The Purpose of Morality in the Theological Schema of Christos Yannaras (original) (raw)

2018, In "Christos Yannaras: Philosophy, Theology, and Culture," edited by Andreas Andreopoulos and Demetrios Harper. Abingdon: Routledge

This essay examines Christos Yannaras’ critique of modern moral sensibilities and his arguments for the retrieval of what he terms a “Eucharistic ethos,” an approach that affirms an essentially ontological model of morality in which love and interpersonal communion function as the highest moral criteria. The point of departure is Yannaras’ genealogy of western epistemology and metaphysics, perhaps most concisely expressed in his thoughtful but challenging work Heidegger and the Areopagite. As he argues, Medieval Scholastic rejection of apophaticism inaugurates the reduction and eventual death of ontology, which, although diagnosed by Nietzsche, culminates in the solipsistic moralism of Immanuel Kant. This Kantian-style narcissism is the functional impetus, consciously or unconsciously, within modern moral sensibilities. The way back from the slow retreat into subjective individualism, as Yannaras suggests in his Freedom of Morality, is the re-establishment of a “Eucharistic ethos” in which ultimate human concerns again become the foundation for morality, as opposed to abstracted laws designed as markers for individual achievement. As I argue throughout, Yannaras’ makes a real contribution to Christian ethics and, moreover, finds himself in the illustrious company of thinkers such as Alasdair MacIntyre and Bernard Williams in recognizing and diagnosing the extent to which contemporary moral sensibilities have the tendency to be detached from authentic human concerns. Finally, in an attempt to build on Yannaras’ proposals, I critically discuss his own ontological suppositions, arguing that aspects of his personalist perspective work to seriously undermine his efforts to retrieve a Eucharistic ethos and, consequently, require reconsideration if his approach to morality is to have enduring resonance.