Avant-propos - Studia Moralia

DIALOGICAL PERSONALISM REVISITED 207
ence experienced in the horrors of the First War provided the
immediate backdrop for this dialogical philosophy to emerge, as
a reaction to the universal doubt of Cartesian thought and to
German Idealism, which knows the idea or representation but
not the reality of “things-in-themselves.” Consequently, modern
man and woman are left with a great inward focus on thought,
reason and idea, but little sense of relationship with God and
neighbor as foundational for the human person.
However, in light of the tremendous evils experienced in
World War II, the dialogical personalism of the interwar years
was eclipsed, on the one hand, by existentialist philosophies that
tended in many cases towards nihilism and despair, and on the
other hand by analytic philosophies which took up narrower
questions such as the limits and functions of language and logic.
Because such philosophies either prescind from faith, are
neutral or even dismissive of faith, philosophy after World War
II once again offered little avenue for dialogue with theology.
This article will not take up the relative merits of any of
these philosophies, but rather, will simply revisit the dialogical
philosophy of the interwar years. Dialogical philosophy will not
of itself meet every need of a modern dialogue between philosophy
and theology, but its recovery will offer several fruitful avenues
of discussion and reflection for theology in general, as
well as for moral theology in particular.
A brief overview of dialogical philosophy, focusing on the
thought of Franz Rozensweig and Martin Buber, two key figures,
will precede a more detailed treatment of the work of Ferdinand
Ebner. Although little known, especially among English language
readers, Ebner’s thought is seminal and, as the only Roman
Catholic of the group, his frame of reference provides some
specific orientation for our topic. Finally, some implications and
avenues for dialogue and reflection will be drawn from Ebner’s
work as helpful in the dialogue between faith and reason, philosophy
and theology, to which the Holy Father invites us.
Over the last century or more, philosophers of various
stripes have examined the issue of the isolated autonomous subject
in the world of ideas. Pragmatists, such as C. S. Peirce,
William James and John Dewey, each examined the close link
between thinking and doing. “Analytical” philosophers – from
Bertrand Russell, to the Vienna Circle, to Ludwig Wittgenstein –