Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Paul Tillich’s Systematic Theology

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Animals in Tillich's Philosophical Theology

Part of the book series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ((PMAES))

Abstract

Part I of the system specifically deals with cognition. Since all knowledge is an intrinsic facet of our being, it begins with an examination of ‘being’ generally, rather than specifically examining the problem of what one can know with any degree of certainty. In order to achieve this, two main types of reason are distinguished: ‘ontological reason’ (which refers to knowledge about the nature of being) and ‘technical reason’ (which refers to our ‘capacity for reasoning’).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Tillich, STI, p. 73.

  2. 2.

    Tillich, STI, p. 72.

  3. 3.

    Tillich, STI, p. 73.

  4. 4.

    Tillich, STI, p. 77.

  5. 5.

    For a fuller examination of the potential consequences of the distortion of human finite reason, see Chap. 4, ‘Tillich’s Concept of Technical Reason’ pp. 98–113.

  6. 6.

    Tillich, STI, p. 111.

  7. 7.

    Tillich, STI, p. 98.

  8. 8.

    Tillich, STI, p. 105.

  9. 9.

    Tillich, STI, p. 110.

  10. 10.

    Tillich, STI, p. 85.

  11. 11.

    Tillich, STI, emphasis p. 108 ff.

  12. 12.

    Tillich, STI, p. 112.

  13. 13.

    Tillich, STI, p. 117.

  14. 14.

    Tillich, STI, p. 116.

  15. 15.

    Tillich, STI, p. 133.

  16. 16.

    Tillich, STI, p. 135.

  17. 17.

    Tillich, STI, p. 147.

  18. 18.

    Tillich, STI, p. 148.

  19. 19.

    Tillich, STI, p. 152.

  20. 20.

    Tillich, STI, p. 146.

  21. 21.

    Tillich, STI, p. 164.

  22. 22.

    Tillich, STI, p. 164.

  23. 23.

    STI, p. 236.

  24. 24.

    STI, p. 253.

  25. 25.

    STI, p. 234.

  26. 26.

    STI, p. 164.

  27. 27.

    Tillich, STI, p. 168.

  28. 28.

    The issue of how animals fit into Tillich’s system will be examined further in Parts II (pp. 97–159) and III (pp. 160–224).

  29. 29.

    Tillich, STI, p. 170.

  30. 30.

    Tillich, STI, p. 165.

  31. 31.

    Tillich, STI, p. 175.

  32. 32.

    Tillich, STI, p. 176.

  33. 33.

    Tillich, STI, p. 178.

  34. 34.

    Tillich, STI, p. 181.

  35. 35.

    Tillich, STI, p. 183.

  36. 36.

    Tillich, STI, p. 183.

  37. 37.

    Tillich, STI, p. 186.

  38. 38.

    This point is important for the later discussion of animals in Parts II and III of this book.

  39. 39.

    Here Tillich has both implicitly and explicitly linked the human condition to that of every other living being.

  40. 40.

    Tillich, STI, p. 190.

  41. 41.

    Tillich, STI, p. 189.

  42. 42.

    Tillich, STI, p. 190. (Heidegger cited Tillich.)

  43. 43.

    Tillich’s view of non-being does seem similar to that of Heidegger, and he may well, at least in part, be indebted to Heidegger for the great emphasis he places upon the importance and impact of non-being within his system.

  44. 44.

    Tillich, STI, p. 189.

  45. 45.

    Tillich, STI, p. 190.

  46. 46.

    Tillich, STI, p. 189.

  47. 47.

    Tillich, STI, p. 200.

  48. 48.

    Tillich, STI, p. 201.

  49. 49.

    Tillich, STI, p. 201.

  50. 50.

    Tillich, STI, p. 192.

  51. 51.

    Tillich, STI, p. 194.

  52. 52.

    Tillich, STI, p. 195.

  53. 53.

    Tillich, STI, p. 196.

  54. 54.

    Tillich, STI, p. 197.

  55. 55.

    Tillich, STI, p. 198.

  56. 56.

    Tillich, STI, p. 211.

  57. 57.

    Tillich, STI, p. 211.

  58. 58.

    Tillich, STI, p. 191.

  59. 59.

