Philosophy of religion Books

Book SynopsisThomas Lynch is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Chichester, UK.Trade ReviewThis exciting new book in the field of political theology provides a helpful reading of the often-denigrated figure of Hegel, the often-glossed figure of Taubes, and the work of Malabou—who has not—to my knowledge—been read as an aid to political theology. * Reading Religion *This is the book political theology has been waiting for: a superb orientation in the field, which also sets out a compelling argument for the end of the world as we know it. -- Steven Shakespeare, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Liverpool Hope University, UKThomas Lynch is emerging as an original and creative voice in Continental Philosophy of Religion. In this book, he brilliantly situates Jacob Taubes between Hegel and Malabou to create an apocalyptic political theology. Anyone interested in these topics or figures has to read this book! -- Clayton Crockett, Professor and Director of Religious Studies, University of Central Arkansas, USAThomas Lynch conducts an orchestra of Continental philosophers and theorists in order to push forward discussions of political theology. With an expansive knowledge of the most exciting conversations in the field, Lynch clarifies the nettlesome concept of apocalypticism while also demonstrating its importance for getting political theology right. Lynch’s work will help us think more carefully about hope and pessimism, the end of the world and the start of new worlds. -- Vincent Lloyd, Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova University, USAIf the divisions of nature, capital, gender and race constitute this world, what does it mean to think the end of the world today? Lynch’s Apocalyptic Political Theology offers important insights for a critique of the world as it is. His apocalyptic political theology is the conceptual tool to experiment with new possibilities. Thinking with Hegel, Taubes and Malabou on the sense of the apocalyptic time rather than thinking about each of their ideas is the most interesting challenge of the book. -- Elettra Stimilli, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, ItalyTable of ContentsTable of Contents: Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. Philosophy, political theology and the end of the world What is political theology? What is this world that ends? Conflicts and antagonisms Imagining the end Questioning the apocalypse 2. Implicit Political Theology: Reading Hegel’s Philosophy of Religion Joachim, Hegel and the end of the world Representational thought: An outline of Hegel’s philosophy of religion Hegel’s implicit political theology Philosophy and the return to representation Conclusion 3. Spiritual disinvestment: Taubes, Hegel and apocalypticism An introduction to Taubes Taubes and the apocalyptic Hegel The problem of apocalypticism and history Taubes and Bloch Anti-liberal tendencies in Hegel, Taubes and Schmitt Transcendental materialist readings of Hegel: From Taubes to Malabou 4. Plastic Apocalypticism Malabou, Hegel and plasticity Plastic apocalypticism: Taubes and Malabou The problem of alterity and the rejection of the transcendent A Blochian supplement Contingency and plastic apocalypticism Conclusion 5. Pessimism and hope in apocalyptic living Living with the absence of alternatives Pessimism and surrender Living towards the end of the world The end Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn recent years there has been a bold revival in the field of natural theology, where natural theology can be understood as the attempt to demonstrate that God exists by way of reason, evidence, and argument without the appeal to divine revelation. Today''s practitioners of natural theology have not only revived and recast all of the traditional arguments in the field, but, by drawing upon the findings of contemporary cosmology, chemistry, and biology, have also developed a range of fascinating new ones. Contemporary Arguments in Natural Theology brings together twenty experts working in the field today. Together, they practice natural theology from a wide range of perspectives, and show how the field of natural theology is practiced today with a degree of diversity and confidence not seen since the Middle Ages. Aimed primarily at advanced undergraduates and graduate students, the volume will also be of interest to researchers in philosophy, theology, biblical studies, and religTrade ReviewThe scope of these essays helps to articulate the exceptional breadth of Contemporary Argument in Natural Theology as a whole. The variety of arguments throughout the book provide a point of contact no matter the interest of the reader, and sprawling bibliographies at the end of each essay open up significant inroads to further study ... Contemporary Arguments in Natural Theology is a worthwhile read for anybody interested in the topic. * Modern Reformation *Graduate students who wish to keep up with the latest work in natural theology will find this a useful