Karl Barth and the Relationship Between Philosophy and Theology

Abstract

It is commonly held that Karl Barth emphatically rejected the usefulness of philosophy for theology. In this essay I explore the implications of Barth's theological epistemology for the relationship and proper boundaries between philosophy and theology, given its origin in Barth's theology of revelation. I seek to clarify Barth's position with respect to philosophy by distinguishing the contingency of its offence from any necessary incompatibility. Barth does not reject philosophy per se, but the way in which philosophy is typically conducted. This is made explicit through an analysis of Barth's censure of the uncritical acceptance in theology of modernist philosophical presuppositions. I nuance Barth's response to a collection of philosophical assumptions that are rarely distinguished in theological literature. Finally, I highlight a representative instance of Barth's reflections on philosophy in relationship to theology, to demonstrate that the criterion for evaluating the usefulness of philosophical assumptions and methods in the service of theology is the same criterion by which theology is itself evaluated.Karl Barth is often understood to have denounced quite explicitly the possibility of a fruitful dialog with philosophy. Nicholas Wolterstorff expresses this common view: 'Barth has little direct influence on philosophy. There is, in that, a certain historical justice: Barth made clear that in his theology he had little use for philosophy. He regarded philosophical theology as idolatrous; and as to philosophy of religion, he insisted that Christianity is not a religion.' 1 It is commonly held that, in his zeal to preserve the character and freedom of theology, Barth says a resounding 'No'! to any role for philosophy. 2 Barth's injunction is taken to be an absolute parting of ways, where philosophy is 'excommunicated as not merely an alien but an enemy'. 3 To be sure, Barth issues strong warnings about the deployment of philosophy in Christian theology; but, these warnings are misunderstood entirely when taken as a blanket interdiction, or regarded as a posture of isolation.The intent of this essay is to dispel these common misunderstandings by exploring the implications of Barth's theological epistemology to grasp his primary concerns with what he takes, in fact, to be the inevitable use of philosophy in the theological task. While our chief concern is to understand Barth's view for Christian theologians, his claims are easily extended to Christian philosophers and academics of every stripe who face the challenge of orienting their thought and theological commitments appropriately. The approach we will take focuses on a selection of Barth's work where he comments extensively on the relationship between philosophy and theology. With the exception of an essay penned for Heinrich Barth's seventieth birthday Festschrift in 1960, the material we will consider is taken primarily from the first volume of Die kirchliche Dogmatik (KD I/1) and material from Barth's time just prior, in Go¨ttingen and Mu¨nster. 4 In t...