Can the Individual Still Make a Difference?

Authors

Anthony J. Cernera, Sacred Heart University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

In its first part this paper analyzes philosophical perspectives on the place of the human person in the world, acknowledging how much the reference aftermath of the Enlightenment and the technological revolution. In its second part it reminds the reader that the Enlightenment meta-narrative(s) is (are) not to be considered as absolute truth, but only as one among other fundamental interpretations o f life, which has its own limits and creates specific problems, namely the exclusion o f the poor and disabled. Then it presents main aspects o f the Christian understanding of the human person as image of God and its meaning for the individual’s place in society. Finally, in its third part, referring to the experience and writings of Jean Vanier, the paper exemplifies the impact of Judeo-Christian Tradition on ethics and leadership once it has become the form of an individual’s life.

Comments

From the symposium "The Catholic Intellectual Tradition" held at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt June 17, 2009 and cosponsored by Sacred Heart University Luxembourg.

ISBN 9783643900708

Recommended Citation

Cernera, Anthony J. "Can the Individual Still Make a Difference?" The Challenge of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Making a Difference in Contemporary Academic Settings. Ed. Jean Ehret and Erwin Möde. Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2011.