resource. * Heythrop Journal *This excellent book is proof of the continuing interest in and relevance of natural theology. The essays are creative, clear, and rigorous. They provide both new arguments and creative, cutting-edge slants on old arguments. Contemporary Arguments in Natural Theology will be helpful to advanced undergraduate students, seminary and graduate students, as well as philosophical scholars. * Stephen T. Davis, Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Claremont McKenna College, USA *Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction, Colin P. Ruloff and Peter Horban Part I: Revisiting the Classical Arguments for the Existence of God 1. The Argument from Contingency, Joshua Rasmussen 2. The Kalam Cosmological Argument, Andrew Loke 3. The Ontological Argument, Jason Megill 4. The Fine-tuning Argument, Michael Rota 5. The Argument from Biological Complexity, Michael Behe 6. The Argument from Information, Stephen Meyer 7. The Moral Argument, CS Evans and Trinity O’Neill Part II: Further Directions in Natural Theology 8. The Argument from Phenomenal Consciousness, JP Moreland 9. The Argument from Beauty, Brian Ribeiro 10. The Argument from Certainty, Katherin Rogers 11. The Argument from Mathematics, William Lane Craig 12. The Conceptualist Argument, Greg Welty 13. The Argument from Desire, William A. Lauringer 14. The Argument from Religious Experience, Kai-man Kwan 15. The Wager Argument, Joshua Golding 16. The Argument from the Meaning of Life, Stewart Goetz 17. The Argument from Common Consent, Jonathan Matheson 18. The Argument from Ramified Natural Theology, Sandra Menssen and Thomas D. Sullivan Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisMia Lövheim is Professor of Sociology of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden. She is editor of Media, Religion and Gender (2013) and co-editor of Reconsidering Religion, Law, and Democracy. New Challenges for Society and Research (2016).Mikael Stenmark is Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden. He is co-editor of Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society (2018), and Naturalism and Beyond: Religious Naturalism and Its Alternatives (2016).Trade ReviewA must read for scholars and researchers in the field of religion and non-religion ... calls for an urgent and engaged conversation so that the current debate can contribute toward constructive critique in religiously diverse democratic societies * Islamochristiana *Combining philosophical and theological analyses of arguments with sociological and legal analyses of social institutions, this unique book points beyond mere toleration to an engagement with religious diversity characterized by ‘agonistic respect’. * Kevin Schilbrack, Chair of the Department of Philosophy & Religion, Appalachian State University, USA *At a time when public dialogue about religion has never been more necessary, this fine collection of essays offers considerable insight into how a constructive yet critical conversation is possible. * Ian Leigh, British Academy Wolfson Research Professor, Durham Law School, UK *The contemporary presence and plurality of religious manifestations call for nuanced criticism that can counter religious illiteracy and provide constructive forms of criticism of religion. This book contributes in a valuable way to that aim. It is an original and important contribution that fills a lacuna in the existing literature. * Jan-Olav Henriksen, Professor of Philosophy of Religion, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Constructive Criticism in Secular and Religiously Diverse Society, Mia Lövheim, (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Mikael Stenmark (Uppsala University, Sweden) Part One: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives 1. Criticizing Religion in a Secular Democratic Society, Mikael Stenmark (Uppsala University, Sweden) 2. Secular Criticism of Religion, Stephen LeDrew (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada) 3. Academic Feminism as Immanent Critique: Three Feminist Theological Critiques of Patriarchy, Ulf Zackariasson (Uppsala University, Sweden) 4. Internal Critique in Muslim Context, Mohammad Fazlhashemi (Uppsala University, Sweden) 5. Criticism and Christianity, Charles Taliaferro (St Olaf College, USA) Part Two: Law, Politics and Education 6. Courts as Critics: Nuancing the Insider/Outsider Binary, Effie Fokas (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Greece) 7. Framing Religious Criticism in a Secular Cultural and Legal Order: Subsidiaries to Muslim Youth Organizations, Pia Karlsson Minganti (Stockholm University, Sweden) 8. Criticism of Religion in Public Commissions on Cultural and Religious Diversity, Solange Lefebvre (Université de Montreal, Canada) and Lori G. Beaman (University of Ottawa, Canada) 9. The Crocodile and the Gardener: Swedish Radical Nationalism and Critique of Religion, Per-Erik Nilsson (Uppsala University, Sweden) 10. Tolerance and Criticism within Religious Education, Malin Löfstedt (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Anders