WEEK 2 – 23 October 11am-12.30pm (Seminar in the Gibson Building): Marta Bielinska, DPhil candidate in Science and Religion, University of Oxford: ‘A new account of the supernatural life’
Abstract: One of the central questions in theology is that of the relation between nature and the supernatural. This question takes various forms: from the long-standing nature-grace debate, to the issue of divine action in the natural world, and extending to meta-questions about the interaction between science and religion. In the context of human life, this becomes a question of how the natural life relates to the supernatural life. In my talk, I will address this question.
The debate over the relation between supernatural life and natural life saw a revival in the mid-20th century, largely due to Henri de Lubac. In his influential work Surnaturel, de Lubac challenged what he saw as the dominant view in Catholic theology of his time, which held that there existed a state of ‘pure nature‘—a state lacking in all divine elements. De Lubac believed that only the supernatural end of human life exists and a belief in the pure nature was a result of a misinterpretation of writings of Thomas Aquinas, initially proposed by Thomas Cajetan de Vio, and cultivated, closed to 20th century, by representatives of the so-called ‘Neo-Thomism’.
In this talk, I will present both accounts of the supernatural life: held by de Lubac and the Neo-Thomists, suggesting the key challenges each faces. I will then propose a new account of the supernatural, that builds on an ‘I-Thou’ relation with God. After formulating this account, I will examine whether it can be used to address the aforementioned problems with the two other accounts. Finally, I will explore the ways in which it can be appealing both to the supporters of de Lubac, according to whom there exists only the supernatural end, and to those inclined to advocate for the state of pure nature, such as Neo-Thomists.