Contemplation and Radical Transformation. On the Significance of Mystical Knowledge in Thomas Keating’s OCSO for a Formal Conception of Theological Ethics

Abstract

The article presented here shows the connection between theological ethics and spirituality via a gnoseological dimension of mystical experience. Employing this specific definition of mysticism, theological ethics is not so much materially enriched as formally apprehended by reflecting on its epistemological presuppositions. The starting point for this is Thomas Keating’s OCSO understanding of reality, which he unfolds in the context of his contemplative prayer method, Centering Prayer. Per the form of thought of autonomous morality according to Alfons Auer, criteria are developed which lead from the knowledge of reality to the justification of an individual norm and a melius of action. In this way, a formally conceived theological ethic is intended to show a way to bridge the nasty gap between autonomous morality and the ethics of faith. These considerations will be illustrated by utilizing an example within environmental ethics.