Hermeneutics of the Possible God

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Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia
Hermeneutics of the Possible God
Author(s): Richard Kearney
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, T. 60, Fasc. 4, Filosofia & Cristianismo: II - Efeitos
Pós-Modernos (Oct. - Dec., 2004), pp. 929-952
Published by: Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia
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R. P. F. I
60 • 2004
Hermeneuticosf The PossibleG od
Richard Kearney*
Abstract: In thisa rticle,t hea uthora rguest hatt hep henomenologicrale volutioinn augu-
ratedb yH usserla nd Heideggero pensu p newa venuesf or a radical rethinkinogf the
God question.W ithH usserVs free variationo f possibilitiesi n imaginationa' nd
Heidegger'fsa mousc laimi nB einga ndT imet hatf orp henomenologpyo ssibilitsyt ands
highert hana ctuality\ thea uthord iscoverns ewr esourcefso ro uru nderstandinogfb oth
Being and God. In bothc ases, thea rticlec laims,w e witnesst he surpassingo f the
traditionaml etaphysicpalr ioritoyf a ctualityov erp ossibilityT.h en,i na secondm oment,
thep aper explorest hen otiono f the 'God ofp ossibilityf'r omt hep erspectivoef three
differenhte rmeneutcicir cles:s cripturalt,e stimoniaaln d literaryT. he essay concludes
witha n analysiso ft hep ositivei mplicationosf t hen otiono ft he' possible'( as possea nd
possestj/ora newu nderstandinogf t heG od ofe schatology.
Key Words: Being; Cusa, Nicholas of; Dasein; Dionysius the Areopagite;E poche;
EschatologyE; ucharist;G od; Gospel; HeideggerM, artin;H ermeneuticsH; ildegard
of Bingen; Hopkins,G erardM anley; Husserl,E dmund;J esus Christ;K ingdomo f
God; Love; Meaning;P henomenologyP;o etics;P osse; Possibilityof B eing; Parousia;
PossibilityP; ossible;R eductionR; ilke,R ainerM aria; Sein und Zeit; Self; Tempora-
lity;T heology.
Resumo: Nopresentea rtigo,o autord efendeq ue a revolucdfoe nomenologician augurada
por E. Husserle M. Heideggera bre novasp ossibilidadeps ara urnr epensarr adica'l d a
questao de Deus. A partird a 'livrev ariagdod e possibilidadesn a imaginagdod e
Husserle afamosa pretensaod e Heideggere m Ser e Tempod e que para a fenomeno-
logia a possibilidadee stda cima da actualidade,' o autord escobren ovosr ecursops ara
a nossa compreensdqou erd o Ser querd e Deus. Tanton umc aso comon o outrod, iz-nos
o artigo,p odemost estemunhaar superagdod a tradicionapl rioridadem etaflsicda a
actualidades obrea possibilidadeE. m seguida,n ums egundom omentoo, a rtigoe xplora
'
tambema nocdod e urn' Deus da possibilidadea partird a perspectivda e tresc irculos
hermeneuticdosif erenteos: escrituristicoo ,t estemoniael o literdrioO. ensaio conclui
com uma andlise das implicaqoesp ositivasd a nocdo de 'possivel' (como posse e
possestjp ara uman ovac ompreensddoo Deus da escatologia.
Palavras-Chave: Amor; Cusa, Nicolau de; Deus; Dionisio o Areopagita; Epoche;
Escatologia; Eu; Eucaristia; Evangelho; Fenomenologia; Heidegger,M artin;
HermeneuticaH; ildegardad e Bingen;H opkins,G erardM anley;H usserl,E dmund;
JesusC risto;P arousia; Poetica; Posse; Possibilidaded o Ser; PossibilidadeP; ossivel;
* BostonC ollege( ChestnuHt ill,M ass. - U.S.A.).
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930 Richard Kearney
ReduqaoR; einod e Deus; RilkeR, ainerM aria;S einu ndZ eit;S entidoS; er; Ser-ai;
Temopr a lidade;T eologia.
