MICHEL HENRY, READER OF PAUL. THE LIVING PERSONS IN THE ARCH-FLESH OF CHRIST

Abstract

Abstract: The interpretation of the key concepts of St. Paul from the fundamental intuitions of the phenomenology of life seeks above all to make us grasp the intersubjectivity possible in the immanence of the acosmic flesh. The mystical body of Christ thus corresponds to this acosmic intersubjectivity, which, as a transcendental community, can found an intra-worldly intersubjectivity that is intended to be peaceful. It seems to us that, in this way, a new social ontology emerges in Henry’s appropriation of Pauline ecclesiology. It is an ontology which, in order to respect the singularity of each individual, does not need to isolate him or conceive of him through an abstraction totally separated from any relation to other egos. In doing so, Henry develops a social ontology that is not reflected by the idea of the social contract of the liberal philosophers nor by the views of the communitarians, for whom the individual is socially produced as essentially already-in-the-world.­

Keywords: Michel Henry. Mystical body. Flesh. Intersubjectivity.