“The building of the Western Paradigm of Reflexivity: The epistemological place of Person”
In Western Classical tradition, the cosmological place of the human person was defined by a metaphysical framework of an ontological hierarchy: human person was in between the Godhead and the mundane creatures. I will argue, however, that there could be another way of thinking the place of human person in the cosmos, not from an ontological but from an epistemological perspective. I intend to show that persona is an operative concept that works within the bio-theo-political paradigm of autarchy, which defines life essentially by its reflexive character, and articulates definitely every analogy concerning what life is: its axial place in the cosmos, hence, is an epistemological one. My ultimate goal, however, is to find a new way, an alternative path, to redefine our concept of life. Instead of defining life by reflexivity, one could stress relationality as its essential feature. Understanding persona from its relational essence would enable other life-paradigm, replacing the use of the prefix autos (self-) by the one of syn (with-). The theological Trinitarian doctrine is still to be examined from this perspective in order to leave aside a substantial idea of the One and autarchic God. God’s life as an inter-personal event could offer a powerful symbol to redefine life (bios) as living together (symbiosis).