Personal consciousness and freedom in the thought of Karl Rahner and Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II: A comparison of their contributions to theological anthropology and moral theology

This dissertation uses selected themes to critically compare the theological anthropologies of Karl Rahner and Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II. These themes include the structure of human consciousness, the concept of person and its relationship to human nature, the character of human freedom, and the human being as a moral agent. Specifically, this dissertation argues that the similarities between these thinkers are many and important, while their irreconcilable differences are few but significant, and that virtually all of their irreconcilable differences can be traced to their understandings of human nature. The Introduction provides short intellectual biographies of each thinker, focusing on philosophical influences. The first two chapters discuss Rahner's thought on the structure of personal consciousness and freedom respectively, and the third and fourth chapters do the same for Wojtyla/John Paul II. The concluding section critically discusses the similarities and differences between Karl Rahner and Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II, concluding that important similarities between the two include their understandings of human freedom, dignity, and conscience. However, this dissertation also concludes that their different understandings of human nature give rise to different understandings of historicity and truth. With a view to their implications for the moral life, the conclusion also suggests new avenues of study that would continue the comparison of these two prominent thinkers.