    Tillich, STI, p. 235.

  60. 60.

    Tillich, STI, p. 237.

  61. 61.

    Tillich, STI, p. 248.

  62. 62.

    Tillich, STI, p. 238.

  63. 63.

    Tillich, STI, p. 261.

  64. 64.

    Tillich, STI, p. 242.

  65. 65.

    Tillich, STI, p. 12.

  66. 66.

    Tillich, STII, p. 19.

  67. 67.

    Vide The Examination of Finitude and its Consequences in Systematic Theology Volume Two.

  68. 68.

    Tillich, STII, p. 27.

  69. 69.

    Tillich, STII, p. 131.

  70. 70.

    Tillich, STII, p. 49.

  71. 71.

    Tillich, STII, p. 52.

  72. 72.

    Tillich, STII, P. 52

  73. 73.

    Tillich, STII, p. 53.

  74. 74.

    Freud, S. Group Psychology and The Analysis of the Ego (New York, W.W. Norton and Company Ltd. 1959) p. 39.

  75. 75.

    Storr, Anthony Freud: A Very Brief Introduction (Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks, New Edition, 2001) p. 58.

  76. 76.

    Kahn, Michael Basic Freud (New York: Basic Books, 2002) p. 37.

  77. 77.

    Tillich, STII, p. 53.

  78. 78.

    Tillich, STII, p. 53.

  79. 79.

    Tillich, STII, p. 53.

  80. 80.

    Tillich, STII, p. 52. The concept of the sin of concupiscence as human self-centeredness is particularly relevant to the evaluation of the adequacy of Tillich’s concept of Technical Reason in relation to animals, which can be found in Chap. 4.

  81. 81.

    Nietzsche, Friedrich ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ in The Portable Nietzsche (edited and translated, Walter Kaufmann) (New York: Viking Press, 1968) p. 227.

  82. 82.

    Teichman, Jenny ‘Friedrich Nietzsche’ in Teichman, Jenny and Graham White (Eds.) An Introduction to Modern European Philosophy (London: MacMillan Press Ltd. 1995) p. 76.

  83. 83.

    Hill, Kevin R. Nietzsche – A Guide for the Perplexed (London and New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007) p. 66.

  84. 84.

    Hill, Nietzsche – A Guide for the Perplexed, p. 67.

  85. 85.

    Staten, Henry, ‘A Critique of the Will to Power’ in Pearson, Keith Ansell (Ed.) A Companion to Nietzsche (Chichester: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2007). 565–582 p. 566.

  86. 86.

    Tillich, STII, p. 55.

  87. 87.

    Tillich, STII, p. 55.

  88. 88.

    Staten ‘A Critique’ in A companion to Nietzsche, p. 566.

  89. 89.

    Nietzsche cited Teichman ‘Friedrich Nietzsche’ in An Introduction to Modern European Philosophy, p. 78.

  90. 90.

    Tillich, STII, p. 54.

  91. 91.

    Tillich, STII, p. 65.

  92. 92.

    Tillich, STII, p. 67.

  93. 93.

    Tillich, STII, p. 69.

  94. 94.

    Tillich, STII, p. 69.

  95. 95.

    Tillich, STII, p. 69.

  96. 96.

    Tillich, STII, p. 70.

  97. 97.

    Tillich, STII, p. 70.

  98. 98.

    Tillich’s understanding of the Fall is examined more fully and in relation to the whole of creation in Chap. 10, pp. 209–224.

  99. 99.

    Tillich, Paul ‘Religious Symbols and Our Knowledge of God’ in Christian Scholar (September 1955) pp. 189–197, p. 190.

  100. 100.

    Tillich, Paul Dynamics of Faith (New York: Harper and Rowe, 1957) pp. 42–43.

  101. 101.

    Tillich, STII, p. 67.

  102. 102.

    Tillich, STII, p. 67.

  103. 103.

    Tillich, STII, p. 68.

  104. 104.

    Tillich, STII, p. 29.

  105. 105.

    Tillich, STII, p. 29.

  106. 106.

    Tillich, STII, p. 34.

  107. 107.

    Tillich, STII, p. 34.

  108. 108.

    Tillich, STII, p. 35.

