Vol. XXXVIII / 1 - Studia Moralia

MODELS AND MULTIVALENCE 65
(i.e., kataphatic) and negative (i.e., apophatic) theology. That is
to say that it supplies a linguistic structure which, at one and the
same time, both affirms and negates its depiction of what is
taking place between the two disciplines. When many models
are employed to examine the contours of the relationship in
question, the result is a complex web of interlocking and, at
times, even conflicting insights that depict the interaction on a
wide variety of levels.
The multivalent approach depicted in this essay uses
proportionate analogy to steer a middle course between
univocal and equivocal reasoning. By recognizing a
proportionate likeness and difference in the ongoing interface
between the two disciplines, it avoids the pitfalls of one-to-one
correspondence so typical in the former and the latent
relativistic tendencies so common in the latter. Studying the
interaction between spirituality and moral theology in this way
thus brings to the fore the deeper question of the nature of
human reason itself, a topic of central concern for both
disciplines – and, indeed, for the whole of theology.
Accademia Alfonsiana
Via Merulana 31
C.P. 2458
00100 Roma - Italy.
DENNIS J. BILLY, C.Ss.R.
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Summary / Resumen
This essay examines five theological models for the interaction of
spirituality and moral theology: the hierarchical, the integrative, the
collaborative, the contextual, and the absorption(al). The author
considers the strengths and weaknesses of each and employs the
“presumption of multivalence” for highlighting their important
complementary functions.
El presente ensayo analiza cinco modelos teológicos para la
interacción entre espiritualidad y teología moral: el jerárquico, el