Professor Maureen Junker-Kenny

Summary

In Juergen Habermas's two volume publication of 2019, Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie (Also a History of Philosophy), the interaction of the two strands appearing in the Axial Age, philosophical systems and the world religions, is reconstructed especially regarding the role of biblical monotheism for the development of postmetaphysical thinking. In this study, entitled, "The Bold Arcs of Salvation History". Faith and Reason in Jürgen Habermas's Reconstruction of the Roots of European Thinking, his outline of the impact of "Pauline Christianity" on European thought is analysed in nine chapters from the origins of Christianity to the modern era.

Funding Agency

n/a

Project Type

Monograph

Summary

Schleiermacher's theology is a test case for the encounter of the Enlightenment with Romanticism and Kant's Critiques with analyses of subjectivity. Celebrated and contested in his role as "Father of cultural Protestantism", co-founder of the University of Berlin in 1810, his work has inaugurated modernity in the history of Christian thinking. 2021 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of The Christian Faith, a thorough reconception of dogmatic theology after Kant's critique of the proofs for the existence of God. The study compares the two editions of 1821/22 and 1830/31 in their method, order and content and relates long-standing and recent debates in German-speaking and Anglophone scholarship to each other.

Funding Agency

none

Programme

n/a

Project Type

Monograph

Person Months

24

Summary

In German-speaking philosophical and theological ethics, there has been a debate about migration and cohesion at least since 2012, with even more publications since the arrival of a million refugees in Germany in 2015. It is a theme that brings together different disciplines and traditions of thinking in political ethics, theology and social theory. The visit of Prof. Corinna Mieth, a political philosopher, is to enable an interdisciplinary exchange on philosophical and theological perspectives with regard to migration, stability and solidarity. The proposals of the philosophers John Rawls, Jürgen Habermas, Paul Ricoeur and Seyla Benhabib will be compared on their understanding of reason, of morality and solidarity, of 'public', 'non-public', and 'private' spheres, and of the particularity of religious traditions. Rawls states that the stability of an overlapping consensus depends on the content of the religious and moral 'comprehensive doctrines' that are represented in a society. A longer term perspective for cooperation will be explored, 1) concerning the education of MPhil and PhD students who work on these issues, 2) on contributions to the journal Aequitas, and 3) possible national or European funding projects. Her visit from March 19-22,2019 is being funded by the AHSS Visiting Professor Fund, and Ruhr University Bochum will offer funding of 1000,- for subsequent visits.

Funding Agency

TCD, AHSS and Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

Programme

Visiting Professor Fund

Project Type

Preparation of collaboration

Person Months

1

Summary

- Approaches to Theological Ethics: Sources, Traditions, Visions offers an overview of sources and approaches to Christian Ethics. Part I treats its four sources and how they relate to other disciplines relevant for theology, such as biblical studies and hermeneutics, philosophy and the insights and issues arising in a scientific and technological culture. Part II compares current approaches to this theological discipline. Within each of the five frameworks, different conceptions are analyzed for their philosophical and theological backgrounds. They are compared according to criteria such as their selection of biblical sources, their theological consistency, and their ability to contribute to inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives. In an age of globalisation where different cultures, religions, lifestyles and values meet in the workplace, in schools, and in public spaces shaped by religious and cultural traditions, it is important to create possibilities and venues for dialogue. Analysing the variety of approaches to Theological Ethics will help articulate different visions of what constitutes a fulfilled life, of how the moral vocation of each human being can be supported, and of the role of the Christian faith for ethics.

Funding Agency

none

Project Type

Monograph

Person Months

12

Summary

Research visits to the Faculties of Protestant Theology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich and the Humboldt University in Berlin on my current research on F. Schleiermacher

Funding Agency

DAAD

Programme

DAAD Senior Research Fellowship