Boyd, Gregory A. “The A Priori Construction of the Doctrine of God in the Philosophy of Charles Hartshorne: A Critical Examination and Reconstruction of Di-Polar Theism Towards a Trinitarian Metaphysics.” PhD. Dissertation. Princeton Theological Seminary, 1988. [Trinity, Hartshorne, Di-Polar Theism, Metaphysics, Critique]

Abstract

The philosophy of Charles Hartshorne is arguably the most comprehensive and persuasive metaphysical system worked out in the twentieth century. His a priori approach to resolving metaphysical questions is as original in the context of modern thought as it is compelling. He has strengthened the Whiteheadian critique of the traditional Western substance ontology, and has fortified the Process alternative to this tradition by placing it on an a priori foundation as well as making it more internally consistent. Of particular value from a Christian perspective is the punctilious and penetrating manner in which he has critically renovated the classical view of God.
Hartshorne's metaphysical system, however, also represents what must be regarded as the most significant challenge to the orthodox Christian faith in modern times, for the di-polar view of God as being necessarily related to a non-divine world which his system necessitates is radically antithetical to the most fundamental tenets of the Christian faith as it had been traditionally understood. Such biblical concepts of salvation by grace, special providence, and special revelation, as well as such central confessions of faith as the sovereignty of God the Creator and the divinity of Christ are completely undermined in this metaphysical system.
The most fundamental reason for this incongruity, we argue in this work, is that the Church's traditional understanding of God is Trinitarian, while Hartshorne's view is not. Only an understanding of God as internally and eternally social, self-sufficient, and perfect apart from any interaction with a non-divine reality-only a view of God as eternally triune within Godself-can render intelligible the Christian experience of salvation by grace and the central tenets of traditional Christianity which flow from this experience.
The question this work therefore attempts to answer is this: is it possible for one to retain the positive features of Hartshorne's metaphysics while avoiding the unorthodox implications of his system? Can one acknowledge the fundamental insights of Hartshorne's thought as compelling and true, and yet rework them in such a way so as to make them consonant with the Trinitarian understanding of God, and hence a view of God who relates to the world not out of need, but out of the infinite abundance of this One's own being?
The fundamental purpose of this present work is to attempt to demonstrate that the answer to this question is yes. Indeed, this work attempts to demonstrate that by rejecting, revising and/or supplementing a few statements Hartshorne believes to be a priori and which as such ground his entire metaphysical system, his system of thought is not only made consistent with a Trinitarian view of God; it actually is made to necessitate some such view. With some revision, then, Hartshorne's philosophy can provide the foundation for a Trinitarian-Process