Abstract
This paper explores the interconnections between community, vulnerability, and freedom in the thought of theologian and educator Luigi Giussani and in the Catholic personalist tradition, including the work of Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) and Dietrich von Hildebrand. At the heart of Giussani’s thought is the emphasis on the personal encounter with reality, particularly through the lens of faith, as the foundation for true community. The paper argues that for Giussani, vulnerability—understood both as the openness to the Other and the awareness of one’s own dependence—is a central feature of the authentic human experience that forms the basis of genuine community and human freedom. Giussani’s perspective resonates with the personalist (and arguably phenomenological) accounts of persons and communities found in both Wojtyla and von Hildebrand, who each highlight the importance of the individual’s subjective, embodied experience in understanding human dignity and relationality. Wojtyla’s focus on the person as ‘subject,’ open to communion with others, and von Hildebrand’s emphasis on the emotional and interpersonal dimensions of love and community, both align with Giussani’s view that community is not a simple social construct, but a lived reality that is fundamentally grounded in vulnerability and receptivity to others. Drawing on these thinkers, this paper shows how Giussani’s thought offers a proposal for understanding how community and vulnerability are intertwined, and for seeing our dependence on others (and on God) as essential to human flourishing and freedom.
Presenters
Sandra AlexanderAssistant Professor of Humanities, School of Arts and Sciences, American University in Dubai, Dubayy, United Arab Emirates
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Fragile Meanings: Vulnerability in the Study of Religions and Spirituality
KEYWORDS
Community, Vulnerability, Embodiment, Freedom, Phenomenology, Personalism, Giussani, Wojtyla, Von Hildebrand
