Affective Life in Pannenberg and Human Openness to the World
My reflections here are with theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg on the role of the affective life in understanding human openness to the world. In this case, he will use these reflections to re-think the classic notion of creation in the image of God as well as the classic notion of original sin. We need to explore the theme of our identity and non-identity in the context of affective life. My attempt here is to provide an ontology of feeling. This notion moves against the tradition that offers the distinguishing mark of humanity as being rationality. As important as rationality is, we have good reason to suspect that the interior, affective life of humanity reveals far more than we think. The tension between identity and nonidentity is a theme of affective life. It shows itself in the antagonism individuals experience toward society. The quest for wholeness su...