Synthesis philosophica, Vol. 39 No. 1, 2024.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.21464/sp39113
Eschatology of St. Paul in the Emancipatory Political-Philosophical Thought as an Attempt to Re-Invent Hope in the End Times
Lana Zdravković
; Peace Institute, Metelkova ul. 6, SI–1000 Ljubljana
Abstract
The paper addresses the particular modality of the end, which is manifested in a pervasive sense of constant, immediate, and real threat from the total destruction of the planet, global conflicts, and the extinction of the human species (viruses and pandemics, natural disasters, the nuclear threat, and the threat of artificial intelligence). The theme of the end is introduced by presenting the most important and current eschatological theories of radical political-philosophical thought, especially those of the left-wing, post-Marxist province. These include the work of W. Benjamin, J. Taubes, G. Agamben, S. Žižek and A. Badiou, who derive their political theology from St. Paul. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the most radical political thinkers, in a context where the emancipatory potential of concepts that could provide a framework for political continuity in times of crisis has been exhausted, turn to an ephemeral, otherworldly realm where political hope is constructed on theological concepts. In the concluding section, the paper puts forth the argument that the avoidance of the end is contingent upon the postulation of the political emancipatory potential in theological terms. This entails the imbuing of the aforementioned potential with theological concepts such as renunciation, self-control, and self-sacrifice.
Keywords
the end; political theology; political eschatology; emancipatory politics; messianism; universal singularity
Hrčak ID:
321381
URI
Publication date:
11.10.2024.
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