Dialectic as dialogue: Emil Brunner's theology of encounter

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of Emil Brunner’s theological epistemology, arguing that epistemic questions and concerns stand at the center of Brunner’s entire theological project. One cannot properly understand Brunner unless they have attended to the epistemic concerns that his early work explores and to the epistemic claims that his later work makes, especially his understanding of ‘truth as encounter.’ Encounter, moreover, is a concept that Brunner formulates with assistance from the dialogical philosophy of Ferdinand Ebner and Martin Buber. Brunner is not understood based on his dialectical commitments alone but must also be read in light of his dialogical sensibilities – i.e., in light of the dialogical principles operative in his concept of encounter. Operating within a dialectical framework, Brunner utilizes dialogical philosophy to bring epistemic and personalist interests together under the doctrine of encounter.

The project starts by situating Brunner within a historical and conceptual context and follows with a descriptive analysis of Brunner’s epistemic preoccupations as they developed across his career to arrive at the claim of truth as encounter. The final chapter moves beyond descriptive analysis into an exploratory application. Chapter 1 orients Brunner within an intellectual and historical context by clarifying the movement known as ‘dialectical theology’ based on its historical origins, theological commitments, and Brunner’s self-understanding. Chapter 2 traces Brunner’s early theological development between 1914 and 1924. This chapter highlights Brunner’s early epistemic interests, intellectual influences, and ultimate disenchantment with the modernism of his youth. Chapter 3 takes up Brunner’s claim that from 1925 onwards the dialectic of law and gospel stood at the center of his thought, showing how Brunner correlates these categories respectively with epistemic notions of the impersonal (law) and personal (gospel). Chapter 4 is an examination of Brunner’s concept of truth as encounter which he claims to be the final ‘lodestar’ of his theological thinking. This chapter expounds on Brunner’s use of dialogical philosophy (esp. Ebner and Buber) to bring epistemic and personalist interests together under the doctrine of encounter. Chapter 5 builds on the dialogical logic operative in Brunner’s concept of encounter and argues for the prospects of a dialogical theology – i.e., a mode of theological inquiry that explicitly utilizes the language and principles of dialogical thought. The outcome is a theological posture, a way of orienting oneself within theological inquiry that is acutely attuned to the possibilities and implications of one’s relating to God, the world, and others. Herein, theology understands itself principally as a way of relating, holding only loosely to the authority and finality of its doctrine but firmly to the relationships in which it participates. This thesis utilizes the concepts of dialectic and dialogue to frame Brunner’s theology around an epistemic center and, finally, suggests dialogical theology as a productive means for contemporary theological engagement. In this way, two contributions are made. First, a contribution is made to scholarship on Brunner by giving a more thorough and sustained examination of Brunner’s epistemology than is otherwise available. Second, the proposal of a dialogical theology offers creative avenues for continued engagement with and beyond Brunner.This thesis is an examination of Emil Brunner’s theological epistemology, arguing that epistemic questions and concerns stand at the center of Brunner’s entire theological project. One cannot properly understand Brunner unless they have attended to the epistemic concerns that his early work explores and to the epistemic claims that his later work makes, especially his understanding of ‘truth as encounter.’ Encounter, moreover, is a concept that Brunner formulates with assistance from the dialogical philosophy of Ferdinand Ebner and Martin Buber. Brunner is not understood based on his dialectical commitments alone but must also be read in light of his dialogical sensibilities – i.e., in light of the dialogical principles operative in his concept of encounter. Operating within a dialectical framework, Brunner utilizes dialogical philosophy to bring epistemic and personalist interests together under the doctrine of encounter. The project starts by situating Brunner within a historical and conceptual context and follows with a descriptive analysis of Brunner’s epistemic preoccupations as they developed across his career to arrive at the claim of truth as encounter. The final chapter moves beyond descriptive analysis into an exploratory application. Chapter 1 orients Brunner within an intellectual and historical context by clarifying the movement known as ‘dialectical theology’ based on its historical origins, theological commitments, and Brunner’s self-understanding. Chapter 2 traces Brunner’s early theological development between 1914 and 1924. This chapter highlights Brunner’s early epistemic interests, intellectual influences, and ultimate disenchantment with the modernism of his youth. Chapter 3 takes up Brunner’s claim that from 1925 onwards the dialectic of law and gospel stood at the center of his thought, showing how Brunner correlates these categories respectively with epistemic notions of the impersonal (law) and personal (gospel). Chapter 4 is an examination of Brunner’s concept of truth as encounter which he claims to be the final ‘lodestar’ of his theological thinking. This chapter expounds on Brunner’s use of dialogical philosophy (esp. Ebner and Buber) to bring epistemic and personalist interests together under the doctrine of encounter. Chapter 5 builds on the dialogical logic operative in Brunner’s concept of encounter and argues for the prospects of a dialogical theology – i.e., a mode of theological inquiry that explicitly utilizes the language and principles of dialogical thought. The outcome is a theological posture, a way of orienting oneself within theological inquiry that is acutely attuned to the possibilities and implications of one’s relating to God, the world, and others. Herein, theology understands itself principally as a way of relating, holding only loosely to the authority and finality of its doctrine but firmly to the relationships in which it participates. This thesis utilizes the concepts of dialectic and dialogue to frame Brunner’s theology around an epistemic center and, finally, suggests dialogical theology as a productive means for contemporary theological engagement. In this way, two contributions are made. First, a contribution is made to scholarship on Brunner by giving a more thorough and sustained examination of Brunner’s epistemology than is otherwise available. Second, the proposal of a dialogical theology offers creative avenues for continued engagement with and beyond Brunner.