Toward a unified vision: The integration of Christian theology and evolution in Karl Rahner's understanding of matter and spirit

The question I am seeking to clarify in this dissertation is the extent to which Rahner's understanding of matter and spirit can serve as the foundation for a more integrated understanding of evolution and Christian theology. I will begin to assess the adequacy of this integration by evaluating its ability to respond to the challenges to Christian theism raised by the American philosopher Daniel Dennett.; The dissertation will be divided into five chapters. The first will present Daniel Dennett's philosophical exposition of evolutionary theory and show how it forms the basis for his criticisms of Christian theism. It will serve to present several important, contemporary criticisms of Christian theism to which Rahner's integration of theology and evolution must respond. The second will explicate some of the important anthropological, epistemological, and metaphysical foundations that form the basis of Rahner's integration of theology and evolution. The third chapter will focus on Rahner's integration of theology and evolution by considering three different moments in their one developmental process: origin, transformation, and consummation. It will show that an evolutionary worldview is at the very heart of Rahner's theological vision. Chapter four will develop a Rahnerian response to the challenges of Dennett and substantiate the claim that Rahner's integration of theology and evolution can accommodate the criticisms of Dennett. Having shown the viability of Rahner's integration of theology and evolution the fifth and final chapter will assess some of its strengths and limitations. The dissertation will conclude by looking toward the future to suggest ways in which Rahner's unified understanding of matter and spirit expressed in his integration of theology and evolution can serve as the foundation for a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of the whole of reality and provide the means for a better and more complementary relationship between theology, philosophy, and the natural and social sciences.