The Biblical Vision of the Human Person: Implications for a Philosophical Anthropology (Europaische Hochschulschriften Reihe Xxiii, Theologie)

Although modern study of the Bible has made impressive philological advances, it lacks an adequate philosophical frame of reference that would link the symbolism of the Biblical narrative to the problems of human existence. The present work sets out to provide the germ of a philosophy of language and human consciousness that would serve as a basis for a proper exegesis of the Biblical text. Part One establishes the historical, philosophical and hermeneutical framework by examining the link between experience, symbolization and the structure of human consciousness as elaborated historically in myth and philosophy. Part Two applies this framework to representative anthropological texts from the Old and New Testaments in order to forge a link between the Biblical symbolism and the fundamental problems of human existence. Part Three draws attention to the implications of the inquiry for a philosophical anthropology and a more comprehensive hermeneutical framework.