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THE HEART IN THE HEARTLESS WORLD. STRUGGLES FOR WHAT IS CENTRAL TO HUMAN LIFE

Publication at Catholic Theological Faculty |
2022

Abstract

Another international conference organised within the framework of the UNCE project Theological Anthropology in Ecumenical Perspective was held online due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This type of conference is not ideal, as there is a lack of informal meetings between the participants and there is no space for debate outside the time allocated to the conference.

On the other hand, it allowed scholars from different countries to participate who might otherwise not have been able to attend the conference for various reasons. The conference provided space for public presentations by young researchers, i.e. doctoral and post-doctoral students, as well as experienced ones.1 The conference focused on the perennial problem of "what is actually important in life", which was looked at from various perspectives in the individual contributions and presentations.

Although the main title hints at considering this world heartless, the conference was not primarily about criticism of the contemporary world but about searching for a way to be a genuine human being in today's complicated world. The title of the conference, taken from Karl Marx's quote on religion (religion as "the heart in a heartless world"), highlights a theological perspective in interpreting contemporary world problems