Theology and the interhuman

About this book

The essays in this volume are intended to recognize, honor, and respond to the multifaceted thought of Edward Farley. The title for this volume is meant to articulate both a central theme developed in Edward Farley's constructive theology and a broad connection between theology and other concerns: reflective ontology and deconstruction, intersubjectivity, ethics, and social-political criticism of advanced industrial society. The different voices and levels of concern of the contributors reflect the diverse and wide-ranging character of Farley's work. In his preface, editor Robert Williams notes that "Farley's constructive theology was inaugurated in his theological prolegomena, Ecclesial Man (1975), that appropriated not only Husserl's phenomenological method for theology but also Husserl's concept of the life-world (Lebenswelt). The life-world, as the concrete historical a priori underlying theoretical thought, is an interhuman domain that is also the locus of faith and ethics." Hence the title of this book, Theology and the Interhuman. Theology and the Interhuman, then, represents more than a collection of essays in honor of an influential scholar and teacher. While the various contributions concentrate on historical philosophical theology, theological education, and various areas of practical theology, they do so in a way that continues and expands conversations that have been and will be going on for some time.