P-36 Kenosis and Self-Denial in Jean-Luc Marion’s Formulations on the Language of the Doctrine of God

Buller Hall Lobby

Parting from Jean-Luc Marion’s reflections on the knowability of God in God Without Being (2012) and In the Self’s Place (2012), this project proposes a response to the problem of language in the Doctrine of God by highlighting Marion’s concept of hermeneutical humility as an efficient path for theological discourse. I argue that Marion’s model for discourse within his critique of ontotheology adamantly advocates for an intellectual kenosis—or abandonment of one’s presuppositions—that ultimately subverts all desire to speak unequivocally of the Divine. In kenosis, the theologian gains a voice to speak of and engage God’s reality within the limitations of human cognition.