Sociality, Church, and Philosophy

Abstract

Alessandro Clemenzia’s book addresses two deeply important themes in contemporary theological reflection: the question of the person, and the theme of the relation as it concretely actuates itself. In our current context, we tend to think first of the isolated and self-referential individual, and only then of that individual’s relation with the other. Clemenzia shows how the idea of “person” is still capable of expressing the original relationality of the human being. In his analysis of the theologian H. Mühlen, he looks at the Holy Spirit as the “a-priori We” who is the personification of the divine nature. He sees the “We” not just as the third to which the “I” and the “You” can address themselves: the “We” is primary and within. A second important contribution of this book is the thematization of original relationality of key concepts of theology (and of philosophy). This is a deeply rational relationality, it is a bond that draws us in, the logos, which unites the human and the divine. Finally, this implies a renewed vision of the Church: in it, relation is called to become communio, the experience of communitarian conversion.