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Imagination und Utopie

Paul Tillich zur Theologie der Zukunft in den 1950er Jahren
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The Future of Protestantism
This chapter is in the book The Future of Protestantism

Abstract

In his lectures on the significance of utopia in the political life of the people from the 1950s, Tillich takes a rather ciritical stance towards any form of theological or political utopianism. In this he differs from his contemporaries, especially with regards to the use of the imagination. While he holds true that phantasy, or imagination, plays a crucial role for laying out possible futures, Tillich underlines the necessity of a critical framework to abolish any “mere phantasy” from within the realms of truth. This stance is deeply rooted in Tillich’s former development, especially from the Frankfurt phase of his work, and it contains several inspirations for recent and contemporary debates on future knowledge within philosophical theology.

Abstract

In his lectures on the significance of utopia in the political life of the people from the 1950s, Tillich takes a rather ciritical stance towards any form of theological or political utopianism. In this he differs from his contemporaries, especially with regards to the use of the imagination. While he holds true that phantasy, or imagination, plays a crucial role for laying out possible futures, Tillich underlines the necessity of a critical framework to abolish any “mere phantasy” from within the realms of truth. This stance is deeply rooted in Tillich’s former development, especially from the Frankfurt phase of his work, and it contains several inspirations for recent and contemporary debates on future knowledge within philosophical theology.

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