On Human Ambiguity: Religion in Philosophy and Theology

On Human Ambiguity explores the philosophical question of what it means to be human by examining the inherent ambiguity of subjectivity. Drawing on over two decades of work by Danish philosopher Arne Grøn, the volume investigates how human existence is shaped by the tensions between activity and passivity, autonomy and dependence, immanence and transcendence. The central theme is the problematic nature of subjectivity - not as a stable foundation, but as a dynamic, self-relating process marked by vulnerability, temporality, and relationality.
Grøn's methodological approach is phenomenological-hermeneutic and existential, combining historical-contextual analysis with dialectical reflection. The book engages critically with key figures in Western philosophy - including Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Levinas - and integrates perspectives from theology, ethics, religious studies, psychology, and art theory. It develops an interdisciplinary framework that reformulates the metaphysical problematic of subjectivity and advances existential hermeneutics as an indispensable mode of philosophical inquiry.
The volume's findings emphasize that subjectivity is always embedded in context, exposed to alterity, and shaped by imagination, memory, and ethical responsibility. Religion is not merely an object of philosophical inquiry but a perspective that challenges rationality and reveals the limits of ethical understanding, especially in confronting liminal experiences such as guilt, forgiveness, and trauma.