Beschreibung
What is the human »self«? What constitutes our identity? These questions, particularly today, shape philosophical discourse.
In Spiritual Metaphysics – Principles of Subjectivity in Patristic Philosophy Stephan Hecht traces the origins of Western subjectivity through Patristic philosophy. He shows that the Church Fathers developed an independent theory of the human »self« that reverberates through medieval and modern thought, forming the foundation of Western conceptions of subjectivity and a specific metaphysics that surrounds it. Central to this vision is the Platonic homo interior, giving rise to a “Spiritual Metaphysics” where interiority is a site of ongoing agency between the individual and the divine. By fusing Platonic forms with religious symbolism, Patristic philosophy reconceived the homo interior as a “topography of divine presence,” redefining subjectivity as relational and communicative participation, and laying the foundation for modern understandings of the »self«.
Stephan Hecht, Dr. phil., Dr. theol., Lic. iur. can. After completing his doctoral studies in Regensburg and Munich, the author currently teaches at Fordham University London.