The question of whether there can be a genuinely Christian philosophy is of significance for the history of the concept of person. Historically, the concept of person was unfolded chiefly within Christian theology. Boethius formulated the classical definition of the person as naturae rationalis individua substantia. Thomas Aquinas deepened it metaphysically.
The dissertation argues that the philosophical validity of an argument does not depend on its historical context of origin. Even if the concept of person matured historically within Christian thought, it must prove itself on the matter itself — through philosophical arguments, not through appeal to authority.
Sources: Bexten 2017, pp. 130—137 (Person — a concept of Christian genesis?).
Further sources:
- Boethius: Contra Eutychen et Nestorium, ch. 3 (on the classical definition of person, naturae rationalis individua substantia). In: Boethius: The Theological Tractates, transl. H. F. Stewart and E. K. Rand. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1918.
- Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae I, q. 29, a. 1—4 (on the metaphysical deepening of the definition of person). Transl. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. New York: Benziger Bros., 1947.
- Aristotle: Metaphysics VII (Zeta), 1028a—1041b (on the doctrine of substance as the foundation of the concept of person). Transl. W. D. Ross. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984.
- Seifert, Josef (1987): Back to ‘Things in Themselves’. A Phenomenological Foundation for Classical Realism. London/New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul (on the philosophical independence of personal ontology).
- Stein, Edith (1932/2004): Der Aufbau der menschlichen Person. ESGA 14. Herder (on Christian-phenomenological anthropology) (German).
See also:
- Chapter 2: Method (German)
- Chapter 3: Concept of Person (German)
- Aristotle
- Josef Seifert
- Edith Stein