Justice as beauty-in-action? Insights from Hans Urs von Balthasar’s aesthetics and dramatics

Abstract

This essay explores the relation between beauty and justice by turning to the thought of the Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. It begins by giving an exposition of Balthasar’s theological aesthetics, as developed in his work The glory of the Lord, which shows how, for Von Balthasar, earthly beauty participates in, and expresses something of God’s divine glory and reaches its apex in the revelation of the beautiful form of Jesus Christ. This is then followed by an exposition of Von Balthasar’s theological dramatics, as developed in his work Theo-drama, which shows how, for Von Balthasar, this beautiful form of Christ is not merely a static image, icon, or artwork but, in fact, a dynamic event, a dramatic act, an embodied performance which reveals to us, along with God’s glory and beauty, God’s unbounded goodness. The essay subsequently turns to questions of justice (in light of Von Balthasar’s understanding of the relation between beauty and goodness), and ultimately argues that, according to Von Balthasar’s thought, justice can be viewed as a form of beauty-in-action that asks to be performed in the world.