7 comei n thel ittlet hingss,a itht heL ord'
(EvelynU nderhill)
if God exists,e xistsn otj ust forG od butf oru s. And them annerin
whichG od comest o us, comest o mind,c omest o be and to dwella s flesh
amongstu s, is deeplyi nformebdy them annerin whichw e thinka bout
God - in shorth, ow we interprent,a rrates,y mbolizea nd imagineG od. This, I
suggest,c alls fora philosophicalh ermeneuticisn structedb y the variousa nd
essentialw ays in whichG od 'appears' to us in and through'p henomenaa' nd
'signals't o us in and through's igns'. It is myw ageri n thise ssayt hato ne of the
mostt ellingw aysi n whicht hei nfinitceo mest o be experiencedan d imaginedb y
finitem indsi s as possibility- thati s, as thea bilityt o be. Even,a nd especially,
whens uchp ossibilityse emsi mpossiblet o us. I am nots ayingt hisi s theo nlyw ay,
or event hem ostp rimordiawl ay,j ust thati t is a veryt ellingw ay,a nd one which
has been largelyn eglectedin theh istoryof westernm etaphysicasn d theologyin
favoro f categorielsi kes ubstancec,a use,a ctualityo,m nipotenceab, solutes pirito r
sufficienrte ason.I t is nott hatI am proposingp osse as somen ewlyd iscoveredo r
recoveredM asterW ord- somee xtraordinarMye ta-Codew hichm ightu nlockt he
ancientS ecreto f divinen atureo r namingG. od forbidO! ur proposali s farm ore
modestt hant hat:n amelya, tentativeex ercisei n poeticc onjecturaeb outa certain
overlooked aspect of divinity,s eeking guidance from phenomenological
descriptioann dh ermeneutiinc terpretation.
In thef irspt arto f thise ssayI proposet o brieflyex plorew aysi n whichp heno-
menology- as firsdt evelopedb yE dmundH usserla ndM artinH eidegger- helped
to open up a new pathf ort hinkingab outG od in termso f thep ossible.I n the
second,I willc harta furtheirti nerartyh rougthh reeh ermeneutcicir cleso fr eading
- scripturalt, estimoniaaln d literary- which,I believe,d isclose richt extual
resourcefs orr e-imagininGgo d as posse.
I. The Way of Phenomenology
1. Husserl
EdmundH usserli nauguratetdh ep henomenologicmal ethodO. ne of thep ri-
maryp urposeso f thism ethodw as to open ourm indst o ther ealmo f 'purep ossi-
bility',t herebyli beratinugs fromo urh abituaal ttachmenttos meref actsa nd opi-
nions.H usserli dentifiefdi veb asic stepsi n them ethod1: ) thee poche( bracketing
or suspension)o f the presuppositionasn d prejudiceso f our so-called natural
attitude2; ) the 'reductiono' f our attentionb ack to 'the thingst hemselvesa' s
revealedi n thei ntentionalilf eo f consciousness3; ) the 'freev ariationin imagi-
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93j
nationo' f anyt opico f inquirya crossa ll its variant-s actuala nd virtualr, eal or
imaginary- until an invariants tructuroe r essence (eidos) appears; 4) the
'intuitiono'f thise ssentiaml eaningin thep urei mmanencoef consciousnessa;n d
5) the' descriptiono'f e ssentiaml eaningb yt ranscendentsaulb jectivitieesx tending
towardas teloso f absoluter eason.
Thoughm osto f Husserl'sm ainstreamw orka ppearedt o bracketo utt het heo-
logical or confessionalq uestiono f God, one findsa numbero f fascinating
conjectureasb outa phenomenologicaapl proacht o thed ivinei n severalo fh isl ater
and posthumouslyp ublishedl ectures,l ettersa nd manuscriptsI.n some texts
Husserl'sG od approximatetso a 'transcendentiadle al' in Kant'ss ense,t hati s, an
Idea situateda t infinityw hichd irectst he variousi ntentionosf consciousness
asymptoticallAys. such it operatesr egulativelays a sorto f teleologicali dea of
Reason.1I n otherp assages,s uch as Par. 35 of The Crisis,H usserlc omparest he
phenomenologicmal ethodt o a 'religiousc onversionw' hicht riggerasn 'existential
metamorphosios f humanity'.2In short,t he phenomenologicale poche and
reductioenf fecat changeo f attitudien theh umans ubjectw hichH usserlc onsiders
analogoust o thatb roughatb outb y a religioust ransformatioofn t he' naturals' elf.
