Volume 9, 2020
Engagement and Philosophical Responsibility
Jayne Svenungsson

Pages 17-34
https://doi.org/10.5840/ecoethica20213830
Theology, Phenomenology, and the Retrieval of Experience
A Homage to Peter Kemp
Inspired by the contemporary Danish philosopher Dorthe J?rgensen, this article engages in a re-reading of Peter Kemp¡¯s 1973 dissertation Th¨¦orie de l¡¯engagement with a view to exploring its persisting theological value. After briefly revisiting its main argument, I turn in the following section to a discussion of its way of relating phenomenology and theology in terms of shortcomings as well as possibilities. In the concluding section, I bring together Kemp and J?rgensen and offer a reflection on what theology could and should be and why I believe that it still has a significant role to play in academia as well as in the wider culture. In particular, I argue that phenomenological theology¡ªwith its long tradition of reflecting on mythopoetic language¡ªis particularly well-suited to provide a cultural hermeneutics of relevance not only for practicing religious people but also for a broader audience in a culture that is still to a high degree immersed in biblical imagery.