Imagination, religion and morality : an interdisciplinary approach

dc.contributor.authorSerfontein, Bernice
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-24T06:11:54Z
dc.date.available2020-01-24T06:11:54Z
dc.date.issued2019-06-19
dc.descriptionDr Serfontein is participating in the research project, ‘Religious Experience from an evolutionary perspective’, directed by Prof. Dr Danie Veldsman, Department of Dogmatics and Christian Ethics, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThis article is partially based on the author’s thesis of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Dogmatics and Christian Ethics at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, with supervisor Prof. D.P. Veldsman. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/71030)en_ZA
dc.description.abstractEvery human society and almost all of human life are infused with ethics. How do we best understand human morality and ethics? I want to argue that responsible ethics rests on a credible understanding of what it means to be human. This article proposes that a more comprehensive understanding of the distinctive human imagination, religious awareness and morality – all of which are significant aspects of being human – will facilitate a more responsible understanding and practice of ethics. Such an understanding entails a bottom-up view, which takes seriously the exploration of the fundamental evolutionary realities of human nature, that is, a natural history of morality. The quest for understanding the propensity for imagination, religious awareness and morality can be aided by exploring the core role of the evolutionary transition between becoming and being human. Accordingly, this research combines a niche construction perspective with fossil and archaeological evidence, highlighting the role of complexity in human evolution, which adds to our understanding of a completely human way of being in the world. A distinctively human imagination is part of the explanation for human evolutionary success and accordingly our sense of morality and religious disposition. The methodology this article applies is that of an interdisciplinary approach combining perspectives of some of the most prominent voices in the modern discourses on imagination, religious awareness and morality. What results from this approach is, first, a more comprehensive understanding of the human imagination, the capacity for religious awareness and morality. Ultimately, by creatively integrating the various perspectives evident in this research – by way of a philosophical bridge theory between evolutionary anthropology and theology – this article attempts to determine whether evolutionary thought can be constructively appropriated to interdisciplinary Christian theology and ethics.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentDogmatics and Christian Ethicsen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2020en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.hts.org.zaen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSerfontein, B., 2019, ‘Imagination, religion and morality: An interdisciplinary approach’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 75(1), a5350. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v75i1.5350.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0259-9422 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2072-8050 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.4102/hts.v75i1.5350
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/72894
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherAOSIS Open Journalsen_ZA
dc.rights© 2019. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectImaginationen_ZA
dc.subjectReligionen_ZA
dc.subjectReligious awarenessen_ZA
dc.subjectMoralityen_ZA
dc.subjectEthicsen_ZA
dc.subjectEvolutionen_ZA
dc.subjectEvolutionary biologyen_ZA
dc.subjectNiche constructionen_ZA
dc.subjectPhilosophyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherTheology articles SDG-04
dc.subject.otherSDG-04: Quality education
dc.subject.otherTheology articles SDG-10
dc.subject.otherSDG-10: Reduced inequalities
dc.subject.otherTheology articles SDG-16
dc.subject.otherSDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
dc.titleImagination, religion and morality : an interdisciplinary approachen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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