J.J. Spalding and Neology in the Context of Disciplinary Formalizing of Philosophical Theology

The article concerns the formation process of philosophical theology. Today, the emergence of philosophical theology is often ascribed only to the 20th century. It is especially popular in this context to recall Wilhelm Weischedel and his fundamental work Der Gott der Philosophen. The author of the article draws attention to the earlier stages of the formation of this discipline, in particular to the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher and the age of German Enlightenment that preceded him. She comes to conclusion that it is in German Enlightenment, namely in the works of representatives of such a philosophical and theological trend as Neology, that one should see those background that later served as the foundation for the formation of philosophical theology. In this regard, the most interesting are the works of Johann Joachim Spalding (1714-1804). Neology in general and the works of Spalding are scarcely studied at the moment. Most of the available researches on this significant thinker consider his anthropological views based primarily on his fundamental work The Destiny of Man, while his other significant works have sliped out of sight. As a result, our knowledge about the philosophical and theological views of Spalding is one-sided and the importance of this thinker for the subsequent development of theology is greatly underestimated. This article examines Spalding from a new perspective - as a forerunner of the emergence of philosophical theology, and thus contributes to clarifying the essence of philosophical theology as such and the history of its formation, as well as to the study of the philosophy and theology of the age of German Enlightenment. © 2021, Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.