Sunday, November 29, 2009

Jenson on consciousness (from a theological perspective)...

"Kant used the notion of a transcendental unity of consciousness in radically individualist fashion: the whole rest of the world, other persons included, provide my consciousness with raw data, which are pulled together from an inalienably private focus behind my metaphysical back. But, of course, there are no mere data to be handled in this fashion; the world unified in my consciousness is always already interpreted in the life of some community, first the life of the triune community within which I am created and then the life of the created communities I thereupon inhabit. I participate in the unifying of my consciousness, I do not simply do it.

I am conscious of things from a perspectival point - and so am conscious at all - because I exist in and by the web of some community or communities... created persons have each our perspectival focus in that we are simultaneously located within the triune history and community and within created human history and community."

Robert Jenson (On Thinking the Human)

1 comment:

Phil Higley said...

Cool post.

I've got Jenson's systematic theology, and his book on Jonathan Edwards. He seems to think Edwards was the best theologian in American history. Anyhow, I still need to read through his systematics. T.F. Torrence said it was one of the best systematics since Barth--even though Barth would say he didn't do a systematic theology, hehe.

Later Geoff...