The Institute of St John presents The Importance of Subjectivity in the Philosophy of the Person

Br Thomas Dunton CSJ will give this lecture on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February at the Carmelite Church (41 Kensington Church St, London W8 4BB), from 7 – 9pm (talks from 7:30pm). 

What is the place of subjectivity in the human person – my emotions and subjective perspective? Compared with an older focus on the objective nature of human beings, the “turn to the subject” characterised the movement of modern thought; but many modern thinkers seem to have slipped into excessive subjectivism and lost the place of objectivity. Karol Wojtyla – the future pope John-Paul II – was an exception. Whilst integrating the modern approach to the human person through subjectivity, Wojtyla did not relinquish the rich value of objectivity found in classical thought.

Wojtyla grasped that the modern perspective was a needed complement to a traditional Catholic understanding of the human person. In a seminal paper of 1975, he argues for the philosophical importance of exploring subjectivity, thus contributing decisively to the personalist vision of what it means to be human, thereby laying the groundwork for his key later teaching, the “theology of the body.”

We will explore the personalist vision of man, comparing it with the traditional vision, and we will follow Wojtyla’s argumentation for the distinct importance to be given to subjectivity in the philosophy of the person.

Br Thomas Dunton recently completed his Master’s in personalist philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.

Suggested donation: £10 (£5 unwaged). Light refreshments will be provided.