Since Socrates, the effort to understand ourselves precisely as human has been the central occupation of Western thought. In this short, profound book Robert W. Jenson argues that not only are all philosophical attempts to accurately think the self doomed to failure, but also that the category "human" is unthinkable without reference to God. As Jenson says at the outset of the book, "our anthropological endeavors are at once impelled and checked by an epistemic quirk or set of quirks: notions we need to use and do use ...
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Since Socrates, the effort to understand ourselves precisely as human has been the central occupation of Western thought. In this short, profound book Robert W. Jenson argues that not only are all philosophical attempts to accurately think the self doomed to failure, but also that the category "human" is unthinkable without reference to God. As Jenson says at the outset of the book, "our anthropological endeavors are at once impelled and checked by an epistemic quirk or set of quirks: notions we need to use and do use when we talk about ourselves as human resist being thought." On Thinking the Human , which tackles this problem theologically while also giving a nod to philosophic heavyweights like Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, is a concise attempt to explain why this is so. Under chapter titles that reflect the problem's different facets -- "Thinking Death," "Thinking Consciousness," "Thinking Freedom," "Thinking Reality," "Thinking Wickedness," and "Thinking Love" -- Jenson limns the difficulty inherent in each concept and then shows how the unthinkable becomes thinkable in light of the triune God of Scripture.
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Add this copy of On Thinking the Human: Resolutions of Difficult Notions to cart. $14.14, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2003 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
This is an excellent collection of the thinking of Robert W. Jenson. Each chapter will make you think... and then think again. I had to read this little book several times and still find myself going back to reread several of the chapters. Jenson gives careful thought to a number of concepts that on the surface seem common enough until you really trying thinking them. He then puts each concept into the context to the triune God giving often unthinkable thoughts grounds for thinking. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to 'hear' the thoughts of a rigorous thinker on things common to all of us humans.