  109. 109.

    Tillich, STII, p. 57.

  110. 110.

    Tillich, STII, p. 57.

  111. 111.

    Tillich, STII, p. 87.

  112. 112.

    Tillich’s view on world religions changed towards the end of his life. This change of emphasis towards a more inclusive world view is particularly evident in one of the last books he wrote: Christianity and the Encounter of World Religions (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963).

  113. 113.

    Tillich, STII, p. 86.

  114. 114.

    Tillich, STII, p. 88.

  115. 115.

    Tillich, STII, p. 89.

  116. 116.

    Tillich’s understanding of the symbol ‘Spirit’ is highly relevant to the later discussion regarding animals. See especially Chap. 5: ‘The Creator and Creation in Tillich’s Systematic Theology’ (pp. 114–125) and Chap. 6: ‘The Implications of Tillich’s Christology for Animals and Creation’ (pp. 126–143).

  117. 117.

    Tillich, STII, p. 153.

  118. 118.

    Tillich, STII, p. 152.

  119. 119.

    Tillich, STII, p. 90.

  120. 120.

    Tillich, STII, p. 92.

  121. 121.

    Tillich, STII, p. 91.

  122. 122.

    Tillich, STII, p. 92.

  123. 123.

    Tillich, STII, p. 93. (Tillich’s emphasis).

  124. 124.

    Tillich, STII, p. 93.

  125. 125.

    Tillich, STII, p. 121.

  126. 126.

    Tillich, STII, p. 123.

  127. 127.

    Tillich, STII, p. 122.

  128. 128.

    Tillich, STII, p. 122.

  129. 129.

    Tillich, STII, p. 123, italics added.

  130. 130.

    Tillich, STII, p. 127.

  131. 131.

    Tillich, STII, p. 131.

  132. 132.

    Tillich, STII, p. 131.

  133. 133.

    Tillich, STII, p. 133.

  134. 134.

    Tillich, STII, p. 133.

  135. 135.

    Tillich, STII, p. 133.

  136. 136.

    Tillich, STII, p. 134.

  137. 137.

    Tillich, STII, p. 135.

  138. 138.

    Tillich, Paul, Systemic Theology Volume III (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963) p. 11.

  139. 139.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 11.

  140. 140.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 12.

  141. 141.

    Although Tillich’s concept of the Multidimensional Unity of Life is advanced during Part IV of his system, it will not be examined in depth at this juncture. Rather, it will be examined in detail in Chap. 7, ‘The Multidimensional Unity of Life’ pp. 144–159, where its impact on the status of animals in Tillich’s system will be discussed.

  142. 142.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 18.

  143. 143.

    For a fuller examination of Levels, Realms and Dimensions, see Chap. 7 (pp. 144–159). Examining the Multidimensional Unity of Life.

  144. 144.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 13.

  145. 145.

    This may work in theory, but in practice it is unworkable. Evolutionary theory dictates that species are changing and adapting all the time so the notion that beings can be placed neatly into levels is not at all realistic. In addition, humans are learning more about the capacities of other living creatures at a pace. The understanding we have of the complexity of other species, particularly in their abilities to interact, communicate and learn (cognitive ethology), is still in its infancy and continually sheds new light on other species. This means that any conclusions we make regarding their ‘level’ in a particular hierarchy can only ever be speculative at best. For further discussion of how cognitive ethology could be helpful in assessing the grounds on which Tillich excludes other creatures from the dimensions of the spirit and the dimension of history, see Chap. 8 ‘An Examination of the Method of Correlation’ in Tillich’s Systematic Theology and (pp. 161–192).

  146. 146.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 13.

  147. 147.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 13.

  148. 148.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 14.

  149. 149.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 14.

  150. 150.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 14.

  151. 151.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 15.

  152. 152.

    See the discussion of what Cognitive Ethological insights can bring to Tillich’s system in Chap. 8: An examination of the Method of Correlation in Tillich’s Systematic Theology, pp. 161–192.

  153. 153.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 33.

  154. 154.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 33.

  155. 155.

    It does seem ironic that although humans in Tillich view are the only creatures who possess the capacity for self-disintegration, they nevertheless manage to be at the top of the moral hierarchy.