He eveng oes so fara s to speako f theI dea Christai s 'thea rchetypaidl ea of the
Man-God' which mobilizes human strivingt owardsa universalh umanity.3
Moreoverw, e have it on thet estimonoyf SisterA delgundisJ aegerschmidwth, o
nursedH usserli n his finaly ears,t hatH usserlc onfessedt hat' humanl ife was
nothingle ss thana journeyt owardsG od' event hought hep hilosophicavl ocation
was, strictlsyp eakinga, 'patht o God withouGt od' .4
The basicp ostulatoe fa phenomenologoyf r eligionis this:r eligioucs onscious-
ness is a distincts,u i generism odeo f intentionaliwtyh icha imsa t a transcendent
meaning- called God - withoutb eing in a position (aftert he methodical
bracketinogf theq uestiono f transcendencteo) verifyo r falsifyit s truthcl aims.
WhileH usserlc onstruetsh er eligiousm odei ntentionaliatsy o ne of 'faith',h e is
also wontt o linkt hiss ame intentionaliwtyit ha n inherentte ndencyof 'phenome-
nologicalr eason' directedt owardsa n absoluteg oal of meaning.5O n occasion,
theset wos eeminglyin compatiblcel aims- forf aitha ndf orr eason- lead to some
1 Husserl,H usserliana VII, 274; 350. (This Husserliana series of volumesw ill be
hencefortbhe referenceidn thea bbreviatefdo rmo fH ua), ed. SamuelI jsselingN, ijhoffT,h e
Hague. For exact translationan d publicationd etailso f each of thesev olumess ee Jean
Greisch'sb ibliographiyn Le Buissona rdente t les Lumieresd e la raison,V ol 2, Le Cerf,
Paris,2 002, pp. 67-69. I am indebtedt o myl ong-timfer iendan d colleague,J eanG reisch,
forh is wide-ranginsgc holarshiapn d researcho n Husserl.M osto f theq uotesa nd remarks
on Husserlw hichf olloww ereb roughtto mya ttentiobny Greisch.
2 HusserlH, ua VI 140; 156; Hua XXVII,1 25-126.
3 HusserlH, ua XXV II, 101.
4 Citedb yJ eanG reischo, p.cit.,p . 38.
5 HusserlH, ua XXVII,1 02.
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932 Richard Kearney
conflicta,s whenH usserla rguest hat' religiousi ntuitionp resupposest he most
universailn tuitionof absoluteg ivens'a nd, as such,r equiresa n approacht rans-
gressingth en ormalli mitso ft ranscendentsaulb jectivity(H.6u sserlm ighbt e saidt o
anticipathe ereJ ean-LuMc arion'sd isclosuroe ft he' saturatepdh enomenonw' hich,
Mariona rgues,f indsi ts apogee in the 'saturatedp henomenonpa r excellence'-
Christ).B7 y wayo f addressingth ist ensionH, usserls oughtt o distinguisbhe tween
two senses of the word 'religion'. On the one hand,w ritesH usserl,w e have
'religiona s a progressivme ytha,s an authentiacn du nilaterailn tuitioonf r eligious
ideals, surroundedb y an horizono f presentimentwsh ose infinited imensions
remaini mpenetrablec,o mpellingu s to kneelb eforet he unfathomableO'. n the
otherh and, we have 'religiona s a metaphysicso f religion,a s the ultimate
fulfillmenoft a scienceo f universaul nderstandinign, t hes enseo f then ormo f all
intuitivme ythsa nd symbolsr, egulatinagl l thef iguresa nd transformatioonfs i ts
imaginary'T.8h e tensionb etweent heset woa pproachews as,I believe,n everf ully
resolved.
