When Liberalism Is Not Enough: Political Theology after Reinhold Niebuhr and Emmanuel Levinas

Religions

Kevin Carnahan¹  J.Aaron Simmons² 

[1] Department of Philosophy and Religion, Central Methodist University, Fayette, MO 65248, USA;Department of Philosophy, Furman University, Greenville, SC 29613, USA;

关键词: political theology;    Emmanuel Levinas;    Reinhold Niebuhr;    postmodern ethics;    liberalism;    justice;    love;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rel10070439

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In this paper, we are interested in extending out the dialectical models of religious ethics and political theology that Reinhold Niebuhr and Emmanuel Levinas began by enacting a conversation between these two theorists. We do this by presenting and critically comparing Niebuhr’s and Levinas’s thought as concerns three key issues in moral and political theory: (1) the nature of persons, (2) the source and content of the moral ideal of love and the political ideal of justice, and (3) the impossibility and yet continued practical relevance of ideals for social life. Ultimately, we conclude that they mutually offer reasons to find hope in the face of political cynicism.

【 授权许可】

Unknown