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Karl Rahner

カール・ラーナー

Kāru Rānā

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1904-03-05 （Freiburg im Breisgau, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire）
Died
1984-03-30 （Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria） age 80
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Religion
Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Residence History
Freiburg (birthplace) → Pullach (teaching formation) → Innsbruck (studies and teaching) → Vienna (pastoral work) → Munich (chair of Christianity and Philosophy of Religion) → Münster (chair of dogmatic theology)

Career

Occupations
Theologian, Priest (Jesuit), Philosopher, Academic, Author
Active Years
1922-1984
Affiliations
Society of Jesus (Jesuits), University of Munich (chair), University of Münster (chair)
Memberships
Society of Jesus
Influenced By
Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant, Joseph Maréchal, Pierre Rousselot, Martin Heidegger
Influenced
Second Vatican Council (influential theological ideas), Late 20th-century Catholic theologians (e.g., Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar), Contemporary Christian theology and philosophy of religion

Education

University of Freiburg
Faculty of Philosophy / Philosophy
Degree: 博士（哲学）
Period: 1934–1939（博士論文作成）
Year of Graduation: 1939
Country: Germany
Doctoral dissertation Geist in Welt (later translated as Spirit in the World). Initially rejected by his mentor.
University of Innsbruck
Faculty of Theology / Theology / Dogmatic Theology
Degree: ハビリタツィオン（准教授資格）
Period: 1936年（ハビリタツィオン取得）
Year of Graduation: 1936
Country: Austria
Completed habilitation and served as Privatdozent in the theology faculty.

Awards

Honorary Doctorate (Philosophy)
1973
Organization: University of Innsbruck, Faculty of Philosophy
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Geist in Welt / Spirit in the World

1939 Philosophy / Theology

A doctoral-level work interpreting Aquinas's epistemology from a transcendental Thomist perspective, exploring the relation of being and knowledge.

Transcendental ThomismOntologyEpistemology
Translations
  • Spirit in the World

Homanisation

1965 Theology / Religious Philosophy

Discusses 'homanisation', addressing evolution and Catholic doctrine and exploring theological implications of human becoming.

Evolution and theologyGraceHuman existence
Translations
  • English translation available (Homanisation)

Grundkurs des Glaubens / Foundations of Christian Faith

1976 Theology (Systematic Theology)

Rahner's most developed systematic work, treating major themes such as God's self-communication, the Trinity, and Christology.

God's self-communicationTrinityChristology
Translations
  • Foundations of Christian Faith

Hörer des Wortes / Hearers of the Word

1941 Religious Philosophy / Theology

An early important work exploring the foundations of religious experience and understanding of faith.

Experience of faithPhilosophy of religion
Translations
  • English translation available (Hearers of the Word)

Bibliography

  • Schriften zur Theologie (Theological Investigations, multi-volume)
  • Lexicon für Theologie und Kirche (editor)
  • Sacramentum Mundi (co-editor)
  • Grundkurs des Glaubens (Foundations of Christian Faith)

Adaptations

Translations of Works

  • Grundkurs des Glaubens → Foundations of Christian Faith
  • Geist in Welt → Spirit in the World

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Philosophical and analytical styleAbstract and conceptualScholarly and essayistic
Recurring Motifs
God's self-communicationEveryday mysticismTranscendental experienceGrace (supernatural existential)

Health

  • Illness from exhaustion
    1984年3月（最終期）
    After sustained activity into the late 1970s and early 1980s, he fell ill from exhaustion and died in 1984.

Legacy

Heavily influential in 20th-century Catholic theology; his ideas informed aspects of the Second Vatican Council and contributed major concepts (e.g., Anonymous Christian) to contemporary theological debate.

Museums

  • Karl Rahner Centre (Freiburg) Freiburg, Germany

Academic Societies

  • Karl Rahner Society

Archives

  • Karl Rahner Archive in Munich

In Popular Culture

  • Public interest arose from his 22-year romantic affair with Luise Rinser and the later publication of their correspondence.

Quotes

  • God wishes to communicate himself, to pour forth the love which he himself is. He creates man so that he can receive this Love and accept it.
    Source: Theological Investigations (Karl Rahner) (1950)

Trivia

  • He produced some 4,000 written works over his life.
  • In 1962 he was placed under pre-censorship by Roman authorities but was appointed a peritus to the Second Vatican Council the same year.
  • Maintained a long-term romantic correspondence with writer Luise Rinser (1962–1984).