Paul Farmer: A Model for the Theologian

• Published in: Journal of moral theology Vol. 4; no. CTEWC Book Series 4
• Main Author: Ferrer, Jorge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Journal of Moral Theology, Inc 20.02.2023
• ISSN: 2166-2851; 2166-2118
• DOI: 10.55476/001c.71371

Paul Farmer was a physician, medical anthropologist, and social justice activist. Although influenced by theology of liberation, he was not a professional theologian. Nonetheless, this chapter presents Farmer as a model for the theological ethicist. He presents a dual form of modeling: analytical and praxical. His use of social analysis to uncover the structural causes of impoverishment and exclusion provides a model for the analysis that theological ethicists are called to articulate in an acutely divided and unfair world. Farmer’s modeling is not limited to the analytical or strictly scholarly dimension of the theologian’s work. The main thrust of both his life’s work and his modelling is praxical: a life committed to service, advocacy, and activism at the service of the impoverished. Famer undertook his intellectual work and social analysis within the broader context of an existential commitment to social transformation and justice. He was a paradigm of what Antonio Gramsci called an organic intellectual. The organic intellectual is actively engaged in the construction of a new society. As an organic intellectual, Farmer becomes a praxical model for the theologian. Neutrality is not an option for someone who aspires to a life of authenticity in the footsteps of Jesus.