Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Dramatic Structure of Truth: A Philosophical Investigation

472 Pages·2004·1.551 MB·English

by  David C. Schindler

Hans Urs von Balthasar
and the Dramatic Structure of Truth
Series Board
James Bernauer
Drucilla Cornell
Thomas R. Flynn
Kevin Hart
Richard Kearney
Jean-Luc Marion
Adriaan Peperzak
Thomas Sheehan
David Tracy
Hent de Vries
Merold Westphal
Edith Wyschogrod
Michael Zimmerman
John D. Caputo, series editor

D . C . S C H I N D L E R
Hans Urs von Balthasar
and the Dramatic Structure of Truth
A Philosophical Investigation
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York ■■ 2004
Copyright © 2004 Fordham University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechani-
cal, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed
reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Perspectives in Continental Philosophy Series, No. 34
ISSN 1089-3938
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schindler, D. C.
Hans Urs von Balthasar and the dramatic structure of truth : a philosophical
investigation / by D.C. Schindler.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Perspectives in continental philosophy, ISSN 1089-3938 ; no. 34)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8232-2321-3 (hardcover)—ISBN 0-8232-2322-1 (pbk.)
1. Balthasar, Hans Urs von, 1905- 2. Truth. I. Title. II. Series.
BX4705.B163S34 2004
121.'092—dc22
2003024302
Printed in the United States of America
08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1
First edition
Contents
Abbreviations ix
Note on Translations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
The Plan of the Present Work
Drama and Gestalt in Balthasar
1 The Gift of Being Given 28
The Fourfold Difference
Polarity: The Moving Image
Being in Action: The Moving Idea
Conclusion: The Originality of Being
2 The Birth of Consciousness 96
The Transcendental Unity of Apperception and the
Problem of Self-Consciousness
Consciousness as Birth: Donum Doni
Attunement to Being
The Unity of Consciousness
Apriority: A Presuppositionless Philosophy?
3 Truth as Gestalt 163
Gestalt and Motion
Characteristics of the Gestalt
Gestalt as Epiphany and Conversio
Gestalt as Unifying Knowledge
Truth as Fruitfulness
4 Meta-anthropology: The Person as Actor of Truth 255
Meta-Anthropology as Dramatic Role
Body and Soul in Human Being and Knowing
Death, Martyrdom, and Drama: The Foundation of Truth
Status Vitae as Paradigm of Dramatic Gestalt
Conclusion: Marriage and the Task of Meta-anthropology
5 The Transcendentals 350
The Transcendental Paradox
The Transcendentals in Balthasar
Truth and Goodness in Beauty
The Transcendentals and the Meaning of Being
Conclusion:The Dramatic Structure of Truth 422
Bibliography 429
Index 447
viii ■■ Contents
Abbreviations
Below is a list of abbreviations used in this work. Books or essays listed
without the author’s name are by Hans Urs von Balthasar. Full titles and
information are provided in the bibliography.
ADS Apokalypse der deutschen Seele
CA Der Christ und die Angst
CathPhil “On the Tasks of Catholic Philosophy in Our Time”
CJ Kant’s Critique of Judgment
CPR Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
CSL The Christian State of Life
De pot. Aquinas’s Quaestiones disputatae, De potentia dei
De ver. Aquinas’s Quaestiones disputatae, De veritate
DK Diels and Kranz’s Fragmente der Vorsokratiker
E Epilog
EuP Evangelium und Philosophie
GL 1–7 The Glory of the Lord,vols. 1–7
GW The Grain of Wheat
HA Ulrich’s Homo Abyssus
KL Kosmische Liturgie
LA Love Alone
Meta. Aristotle’s Metaphysics
MetaPrz “Die Metaphysik Erich Przywaras”
MTG “Movement toward God”
ix
MW My Work
PCM “Philosophy, Christianity, Monasticism”
PF “Persönlichkeit und Form”
PT Presence and Thought
Rep. Plato’s Republic
RT “A Résumé of My Thought”
SCG Aquinas’s Summa Contra Gentiles
ST Aquinas’s Summa Theologica
TD 1–5 Theo-Drama,vols. 1–5
TE Test Everything
TL 1–3 Theologic,vol. 1 (English translation) and Theologik,
vols. 2 and 3
UBC Unless You Become Like This Child
x ■■ Abbreviations