Abstract
By reference to the Platonic, Aristotelian, and Neo-Platonic philosophical traditions (and then to German Idealism, including Husserl and Heidegger), I will indicate the way in which the concept of reason—on the one side—depends on the horizon of spirituality (by searching for the ultimate ground within us and the striving for the highest good); and inversely—how far the idea of the divine or our spiritual self may be deepened, understood and transmitted by reference to reason and rationality. But whereas philosophical analysis aims at the universal dimensions of spirituality or the divine (as in Plato's idea of the 'highest good', the Aristotelian 'Absolute substance', the 'Oneness of the One' (Plotinus and the Neo-Platonists) or the Hegelian 'Absolute spirit'),—Comparative Theology may preserve the dimension of spirituality or divinity in its individuality and specifity. Comparative Theology mediates between the universality of the philosophical discourse and the uniqueness of our individual experience (symbolized by a sacred person—such as Jesus, Brahman, Buddha or Mohammed) by reflecting and analyzing our religious experiences and practices. Religion may lose its specificity by comparative conceptual analysis within the field of philosophy, but Comparative Theology may enhance the vital dimensions of the very same spiritual experience by placing them in a comparative perspective.
Highlights
While Comparative Theology refers to the insights of the respective religious traditions, their histories and practices,and remains bound to the horizon of specific religious experiences,Comparative Philosophy analyzes the methods and principles to justify the specific truth-claims within the different World-religions and Theologies
If Religion, as we argued, is irreducibly bound to our human life, touching the heart of our existence, Comparative Philosophy may develop the idea of the divine as the originating source of being as a whole within the different spiritual traditions
While Comparative Theology, as developed by Francis Clooney, refers to the insights of the respective religious traditions, their histories and practices, it takes the specific religious experiences of Christianity and the Hindu traditions as a starting point to prepare for a mutual learning
Summary
A further striking difference between the hemispheres of the European and Asian Civilizations may be found in contemporary history: While the idea of a unifying principle within the horizon of Christianity and its allied metaphysical traditions is abandoned within the horizon of a skeptical, relativistic and scientific modern Western philosophy, we face an upsurge of the profound and deep questioning of this topic within modern Asian spiritual philosophy An amazement and deep disquiet is pervading Western Philosophy and Theology, which leads to an irritation about one‘s own access to a value-based concept of humanity; while in modern Asian, Indian, Chinese and Japanese philosophy we still may find a strong tendency to generate distinguished theoretical concepts to found the spiritual basis of morality and a value-oriented approach to our self- and world-understanding. Does philosophy lose its founding principle in post-metaphysical times,—the consequences for the justification of religion as the essential basis of human existence should be still more serious: As reduced to our human needs or merely based on a human sentiment religion should no longer be able to develop an understanding of the relations between man and cosmos, immanence and transcendence within the framework of philosophy
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