Husserl'so wn instincti,t seems,w as to move in thed irectiono f a generous
phenomenologoyf comparativree ligionT. his would acknowledget he valuable
resourceos f bothm onotheistaicn d non-monotheisrtiecl igion(sl ikeB uddhisma) s
respectivea pproximationtso the 'teleological idea of reason', guided by a
universael ntelechyan d strivintgo wardse verm orep erfecft reedomB. ut even as
Husserla ppearedt o subordinatfea itht o reasoni n thisu niversalisgte stureh, e was
stillp reparedto speako f thise ntelechyas a kindo f unconditiona'alb soluteo bli-
gation'( 'absolutes Soil') whose quality was not only moral but 'mystical'.9
Similarlyin, a famousp assagei nI deas /,H usserlm akest het ellingc oncessiont hat
whenh e speaks of the divineh e is referrintgo an "Absolute'i n a completely
differensetn set hant hato f thea bsoluteo f consciousnessa' nd to a 'Transcendent
ina completelydi fferensetn set hant het ranscendenocef w orld'.1I0t is not,H usserl
insistsa, humans ubjectt hat' inventso r producest hiss upremet ranscendence'.11
Littlew ondert hent hatH usserlc ouldw ritein a letterto t hey oungR omanI ngarden
thatt herew as no problemm orei mportantth ant hato f God!12- addingt hati t was
an essentialt ask to rediscover't he meaningo f divineb eing and of the divine
creationo f thew orld'.13
6 Ibid.
7 See Jean-LuMc arion'sB eingG iven,S tanforUd niversitPyr ess,2 002,p ar.2 4, pp 234 f.
8 HusserlH, ua XXVII,1 03.
9 Lettert o GerdaW altherc,i tedb y Greischo, p.c it.,p . 50.
"oH usserlH, ua III/I,1 26.
11H usserlH, ua XVII,3 35; 221.
12C itedb y Greischo, p.cit.,p . 50.
13H usserl,H ua XXVII,2 35.
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In thel ighto fa ll thise videnceJ, eanG reischd oes noth esitatteo affirmth atw e
findi n Husserlt he 'lineamentos f a theologicalp hilosophyas sociatedw itht he
teleologicali dea of reason'.14B y all accounts,w e are movingh eref romt rans-
cendentaelg ologyt o transcendenttahl eologyB. ut thatd oes notm eant hatw e can
everf ullyd isentanglteh eu se oft het ermst heologyan d teleologyin HusserlF. rom
beginnintgo end,G od appearsa s a termf or' absolutee ntelechy-' thep rogressive
actualizingo f divine potentiala s 'infinitel ife, infinitelo ve, infinitew ill'.15
MoreoverI, suspectt hato ne of ther easonst hatH usserl'sG od is notj ust an Idea
of Reason but a gifto f life is thatt his Absolute 'entelechyo f entelechies'
constituteist selff oru s in and throught he 'freev ariationo f possibles' which
imaginatiopnr ovidesb othi n a) theg reatt extso f scripturaen d literatur(see e Part
Two below) and in b) thet hirds tepo f thep henomenologicmal ethod- namely
'imaginativvea riation-' whichs eekst o formallyre visitt heset extsi n thee idetic
realmo f 'pure possibility'.I ndeed it mightb e said thatf orH usserl it is this
exploratoryan d intuitivue se of imaginationw hichs eeks to bringt ogetherth e
otherwisoep posedw orldso f eideticr easona nde xperientiafla ithA. s he confesses
in Ideas: 'If anyonel ovesa paradoxh, e can readilys ay,a nd say withs tricttr uthif
he will allow fora mbiguityt,h att hee lementw hichm akesu p thel ifeo f pheno-
menologya,s of all eideticals ciences,i s 'fiction't, hatf ictionis thes ourcew hence
thek nowledgoe f eternatl ruthdsr awsi tss ustenance'.16
The God of Husserl'sp henomenologiys neitheran abstractioonf rationalist
deismn ora glorifiedM onad of SufficienRte ason- it is a God of an intuitiosno
deep thati t surpassesa nd overflowasl l ouri ntentionTs.h is is a God of testimony
and empathyo,f sufferinagn d action,o f passion and compassion.A s Husserl
himselfc oncedes: 'God experiencesi n himself( lebt in sich nach) every
sufferin.g . .a ndi ti s onlyb ys ufferinwgi-t hi n thism annerth ath e can surmounhti s
finitudeh,i s not-having-to-ibne i nfinithe armonyin lighto f whichh e exists'.17
Thati s also whyf orH usserlt hes elfo r spiritis one whichn oto nly' receivesi tself
froma notherb uti s also capableo f losingi tselff ora nother'.1H8e re,a rguablyw, e
findt hep henomenologicraol otso fw hatR icoeurc alls thes ujetc onvoquea ndw hat
Marionc alls the interloqueT. he phenomenologicallpyu rgeds elf discoversi ts
originarye xistencea s one which is inextricablyti ed to othersi n a series of
intersubjectitvrea nsversatlsh atl ead ultimateltyo G od. 'In myself,w riteHs usserl,
'passingt hrougthh eo thers elvesw ithw homI findm yselfti ed,a ll thew ays.. . lead
to thes amep ole,G od, whot ranscendbso thm ana nd world'.19
14G reischo, p.cit,p . 51.
