Until his untimely death in 1988, George Grant was considered the foremost political philosopher Canada had produced. He was a critic of technological globalization who perceived early on its destructive potentialities on all facets of life, public and private. His writing focused on how the development of technological globalization endangered national sovereignty, undermined indigenous cultures and traditions, and threatened individual and communal rights. What is less known about Grant is the importance of faith in his life and how it informed his thought. Indeed, even though Grant did not write about his faith to any great extent, he claimed that it was the inspirational centre of everything he thought and wrote. This thesis will attempt to uncover the substance of Grant's faith and how it informs his thought. Grant was a Christian and a Protestant whose faith is best expressed in the words of Martin Luther: "A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is." (Luther's Works, vol. 31, p. 40) This quote is not incidental. Grant found in Luther's words and the theological orientation Luther named a "Theology of the Cross," the basis of his critical and constructive critique of the contemporary realities that concerned him. But even though Luther gave the words for this theological orientation, its significance in shaping Grant's thought was developed through his struggle with other theologians and philosophers, the most influential of whom was Simone Weil. This thesis will be an attempt to define this theological orientation as expressed by Luther, how Grant came upon it through formative influences and experiences along with formal studies in theology and philosophy, how Simone Weil gave intellectual and existential voice to this orientation in him, and how it informed Grant's perspective on all the thinkers he struggled with and all the issues that preoccupied his thought. Finally, this thesis
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.34910 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Athanasiadis, Harris. |
| Contributors | Hall, Douglas John (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Faculty of Religious Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001610350, proquestno: NQ44351, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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