Personalism

[Onegin]

I just wanted to get some opinions on this. I read a book at my University about this school of thought and, from what I understand, Pope JPII subscribed to a lot of the Personalist ideas and, from what I have heard (I would be interested in some examples) Pope Benedict also approves of it to some extent.

For those who don’t know what personalism is, it is more or less the study of the human person and the concept of what is referred to as incommunicability or, in other words, the uniqueness of each individual. One example I heard was that of a tree - the idea that each tree is exactly the same and yet each one is still unique.

Perhaps someone else can help with a more coherent definition and add as to whether they think some of the post-conciliar documents reflect an acceptance or promulgation of the idea of personalism.

Thanks!

 

[JKirkLVNV]

I just wanted to get some opinions on this. I read a book at my University about this school of thought and, from what I understand, Pope JPII subscribed to a lot of the Personalist ideas and, from what I have heard (I would be interested in some examples) Pope Benedict also approves of it to some extent.

For those who don’t know what personalism is, it is more or less the study of the human person and the concept of what is referred to as incommunicability or, in other words, the uniqueness of each individual. One example I heard was that of a tree - the idea that each tree is exactly the same and yet each one is still unique.

Perhaps someone else can help with a more coherent definition and add as to whether they think some of the post-conciliar documents reflect an acceptance or promulgation of the idea of personalism.

Thanks!

I don’t know anything about it at all, though I’ve been meaning to learn about it. I will read this thread with interest. I seem to recall that St. Edith Stein also subscribed to this. Or maybe that was phenomenology? Are you sure it isn’t that, phenomenology?

 

[PaulinVA]

Wikipedia says:
Personalism is a philosophical school of thought searching to describe the uniqueness of a human person in the world of nature, specifically in relation to animals. One of the main points of interest of personalism is human subjectivity or self-consciousness, experienced in a person’s own acts and inner happenings - in “everything in the human being that is internal, whereby each human being is an eye witness of its own self”.[JPII]
Other principles:

1. 
   *]Persons have unique value, and
   *]Only persons have free will
   
   It sounds pretty benign to me.

 

[Onegin]

I am fairly certain that Phenomenology also plays a role but I was thinking that Personalism was a distinct idea which led to some of the Church’s newer teaching focusing more intently on the idea of the dignity of the human person, which has been the subject of some debate.

Again, perhaps someone versed in these ideas can help. The book I read was entitled “Personalism” and it was a translation written by a French author.

 

[Timothy17]

So far as I can tell, “personalism” is Holy Mother Church’s developing reply to the constant academic and intellectual pulling of either individualism (capitalism) and collectivism (socialism), both of which theories seem inadequate to her in context of moral teaching and Revelation. Holy Mother Church, as we know from Relevation, is ever as a Woman in labour, and slowly and painfully does she give birth to her children (doctrines, in this sense).

The Church is recognizing - and in my view rightly - that neither individualism nor collectivism adequately explain the political or social reality of humanity, which is not surprising as both streams of thought tend to relegate God to a secondary consideration, if at all, and each system of thought generally requires serious moral compromises at the expense of the “collective good” or the “individual good,” depending, in order to “work,” which neither system tends to do in a manner that satisfies even the human sense of fairness or divine law itself.

Personalism is developing, and in my opinion the Church is inviting, serious academic thought and consideration to this idea as a seed that, if “planted (developed),” can bear much “fruit (as a teaching in action in the social order).”

Personalism is inticing as it seems to lend itself to :
I. The solidarity of the human family (i.e., all humanity as the descendent of a single man and wife (Adam and Eve) ; that is, the descendents of common parents, and

II. The Holy Trinity and the Holy Family as a relation (or even “economy”) of persons both human and divine, and thus affirmations of “the Way” - as a teaching being communicated by none other than God Himself to humanity about who we are and how we should live and relate to one another.

Personalism is thus intrinsically opposed to racism, classes, caste systems, etc, and also elevates the “dignity of the human person” as being a manifestation of God’s own creative action and power, hence as being positively “God given.”

Personalism tends towards objective belief in the Common Good ; that is, it is possible for something to be good for each and all, whether “individually” or “collectively,” and therefore, moral compromises are not reasonably permissible on an intellectual or moral basis.

In personalism, we can look upon (as I have said) the Trinity and the Holy Family as a kind of starting grounds for intellectual consideration of what a person fundamentally is, and how persons relate to one another. Personalism, therefore, lends support to the Christian concepts of a “community of persons” and understanding the world and God as being somehow a relationship of persons, and not only in terms of power or authority, as in a Creator → Creature relationship, which seems too cold and impersonal for a Christian.

Pax,
Tim