'5 HusserlH, ua XV,3 78-386.S ee also B II, 2, 53.
•6 Husserl,Id eas, Collier,N ewY ork,1 962,p p. 200-201.
»7H usserl,B II, 2,53.
18C itedb y Greischo, p.cit.,p . 56.
19H usserl,H ua XXVII,2 34.
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934 Richard Kearney
It is thisk indo f thinkinwg hiche nablesJ eanG reischt o concludeh is highly
illuminatinign vestigatioonf Husserl'sp henomenologoyf religionb y declaring
thats incef orH usserl' everyl ifeo nlyb ecomesc onsciousa ccompaniedb y love',20
thea cutea warenests hatH usserlh as oft he' absolutev ocationo ft hes ubjectp, laces
himo n ther oadt o a God whoset ruen amei s Love'.21
Moreover,t he factt hatH usserl approachest he questiono f God, aftert he
reductionin, a mannerth ati s radicallyo pent o everyp ossiblev ariationof m eaning
and manifestatiomn,e anst hatt hisi s the mostn on-dogmatidci vinityon e could
imagineO. ne mighte vens ay thatf orH usserla certainm ethodicaalg nosticismor
atheismis a necessaryp reludet o thed isclosureo f neglectedas pectso f divinityIt.
certainlyk eeps the doors open to inter-religioudsi alogue betweent he great
religionos f thew orld,r esistintgh et emptatiotno imposet hec onfessionaplr esup-
positionso f any one faith.A phenomenologyof religioni n this sense is the
contraroyf apologeticsI.t 's attentivenetsos t her ealmo f 'purep ossibilitym' arksa
refusalo f exclusionaryd ogmatisma nd throwsd own a challenget o the old
metaphysicanlo tionso f God as impassivea ctualityor ens causa sui.
An insurmountabtleen sionr emainsh oweverH. usserl'su ncompromisinadgh e-
rencet o a rigorouss cienceo f transcendentraela son- withG od representintgh e
ultimatue niversapl ole - cannotb e easilys quaredw itht hem ysticaol r personal
God of confessionarle velationT.h e God of Reasona nd theG od of Faithr emain,
it seems,o n separateif p arallelt racksin Husserl'sp henomenologByu. tb othG ods
hint,i n theirr espectivew ays,t owardsa divinityf uelledb y 'the passiono f the
possible'- a specialp assiona ccessiblet hrougthh e' freev ariationof i magination'.
2. Heidegger
MartinH eideggert ook the phenomenologicailn quirya bout God and the
Possiblei n new directionsH. is basic insightt hatf orp henomenolog'yp ossibility
standsh ighert hana ctuality('f ormulateidn his Introductiotno Beinga nd Time)
was top roveo fc rucials ignificancIet. gavea newo ntologicaml eaningt oH usserl's
claimt hati ti s ther ealmo fp ossibilityo,p enedu p byt hep henomenologicmale thod
of reductiona nd freev ariationt, hatl eads us to an essentiali ntuitiono f truth.
Heideggerg aveH usserl'sa rgumenat m oreo ntologicaalr ticulatiohno, weverw, hen
he showed how 'Dasein is its possibilities',f romi ts everydayc oncernsa nd
projectst o itsm ostu ltimataen d ownmospt ossibilityof all - thep ossibilityw hich
is thei mpossibilitoyf a nyf urthepro ssibilityo:n e's beingt owardds eath( Sein-zum-
Tode).
Heideggerw as also borrowinhge ref romK ierkegaardo'sr iginasl uggestionin
Sicknessu ntoD eath thatd ivinee xistences houldb e conceivedo f in termso f the
'possible'. 'For prayer',w ritesK ierkegaard't, herem ustb e a God, a self- and
20H usserFl, 1 24,7 0.
