Date of Award
Fall 2005
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Copeland, M. S.
Second Advisor
Tallon, Andrew
Third Advisor
Carey, Patrick
Abstract
The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the arguably radical claim made by John Paul II in his 1981 encyclical Laborem Exercens that human work is the key to the social question. My interest is in unpacking the meaning of this statement through an analysis of the underlying anthropological framework presupposed by John Paul and grounded in his work as the philosopher Karol Wojtyla. I will then question the adequacy of that framework by comparing it to the anthropology of Bernard Lonergan. My intention is to determine which understanding of the human person in the act of self-transcendence provides a more adequate basis for John Paul's clajm, and which allows for a more comprehensive grasp of the role that human work may play in living a Christian life.