a philosophical analysis and study of the thought of John Paul II on inculturation and evangelization. It investigates the development of the Pope's thought on inculturation and argues that inculturation is the central theme that unifies the Pope's encyclical. The relationship between inculturation and evangelization is argued for, with particular attention to the analysis of such themes as: creation as inculturation, incarnation as inculturation, and evangelization as inculturation. The text then argues that the relationships between these themes are not only reciprocal but hermeneutical. It also focuses on the relationship between hermeneutics and inculturation and argues that hermeneutics is the most rational foil for understanding the mechanics and the logic of inculturation. The text shows how inculturation, as proposed by Pope John Paul II, serves as a unifying principle that would usher in a new world order (intellectually and socially). Such world vision would allow for cooperation and unity between nations of varied cultures, and thus, allow for the development of a Christian and world community where peaceful co-existence would be a priority. This is the hope of the Pope's gospel of 'Evangelization 2000.'

Written by one of Pope John Paul II's closest friends and counselors, this intellectual biography is the standard work for all who want to understand John Paul's philosopical mind .

Culture and the Thomist Tradition examines the crisis of Thomism today as thrown into relief by Vatican II and synthesises the theological critiques of modernity to be found in the works of Alasdair MacIntyre and the Radical Orthodoxy circle.