21G reischo,p .cit,p . 57.
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possibilit-y or a selfa ndp ossibilitiyn a pregnanste nse,b ecauset heb eingo f God
meanst hate verythinisg p ossible( mulig),o r thate verythinisg p ossiblem eanst he
beingo fG od; onlyh e whoseb eingh as beens o shakent hath e has becomes piribt y
understandinthga te verythinisg p ossibleo, nlyh e hasa nythintgo d o withG od.T hat
God's willi s thep ossiblem akesm e able to pray;i f thereis nothingb utn ecessity,
mani s essentiallays inarticulatase thea nimals'.2W2 hate xactlyK ierkegaarmd eans
by 'possibilitiyn a pregnanste nse'i s somethinwg hichH eideggers oughtt o clarify
whenh e identifietdh et ruthof Beingw ith' theq uietp owero f thel ovingp ossible'
in his conclusiont o Beinga nd Time.T he factt hatK ierkegaarwd as describedb y
Heideggera s neithera purep hilosophern or a puret heologianb ut a law unto
himself,2is3 a lso of interesats we seek to identiftyh ee xacts tatuso f Heidegger's
ownc ontributiotno a depthh ermeneutiocfs t heP ossible.
GivenH eidegger'sp henomenologicaanl alysiso f Dasein's differencatt egories
of possibilityin Beinga nd Time- as SeinkonnenM, oglichkeite,r mogliche-n o ne
mightb e forgivenf ors upposingt hatt he 'power of the possible' referst o an
essentiallyh umanp roperty.2H4o wever,i n the Lettero n Humanism( 1947),
Heideggerc laimst hats ucha humanisstu ppositioins mistakenIn. a pivotailf m uch
neglectedp assage in thisp ost-warle ttert o JeanB eaufretH, eideggerr evisitst his
22T heS icknessu ntoD eath,t ransH. onga nd Hong,P rincetoUn niversitPyr ess,1 980,p .
40. I am gratefutl o my Boston College colleague,V anessa Rumble,f orb ringingt his
passaget o mya ttention.
23M . HeideggerG, A 49, 19,c itedJ eanG reischL, e BuissonA rdenett les Lumiereds e la
Raison,v ol. 2, Cerf,P aris,2 002, p. 371.
24I n his Introductiotno Being and Time( Blackwell,O xford,t rans.M acquarriea nd
Robinson,1 962),H eideggers tatest hatf orp henomenology'p,o ssibilityst andsh ighert han
actuality('p . 63). Lateri n thist exth e referts o Dasein's pre-awarenesosf itso wn deathi n
Angsta s a specificm oodi n whichi t 'findsi tselff acedw itht hen othingnesosf thep ossible
impossibilityof its own existence'( BT, H 266). This existential-humaenx perienceo f
'possible impossibilitym' ay be usefullyc ontrastedw itht he deconstructivneo tiono f
'impossiblep ossibilityin' Derrida's' Commes i c'etaitp ossible...' (RevueI nternationadlee
Philosophiev, ol. 3, no. 205, 1998,a nd in JohnD . Caputo's' The Poeticso f theI mpossible
and theK ingdomo f God' in PostmoderTnh eologye,d . GrahamW ard,B lackwell,2 001,p p.
469f; and 'The Experiencoef G od andt heA xiologyo ft heI mpossible('V illanovaU niversity
ConferencPea per,N ov 8-10,2 001). A criticadl iscussiono f thed ifferencbese tweena ) the
deconstructivree adingo f the impossiblea dvancedb y Derridaa nd Caputo and b) our
hermeneutrice adingo f thep ossiblea s posse, see mye ssay,' The Kingdom:P ossiblea nd
Impossiblei'n A PostmoderPnh enomenologoyf t heC ross,e d. David Goicoechea,F ordham
UniversityPr ess,f orthcominFgo. r a detailedc riticald iscussiono f Heidegger'sv arious
conceptso fp ossibilitiyn B einga nd Timea nd subsequentte xtss,e e our' Heidegger'sP oetics
of theP ossible'i n Poeticso f ModernityT: owarda HermeneutiIcm agination(H umanities
Press,N ewJ ersey1,9 95),p p. 35-48a ndo urP oetiqued u Possible( BeauchesneP, aris,1 984).
