The Self, Its Ideal, and God: The Implications of Non-Objective Self-Experience

Authors

Jeremy H. Smith, Otterbein UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Publication Title

The New Yearbook for Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy

Publisher

Acumen Publishing

Keywords

self, ipseity, haecceity, Existenz, phenomenological theology, James G. Hart

Abstract

This article explicates the unified argument of James G. Hart's 1200 page work Who One Is. Hart begins with an exploration of the non-objective self as propertyless ipseity; then relates that sheer ipseity to the concrete development a self; and then, that self to the ideal self which guides its development; and finally, the ideal self to God as its origin. Hart also shows the relevance of Jaspers' notion of Existenz at each of these stages. The uniqueness and “mineness” of any “I” cannot be a matter of properties. Each “I” is a unique “haecceity” for which multiple instantiation would be meaningless. Hart concludes with a fully developed theology of selfhood according to which God's creation of the “haecceities” is an act of sheer generosity.

First Page

384

Last Page

410

Volume

12

Repository Citation

Smith, Jeremy H., "The Self, Its Ideal, and God: The Implications of Non-Objective Self-Experience" (2012). English Faculty Scholarship. 3.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/eng_fac/3

Original Citation

Smith, Jeremy H.. "The Self, Its Ideal, and God: The Implications of Non-Objective Self-Experience", The New Yearbook for Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy. Ed. Burt Hopkins and John Drummond. 1^st ed. Vol. 12. Durham: Acumen Publishing, 2013. pp. 384-410.

Version

Post-Print

Peer Reviewed

1