Sjöborg (Uppsala University, Sweden) Part Three: Civil Society, Media, and Family 11.Illusive Religion in the Public Sphere: The Debate on Confessional Independent Schools in Sweden, Johan von Essen (Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Sweden) 12. Criticizing Religion in Mediatized Debates, Linnea Jensdotter (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Mia Lövheim (Uppsala University, Sweden) 13. Religious Faith, Parenting Choices and Critical Engagement, Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Ninna Edgardh (Uppsala University, Sweden) 14. Postscript: Toward Constructive Criticism of Religion, Mia Lövheim, (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Mikael Stenmark (Uppsala University, Sweden) Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis Does science have all the answers? Can it even deal with abstract reasoning beyond the world we experience? How can we ensure that the physical world is sufficiently ordered to be intelligible to humans? How can mathematics, a product of human minds, unlock the secrets of the physical universe? Should all such questions be considered inadmissible if science cannot settle them? Metaphysics has traditionally been understood as reasoning beyond the reach of science, sometimes even claiming realities beyond its grasp. Because of this, metaphysics is often contemptuously dismissed by scientists and philosophers who wish to remain within the bounds of what can be scientifically proven. Yet scientists at the frontiers of physics unwittingly engage in metaphysics, as they are now happy to contemplate whole universes that are, in principle, beyond human reach. Roger Trigg challenges those who deny that science needs philosophical assumptions. Trigg claims that the foundations of science themselves have to lie beyond science. It takes reasoning apart from experience to discover what is not yet known and this metaphysical reasoning to imagine realities beyond what can be accessed. “In Beyond Matter, Roger Trigg advances a powerful, persuasive, fair-minded argument that the sciences require a philosophical, metaphysical foundation. This is a brilliant book for newcomers to the philosophy of science and experts alike.” —Charles Taliaferro, professor of philosophy, St. Olaf College Trade Review“In this important book, the philosopher Roger Trigg sets out to honour the sciences by not letting them be shouldered with burdens they cannot bear, such as being the arbiter of all truth. Trigg opposes scientism, arguing that we cannot ‘arbitrarily’ dismiss ‘swathes of human reasoning and experience,’ reflected in disciplines such as literature or theology, simply on the grounds that they are not physics.” —Andrew Davison, Times’ Literary Supplement “Trigg is an eminent philosopher and now Senior Research Fellow at the Ian Ramsey Center at Oxford. If you’re concerned about the ‘science only’ approach . . . this one is a helpful corrective.” —Jim Stimp, BioLogos “This book, for newcomers to the field of philosophy of science and those already immersed in the debates, is superb.” —CHOICE “Thoughtful and well-reasoned. . . . Beyond Matter has the potential to transcend academia, thanks to its friendly tone and willingness to address atheism in a noncombative way—a rarity in works along the science-philosophy divide. In an age when belief and research seem pitted against one another, this book is a welcome window of bipartisan sanity. Ideal for researchers and thinkers, but also a good pick for interested armchair philosophers.” —Anna Call, Foreword Reviews “As always, Trigg’s writing is clear, and his argumentation is easy to comprehend. He introduces several philosophical, scientific debates without getting too entangled in details.” —Lari Launonen, ESSSAT News and ReviewsTable of Contents Preface / ix Chapter 1: Is Science the Sole Authority? / 3 Chapter 2: Science and Reality / 25 Chapter 3: World and Mind / 49 Chapter 4: Is the World Intelligible? / 73 Chapter 5: The Unity of Science / 101 Chapter 6: The Success of Science / 127 Notes / 149 Index / 159

Read more less

Book SynopsisOriginal Unabridged English value reproduction of As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. In this classic book on thinking, the book describes how each of us shapes the events around us, creating our own lives in abundance.As himself Allen describes, “It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances. …and it can be carried in the pocket.”No student of influence should be without this historic philosophy book on leadership. This Value Classic Reprint provides a slim volume with full text at an affordable price. The Table of Contents is as follows:CONTENTSFOREWORD        4THOUGHT AND CHARACTER        5EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES         7EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH AND THE BODY              14THOUGHT AND PURPOSE             16THE THOUGHT-FACTOR IN ACHIEVEMENT            18VISIONS AND IDEALS      21SERENITY             24

Read more less