The Catholic Philosophical Imagination

Dear Colleagues,

This issue of Religions explores the ideas and debates that arise when Catholics imagine the world through philosophical inquiry. Instances of Catholic philosophical imagination are as wide-ranging and far-reaching as the intellectual tradition from which they emerge. In each case, the Catholic approach - where faith seeks understanding and understanding seeks faith – gives some insight into the Catholic vision of reality. For instance, Catholic philosophers tend to imagine and philosophize about the world as cosmos and as sacrament; the human person made in God’s image as relational, personal, and communal; and the ethical virtuous life as personal participation in the cooperation of nature and grace.

Debates about the nature of the Catholic imagination continue in theological circles. However, while various volumes exist that explore particular Catholic philosophers, few expand on how Catholic philosophers have contributed to the theme of imagination in its broader contexts. Discussions of “imaginaries” have been perhaps more dominant, and can aid in understanding imagination on philosophical rather than only literary or sociological terms. To name a few areas, the theme of imagination can be developed within metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, phenomenology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, of art, of culture, and of religion.

This volume welcomes contributions from any historical era. However, articles engaging with the thought of twentieth and twenty-first century philosophers are encouraged. Pieces might develop specific principles, concepts and themes within a thinker. They might analyze a debate between thinkers. Preference will be given to those articles that demonstrate a Catholic philosophical imagination in action. All selected articles will contribute toward answering the question: “what is distinctive about the Catholic philosophical imagination?”

Suggested thinkers include but are not limited to: G.E.M. Anscombe, Michel de Certeau, William Desmond, Louis Dupré, John Finnis, Elizabeth Fox Genovese, René Girard, Alice von Hildebrand, Dietrich von Hildebrand, Alasdair MacIntyre, Jean-Luc Marion, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Edmund Mounier, Walter J. Ong, Max Scheler, Edith Stein, Charles Taylor, David Walsh, Karoł Wojtyla.

Prof. Renée Köhler-Ryan
Guest Editor

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