The philosophical-theological notion of Gegenwart: its adoption by Hans Jonas and its historical development

Abstract

Abstract Gegenwart is a German word which can be translated into English with the words Presence and/or Present in the “here and now,” but it can also imply the notion of “timelessness.” Different philosophers and theologians have used this word but I will argue that the richness of this word has often been “lost in translation” and thus the connotations of this German term need tobe explored in more detail to fully grasp what the authors intended to express when they used this word. As a case study, I will focus on how the famous thinker Hans Jonas uses this word in his writings showing the strong correlation with his understanding of good human actions performed before God, in agreement with his ethical approach built on the principle of human responsibility. This article also aims to illustrate the historical development of the concept of Gegenwart. This task will be achieved by analysing how several scholars (contemporaries of or preceding Jonas) have used the concept of Gegenwart over different periods of time and how this ultimately influenced Jonas.