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THE COLLEGE NEWS

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Page Seven



Wednesday, February 29,1956

Harvard Theologian Discusses ‘Existentialism And Religion’;
Shows Ambiguity Between Man’s Existence And Essence

Goodhart, Feb. 27—The existen-
tialist analysis is that which asks
the questions as to what makes
existence existence, that analysis
which discovers those categories
which distinguish man’s existence
from what he essentially is. Thus
noted Dr. Paul Tillich, University
Professor of Thelogy at Harvard,
in his lecture on “Existentialism

and Religion”, sponsored by the
Class of 1902.
The ultimate value of existen-

| tialism is that it asks the ques-

tions, that it brings to conscious-
ness the problems implicit in the
human situation. The answers to
these questions, in extentialist
thinkers from’ Pascal to Sartre,
necessarily come from elsewhere.

Extentialism presupposes a dis-
tinction between it and its con-
trary, essentialism. Both theories
define the human situation in terms
of man’s essence and man’s exist-
ence. The essentialists feel either
that man is what he essentially. is,
or that he is progressing toward
the point at which existence will
reach essence and be equivalent to
it:

The existentialist feels that al-

>, though this reconciliation might be

uttered in the minds of the Philo-
sophers, in the mind of the individ-
ual who must decide here and now,
there is no reconciliation between



essence and existence, The world
is” not reconciled; we are still in
conflict; and this is our destiny.
Dr. Tillich feels that existential-
ism in the 20th century “is the

greatest gift which has happened
to this diseased thing called theol-
ogy”. Existentialism is important
to religion because its analysis of
man’s very existence provides an
understanding of the questions to
which religious symbols give the
answers. We cannot grasp the
answers unless we understand the
questions to which they are the
answers,

Existentialism discovers the fin-
itude of the human situation and
our awareness to it; as Heidegger
says, we are “thrown into life”
from nothing and we return to
nothing. It provides a rediscovery
of the unconscious elements ‘in
man’s personal life and shows us
the finitude of reason, the depend-
ence of reason on trends in our-
selves which determine us when we
believe we are free.

Existentialism depicts the theme
of “estrangement? of man from
himself and the social estrange-
ment of man from his community.
This gives us an insight into the
background of our loneliness, the
inability to stand solitude which
drives us to conformity with Ries-
man’s “lonely crowd”.

And fourth, existentialism dis-



covers the ambiguity of existence:
nothing is absolutely good or bad,
and man also is a mixture of good
and bad. This discovery is a pre-
supposition for the understanding
of the Protestant doctrine of “ac-
ceptance in spite of being unac-
ceptable”.

Religion ‘gives existentialism the
answer that the tragic element is
not the ultimate one,, It opens. the
eyes so that they can see autono-
mously. It gives to the descrip-
tion of man’s situation a new di-
mension, that of the eternal. It
liberates existence from complete
tragedy in that it tells us that al-
though every human being is dés-
tined to estrangement, the individ-
ual is both dependent on. his des-
tiny and responsible. This seem-
ing paradox is not really a contra-
diction when it is described in sym-
bols rather than categories.

Dr. Tillich feels that the ques-
tion of existence can be answered
today by courage, the central ele-
ment of all faith—courage in spite
of finitude, estrangement, and am-
biguity. This courage is faith in
the message that we are accepted;
it age eg a to accept
ourgelves and to affirm ourselves,
to-“risk ourselves and perhaps win

ourselves”.
b le

major contention in Jacob Viner’s



Viner Speaks On “Moral Philosophy
In The Service Of The Status Quo”

GOODHART, Feb. 22. — That
most moral philosophers writing in
England between 1660 and 1776

looked for the moral sources to e

plain the value of a static social
condition which they were already
predisposed to espouse was the

lecture on “Moral Philosophy in
the Service of the Status Quo.”

This lecture was: the third in a se-
ries on British Social Thought be-
tween 1660 and. 1776.

The period is characterized by
an essential unity and harmony in
its moral thought. It conforms to
the spirit of the age, that of “froz-
en. and. static social conservatism,”
and its purpose is not to criticize
or change England, but explain
why existing conditions are so
good. - :

In deriving the splendid existing
conditions. from—moral-sources,-the
philosophers’of the period fall into
ecntending schools, all of ,which
were forced to consider and refute
the social, political and ethical the-
ories of Thomas Hobbes.

Hobbes accepts the existence of
moral obligation (“laws of na-
ture’) but feels that because man
is self-seeking and the slave of his
passions, morality is inoperable in
practice unless it is implemented
with a power strong enough to



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cause moral laws to be obeyed.

Such a doctrine was anathema to
Hobbes’ contemporaries, who gen-
erally question Hobbes’ views on
human nature. The central theme
of their thought is utilitarian: how
is the temporal happiness of man
to be obtained, they ask. The an-
swers fall into two main categor-
ies, the so-called “sentimental” and
selfish” schools of thought.

The Sentimental School, includ-
ing such thinkers as Cumberland,
Shaftesbury, Hutcheson and Adam
Smith, felt that man had a natural
instinct toward rationality, benev-
olence and socialization.

The Selfish School accepts
Hobbes’ account of human nature:
man is calculating, self-seeking
and incapable of disinterested be-
havior. However, the group known
as the “theological utilitarians” be-
lieves that much of social behavior
is outside the jurisdiction of posi-
tive-law..-Therefore,-we-need.-relig-
ious principles; these we obtain
through revelation which tells us
that if we are virtuous we will be
rewarded after death.

AT THE MOVIES

BRYN MAWR

Feb. 29-Mar. 1—Kismet.

Mar. 2-3—Court Martial of Billy
Mitchell.

Mar. 4-5— Lawless Street an
The Spoilers.

Mar. 6-7—Rains of Ranchipur.

ARDMORE

Feb. 29-Mar. 2—Ransom.,

Mar. 3-5—The Day the World
Ended and Phantom from 2000
Leagues.

SUBURBAN

Mar. 4-7—Dial M for Murder

and Strangers on a Train.
’ GREENHILL

Feb. 29-Mar. 7—The Night My

Number Came Up.

ANTHONY WAYNE

Feb. 29—Dial-M for Murder.

Mar. 1—Gentlemen Marry Bru-
nettes.

Mar. 2-3:— Lieutenant Wore
Skirts.

Mar. 4-5—The Day the World
Ended and. Phantom from 2000
Leagues.





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