On Thursday 22 October 2020, students from the Faculty of Theology participated in a lively online discussion with Prof. Mariéle Wulf, associate professor at the university of Tilburg, the Netherlands, during a lecture entitled “Environmental Ethics: the Interrelation of Nature and Culture.”
Prof. Wulf — a world expert on Edith Stein, the famous Jewish student of Edmund Husserl and Max Scheler turned Carmelite nun and who was executed in the Auschwitz concentration camps — engages phenomenology to help her students develop ethical and moral reasoning.
During her lecture, Prof. Wulf presented a model that she developed, and which acts as a heuristic aid to ethical/moral decision-making. The scheme consists of a tetrahedron with four poles linked to basic values: on the top God/Life; the basis formed by I/Freedom; You/Love and Surroundings/Truth. The content is the Responsibility towards epistemological truth and values.
Prof. Wulf — a world expert on Edith Stein, the famous Jewish student of Edmund Husserl and Max Scheler turned Carmelite nun and who was executed in the Auschwitz concentration camps — engages phenomenology to help her students develop ethical and moral reasoning.
During her lecture, Prof. Wulf presented a model that she developed, and which acts as a heuristic aid to ethical/moral decision-making. The scheme consists of a tetrahedron with four poles linked to basic values: on the top God/Life; the basis formed by I/Freedom; You/Love and Surroundings/Truth. The content is the Responsibility towards epistemological truth and values.
The interrelation of these concepts, she explained, leads to an integral ecology. This can be achieved only if a specific gaze on the environment is adopted, that is, one where the environment is perceived as “creation”, thus opening us up to an “ecological spirituality”. In so doing, the relationship between oneself and the rest of creation reveals the inherent dignity and wisdom in all of creation. Creation in its entirety, including humanity, longs for redemption and perfection, in which we, as human beings, have an important role to play.
Profe. Wulf showed how this conceptual map is consistent with biblical teaching on ecology and with Pope Francis’s encyclical letter On Care for Our Common Home Laudato Si’. It can also be applied to many other ethical challenges that bio-technological and economic advances offer today.
Apart from her interest in phenomenology, Prof. Wulf is also interested in trauma and forgiveness, especially in the context of sex abuse which is a result of two decennia of pastoral care on victims. During her stay in Malta, she also exchanged views on this important subject with the Archbishop of Malta, H.E. Mgr Charles J. Scicluna in his capacity as Vatican-appointed expert for dealing with clerical sex abuse on minors around the world.
The Faculty of Theology, especially the Department of Moral Theology, thanks Professor Mariéle Wulf for her fruitful visit and trusts that there would be other opportunities for further collaboration in the future. Prof. Wulf expressed her gratefulness for the warm welcome by several faculty members and for fruitful discussions during her stay in Malta and hopes to be back when COVID-19 does not limit the contact with students anymore.
Profe. Wulf showed how this conceptual map is consistent with biblical teaching on ecology and with Pope Francis’s encyclical letter On Care for Our Common Home Laudato Si’. It can also be applied to many other ethical challenges that bio-technological and economic advances offer today.
Apart from her interest in phenomenology, Prof. Wulf is also interested in trauma and forgiveness, especially in the context of sex abuse which is a result of two decennia of pastoral care on victims. During her stay in Malta, she also exchanged views on this important subject with the Archbishop of Malta, H.E. Mgr Charles J. Scicluna in his capacity as Vatican-appointed expert for dealing with clerical sex abuse on minors around the world.
The Faculty of Theology, especially the Department of Moral Theology, thanks Professor Mariéle Wulf for her fruitful visit and trusts that there would be other opportunities for further collaboration in the future. Prof. Wulf expressed her gratefulness for the warm welcome by several faculty members and for fruitful discussions during her stay in Malta and hopes to be back when COVID-19 does not limit the contact with students anymore.