Mitigated Freedom? Thomas Pröpper’s Reappraisal as Theological Tribute to Autonomy

Abstract

Thomas Pröpper’s (1941–2015) systematic theology, that was deemed particularly innovative especially in the German-speaking Catholic realm but thus far has garnered hardly any international attention, poses the question of whether a reflection of the is and ought of freedom yields any returns for the question of God and moreover for ethics. ¹ A theological way of thinking should be established that helps with understanding faith whilst also offering philosophical justification. ² For eminently theological reasons, Pröpper pursues a theology of freedom because God’s self-revelation as love can be adequately inferred through concepts of freedom. ³ Pröpper’s theological approach of a question of the contemporary philosophy of subject and freedom also involves the inclusion of authority-critical thought. ⁴ According to Pröpper’s own information, Hermann Krings’s freedom thinking in particular alongside his transcendental philosophy, ⁵ tracing back to Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte, is applicable to Pröpper’s own approach. ⁶ Consequently, for Pröpper a theological argument can be given only from man (ex parte hominis). For such an argument to be convincing, it must fulfil satisfy two criteria: it must be able to exist in the application of one’s own reason (“im Gebrauch der eigenen Vernunft”) and in the execution of freedom (“im Vollzug der Freiheit”). ⁷