Blondel begins his famous book by posing the question: “Yes or no, does human life make sense, and does man have a destiny? I act, but without even knowing what action is, without having wished to live, without knowing exactly either who I am or even if I am.” This seminar will engage the questions of why action is so central to human existence, what its conditions and ultimate meaning are, and how we can approach its depths. Our avenue to these riches will be the works of Maurice Blondel (Action (1893)), St. Thomas Aquinas, and Hans Urs von Balthasar (Theo-Drama).
Selected Texts
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II.
Maurice Blondel, Action (1983): Essay on a Critique of Life and a Science of Practice.
Hans Urs von Balthasar, Theo-Drama, vols. II and III.
Faculty
David S. Crawford
Dean
Associate Professor of Moral Theology and Family Law
Dr. Crawford’s teaching spans the areas of moral theology and philosophical ethics, the theological and philosophical anthropology of marriage and family, and legal and political philosophy. His publications address human action, natural law, homosexuality, “gender identity,” and the anthropological implications of modern civil law.
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