Human Freedom and Freedom of Choice in Kurt Frank Reinhardt’s Existential-Theological Realism
Abstract
This article offers the first analysis in Ukrainian historical-philosophical discourse of the ideas of Kurt Frank Reinhardt, highlighting the specific reception and transformation of classical existentialist concepts within American philosophical culture. Reinhardt’s “existential anthropology” and “existential-theological realism” are interpreted as manifestations of post-existentialist thought – a cultural synthesis characterized by methodological eclecticism and an attempt to further develop existentialist principles through a new philosophical concept of the human being. In this framework, the notion of freedom emerges as a central category, particularly in relation to the dichotomy between human freedom and freedom of choice. The study demonstrates that Reinhardt draws upon the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition, which offers a rationalistic understanding of freedom within the “man–world–God” relationship, while simultaneously engaging with and developing the irrationalist perspectives of classical existentialism. This synthesis enables Reinhardt to address the interrelation between freedom and the crisis of human existence in the modern age through a reinterpretation of Christianity as a “unique spiritual force” capable of restoring the integrity of the weakened self. In Reinhardt’s view, the human being is ontologically and metaphysically dependent, yet psychologically and morally free. He argues that without God’s eternal and all-pervading guidance, neither human existence nor freedom would be possible. Within his existential anthropology, reason and will provide the foundation for interpreting freedom. At the same time, modern civilization is seen as being under serious threat, as enduring values and moral truths increasingly diverge from material reality, which, deprived of rational guidance, becomes subject to chance and instinctual drives. Reinhardt ultimately emphasizes that this condition leads to a loss of awareness of the existential purpose of human existence. His ideas thus represent an eclectic synthesis of Thomistic rationalism and existentialist thought, confirming the development of post-existentialist philosophy.
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