See also ther apporbt etweenH eidegger'sn otiono f thep ossiblea nd thato f Husserl,E rnst
Bloch and JacquesD erridai n chapter5 of our The God whoM ay Be, IndianaU niversity
Press,B loomington2,0 02,e ntitled'P ossibilizingG od', pp. 80f.
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936 Richard Kearney
exactr eferencteo the 'quietp owero f thep ossible',r edefininigt thist imea s an
unambiguousg ift of Being itself.T heological connotationsa bound, albeit
elusivelyA. nd we are temptedto ask: what,i fa nythingd,o es this' quietp ower'o f
Beingh avet o do withG od?
The passagei n questiono pensa s follows:' Being as thee lementis the 'quiet
power'o f thel ovingp otency(V ermogensi).,e . of thep ossible( des Moglichen)\
Alreadyt hei nterpolatioonf then ewt ermV ermogento, qualifyt hes tandardte rm
fort hep ossiblei n Beinga nd Time- namelyd, as Mogliche- signalsa shiftf rom
an existential-transcendenpetrals pectiv(ee asily confusedw ithh umanismt) o a
moreu nequivocallyB eing-centreodn e. This new assignationf orB eing's own
powero f possibilizingis moret opologicatl hana nthropologicaIlt. marksa clear
departurfer omt het ranscendentraels idueso f 'possibilitys't ille videntin thee xis-
tentiaal nalytico f Dasein in Beinga nd TimeD. eterminend owt o avoida nyf urther
humanismt isreadingHs,e ideggeris emphatico n thisp oint.' Our words' possible'
and 'possibilitya' re', he explains,' undert he dominationo f 'logic' and 'meta-
physics't, akeno nlyi n contrastto 'actuality'i,. e. theya rec onceivedw ithr eference
to a determine-d viz. the metaphysica-l interpretatioonf Being as actus and
potentiat,h ed istinctioonf whichi s identifiewd itht hato f existentiaan d essentia'.
But Heideggere xplainst hatw henh e speakso f the 'quietp owero f thep ossible',
he means neither1 ) the 'possible of a merelyr epresentedp ossibilitas' (a
Leibnitzian-Kanticaant egoryof m odall ogic),n or2 ) 'thep otentiaa s essentiao fa n
actus of the existentia(*an Aristotelian-scholasctaitce goryo f metaphysicsH). e
means,a s he statesh ere,' Being itselfw, hichi n its lovingp otency(d as Mbgend)
possibilizes( yermagt) houghatn d thusa lso thee ssenceo f man,w hichm eansi n
turnh isr elationshitpo Being'.H eideggerc oncludest hisd ecisivep assaget hus:' To
possibilise( vermogersi)o methinigs to sustaini t in its essence,t o retaini t in its
element'.25
The significancoef thisp ronouncemenont the 'possible'c annotb e underesti-
mated.I t offersa uniquei nsightin tot he famous' Turn'i n Heidegger'st hought
from' phenomenology('w ith its residualt ranscendentael,x istentialD, asein-
centredid ioms)t o 'thought(w' ithi tss hifto fe mphasist o Being-as-BeingS,e ina ls
Sein).26H eideggerI 's humanists oundingi diomso f Being as temporalitayn d
historicalitayr e now replacedw itha mores acred-soundinlagn guageo f love and
grace,c onsistenwt ithH eideggerII 's rethinkinogf B einga s Gift( Es gibt).P laying
on thel atente tymologicaalf finitiebse tweent heG ermanv erbsf orl oving( mogen)
andm akingp ossible( yerm6genH\e ideggerin viteus s to rethinBke ingi tselfa s the
25S ee Poeticso fM odernityp,. 219, note3 4 on EdgarL ohner'sc ontentioutsr anslation
of Vermogeinn his versiono f the 'Lettero n Humanismi'n Phenomenologayn d Existen-
tialisme, d. R. Zanera nd D. Ihde (CapricornB ooks,N ewY ork,1 973),p p. 147-181.