  156. 156.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 38.

  157. 157.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 38. In this assertion, Tillich assumes that only the human perspective of life is valid—there seems to be no room in Tillich’s definition of the dimension spirit to ask what the creation actually means to its Creator.

  158. 158.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 9.

  159. 159.

    It appears here that Tillich is claiming that even humans’ sinfulness is a theological blessing.

  160. 160.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 98.

  161. 161.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 102.

  162. 162.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 99.

  163. 163.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 100.

  164. 164.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 101.

  165. 165.

    The notion of demonic self-elevation will be examined in Parts II and III of this book in relation to the adequacy of Tillich’s account of animals and creation. In particular, the question as to whether a theological view that only humans have access to the dimension of spirit, and history, can really be thought of as representing the interests of the Creator with respect to creation. Chap. 5 ‘The Creator and Creation’ in Tillich’s Systematic Theology, pp. 114–125 is especially relevant to this discussion.

  166. 166.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 297.

  167. 167.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 298.

  168. 168.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 298.

  169. 169.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 299.

  170. 170.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 299.

  171. 171.

    See this chapter: ‘Paul Tillich’s Systematic Theology’, Part I: Reason and Revelation pp. 40–46 for a fuller account of the subject–object relationship. Also see Chap. 4 ‘Tillich’s Concept of Technical Reason’ pp. 98–113 for an examination of how the subject–object relationship affects human interactions with both humans and nonhuman animals.

  172. 172.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 300.

  173. 173.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 302.

  174. 174.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 303.

  175. 175.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 304.

  176. 176.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 308.

  177. 177.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 309.

  178. 178.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 310.

  179. 179.

    Tillich – ‘Kairos’, cited James Luther Adams – ‘Tillich’s Interpretation of History’ in The Theology of Paul Tillich, Charles W Kegley & Robert W Bretall (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1952) p. 295.

  180. 180.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 349.

  181. 181.

    For a fuller explanation of what Tillich means by the term ‘theological circle’ see Chap. 2 ‘The Shape of Tillich’s System’ pp. 19–39.

  182. 182.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 349.

  183. 183.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 351.

  184. 184.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 349.

  185. 185.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 353.

  186. 186.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 354.

  187. 187.

    Tillich – ‘Utopie’ Gesammelte Werke XII, p. 172, cited John R Stumme – Socialism in Theological Perspective: A Study of Paul Tillich, 1918–1933, (Montana: Scholars Press, 1978) p. 188.

  188. 188.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 355.

  189. 189.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 356.

  190. 190.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 357.

  191. 191.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 358.

  192. 192.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 358.

  193. 193.

    For a fuller analysis of the multidimensional unity of life, see Tillich, STIII, Part IV IA.

  194. 194.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 359.

  195. 195.

    Tillich, Paul, Theology of Peace, trans. Ronald H Stone (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990) p. 34.

  196. 196.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 362.

  197. 197.

    Tillich, Paul, The Interpretation of History, trans. N.A. Rosetski and Elsa L. Talmay (New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1936) p. 165.

  198. 198.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 363.

  199. 199.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 364.

  200. 200.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 366.

  201. 201.

    Tillich, Theology of Peace, p. 36.

  202. 202.

    Tillich, Theology of Peace, p. 36.

  203. 203.

    Tillich, Theology of Peace, p. 37.

  204. 204.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 366.

  205. 205.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 366.

  206. 206.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 369.

  207. 207.

    Tillich, Theology of Peace, p. 37.

  208. 208.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 370.

  209. 209.

    Tillich, ‘Kairos’ in Paul Tillich, The Protestant Era, Ed. James Luther Adams (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1948) p. 42.

  210. 210.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 375.

  211. 211.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 375.

  212. 212.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 393.

  213. 213.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 394.

  214. 214.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 394.

  215. 215.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 396.

  216. 216.

    Tillich, STIII, p. 397.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Winchester, Burton on Trent, UK

    Abbey-Anne Smith

Authors
  1. Abbey-Anne Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Smith, AA. (2017). Paul Tillich’s Systematic Theology. In: Animals in Tillich's Philosophical Theology. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40856-9_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation