Abstract
In a European context, the understanding of “eternity” and “finitude” are the objects of complex philosophical as well as Jewish-Christian discourse. Not only once it originated in the chasm between Jewish-Christian tenets and Greek-Roman, as well as Celtic-Germanic cosmology and reasoning. In virtue of the encounter of Western and Eastern religious doctrine and philosophical rationale, this discourse was animated to question the relations of said dichotomy once again. Its understanding has become more complex through cultural exchange in general. In succession to this continuous extension of Western ideas, the contrasts among the Abrahamic traditions regarding their images of God forfeit part of their harsh contours. Furthermore, it turns out that not all differences tell of an extensive, barren incompatibility, but rather have proven to be a prolific opportunity to bring to mind buried treasuries of one’s own spiritual traditions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See Helmut Echternach, Ewigkeit, in: Joachim Ritter et.al. (eds.) Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie, Vol. 2, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1972, pp. 838–844.
- 2.
See Markus Enders, Platons ‚Theologie‘: Der Gott, die Götter und das Gute, in: Perspektiven der Philosophie. Neues Jahrbuch, vol. 25 (1999), pp. 131–185.
- 3.
Aristotle, On the Soul, Santa Fe: Green Lion Press, 2001, p.91 (Book II, Chapter 4, 415 a 29).
- 4.
Ibid., p.86 (Book II, Chapter 2, 413 b 26-27).
- 5.
Ibid., p.143 (Book III, Chapter 5, 430 a 24).
- 6.
See Ernst Behler, Ewigkeit der Welt, in: Joachim Ritter et.al. (eds.), Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie, Vol. 2, op. cit., pp. 844–848.
- 7.
Aurelius Augustinus, On Genesis. Two Books on Genesis Against the Manichees and On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis: An Unfinished Book, Washington, D.C. The Catholic University of America Press, 1991 Book VI, Ch. 25, paragraph 36.
- 8.
On a dialog about the concept of the soul, see Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life, Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2007 (2nd edition).
- 9.
See Klaus Müller, Endlich unsterblich. Zwischen Körperkult und Cyberworld, Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 2011.
- 10.
See Bertram Stubenrauch, Was kommt danach? Himmel, Hölle, Nirwana oder gar nichts, München: Pattloch, 2007. Eschatological topics are presented in an interreligious context.
- 11.
See Ram Adhar Mall, Der Hinduismus. Seine Stellung in der Vielfalt der Religionen, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1997.
- 12.
See John Hick, God and the Universe of Faiths, Oxford: One World Publishers, 1973.
- 13.
See Karsten Schmidt, Buddhismus als Religion und Philosophie. Probleme und Perspektiven interkulturellen Verstehens, Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 2011.
- 14.
Ibid., pp. 110–158.
Literature
Aristotle, On the Soul, Santa Fe: Green Lion Press, 2001.
Augustinus, Aurelius, On Genesis. Two Books on Genesis Against the Manichees and On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis: An Unfinished Book, Washington, D.C. The Catholic University of America Press, 1991.
Behler, Ernst, Ewigkeit der Welt, in: Joachim Ritter et.al. (eds.), Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie, Band 2, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1972, pp. 844–848.
Echternach, Helmut, Ewigkeit. in: Joachim Ritter et.al. (eds.), Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie, Band 2, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1972, pp. 838–844.
Enders, Markus, Platons ‘Theologie’: Der Gott, die Götter und das Gute, in: Perspektiven der Philosophie. Neues Jahrbuch, Vol. 25 (1999), pp. 131–185.
Hick, John, God and the Universe of Faith, Oxford: One World Publishers, 1973.
Mall, Ram Adhar, Der Hinduismus. Seine Stellung in der Vielfalt der Religionen, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1997.
Müller, Klaus, Endlich unsterblich. Zwischen Körperkult und Cyberworld, Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 2011.
Ratzinger, Joseph, Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life, Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2007 (2nd edition).
Schmidt, Karsten, Buddhismus als Religion und Philosophie. Probleme und Perspektiven interkulturellen Verstehens, Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 2011.
Stubenrauch, Bertram, Was kommt danach? Himmel, Hölle, Nirwana oder gar nichts, München: Pattloch, 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schulz, M. (2019). Eternity and Finitude. In: Kühnhardt, L., Mayer, T. (eds) The Bonn Handbook of Globality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90382-8_47
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90382-8_47
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-90381-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-90382-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)