26 On the significanceo f this 'Turn', see W. J. Richardson,H eidegger: Through
Phenomenologtyo ThoughtN, ijhofT, he Hague, 1963; revisede ditionF, ordhamU niversity
Press,N ewY ork,2 003.
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Hermeneutics of The Possible God
937
powert hatp ossibilizest hea uthentibce ingo f things':I t is on thes trengtohf this
loving potencyo r possibilisationo f love (das Vermogend es Mogens) that
somethingi s possibilized (yermag)i n its authentic( eigentlich)b eing. This
possibilization(V ermogeni)s thea uthenti'cp ossible(' das eigentlich'm ogliche'X
thatw hosee ssencer estso n loving'.27
The properr esponse of human beings to such loving-possibilizingis ,
Heideggers uggests,t o love-possibilizeB eing in returnb y thinkingth ingsa nd
selvesi n theira uthentiecs sence.T houghti s...t o concerno neselfa boutt hee ssence
ofa 'thingo' r a 'person',t hatm eanst o likeo rt o love them'.2T8h e possibilizinogf
Being may thusb e understoodin termso f a double genitiver eferrinbgo tht o
Being's loving-possibilizinogf thoughta nd thought'sl oving-possibilizinogf
Being.T hus we mightt ranslatHe eidegger'sp hrase- Aus diesemM ogenv ermag
das Seind as Denken- as 'Beingp ossibilizest houghwt hichp ossibilizesB eing'.A
translationw hose sense is confirmedi,t seems, in Heidegger'si mmediately
subsequents entence:'T he one renderst he otherp ossible.B eing as the loving-
possibilizing is the 'posse-iblt' (Jenes ermoglichted ieses. Das Sein als
Vermogend-Mogenisdted as 'Mog-liche).29
By choosingt o translatteh eo perativtee rm,'m og-liche\as 'posse-ible',I am
suggestintgh att hes hareds emantics enseo f mogen( to love) and vermogen(t o be
able/tom akep ossible)i s perhapsb estc apturedb y theL atint ermp osse - a term
whicha ccordingt o Nicholaso f Cusa, lies at thev eryh earto f divineb eing,q ua
God's powert o love. Cusanus coined the termP ossest to capturet hisd ouble
belongingof p ossiblityan db eingw hichh e identifiewd ithG od. 'God alone',w rote
Cusanus,' is all thath e is able to be'.30
27F ora moree laboratec ommentaroyn thisk eyp assages ee our 'Heidegger'Ps oeticso f
theP ossible',p p. 44-48 and p. 220, note3 6; and our 'HeideggerL, e Possiblee t Dieu' in
Heideggere t la Questiond e Dieu, ed. J.O 'Leary and R. KearneyG, rassetP, aris,1 980,p p.
125-167. On the various theological interpretationosf Husserl's and Heidegger's
phenomenologye,s peciallyb y figuresl ike Marion,L evinas and Henryi n France,s ee
DominiqueJ anicaudL,e tournantth eologiqudee laphenomenologiefranqaiLs'e e,c lat,1 991.
See also our 'Heidegger'sG ods' in ourP oeticso fM odernityp,p . 50-64;J -FC ourtine(e d.),
Phenomenologieet TheologieC, riterionP,a ris,1 992 and GeorgeK ovacs,T he Questiono f
God in Heidegger'sP henomenologNy,o rthwesterUnn iversitPyr ess,E vanston1, 990.
28I bid.p . 220, note3 7.
29I bid.p . 45 f. Ourt ranslation.
30S ee Cusanus,T rialogusd e Possest,e d. R. SteigerF, elix MeinerV erlag,H amburg,
1973; and P. J. Casarella,' Nicholaso f Cusa and theP owero f theP ossible' in American
CatholicP hilosophicalJ ournal6, 4, 1, 1990, pp. 7-35. Casarellam akess ome interesting
comparisonsb etweenC usanus' divinep ossest and Heidegger'sp ower of the 'loving
possible'. Anotherc ontemporaryco mmentatotro note the intriguingli nks between
Heideggera nd Cusanuso n then otiono n thep ossible- thoughf roma n ontologicarl ather
thane schatologicapl erspectiv-e is GiorgioA gambenP, otentialitieSs,t anfordU niversity
Press,S tanford1,9 99,e speciallyp p. 192-204.
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