Philosophy of religion Books

Book SynopsisWhy does religion sometimes increase support for democracy and sometimes do just the opposite? In Faith in Numbers, political scientist Michael Hoffman presents a theory of religion, group interest, and democracy. Focusing on communal religion, he demonstrates that the effect of communal prayer on support for democracy depends on the interests of the religious group in question. For members of groups who would benefit from democracy, communal prayer increases support for democratic institutions; for citizens whose groups would lose privileges in the event of democratic reforms, the opposite effect is present. Using a variety of data sources, Hoffman illustrates these claims in multiple contexts. He places particular emphasis on his study of Lebanon and Iraq, two countries in which sectarian divisions have played a major role in political development, by utilizing both existing and original surveys. By examining religious and political preferences among both Muslims and non-Muslims in several religiously diverse settings, Faith in Numbers shows that theological explanations of religion and democracy are inadequate. Rather, it demonstrates that religious identities and sectarian interests play a major part in determining regime preferences and illustrates how Islam in particular can be mobilized for both pro- and anti-democratic purposes. It finds that Muslim religious practice is not necessarily anti-democratic; in fact, in a number of settings, practicing Muslims are considerably more supportive of democracy than their secular counterparts. Theological differences alone do not determine whether members of religious groups tend to support or oppose democracy; rather, their participation in communal worship motivates them to view democracy through a sectarian lens.Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables Introduction An Interest-Based Theory of Religion and Support for Democracy The Religious Experience: Communal Prayer and Group Identity Christians and Muslims in Lebanon Before the Syrian Civil War Appendices Appendix 4.A Survey Questions Used Appendix 4.B Supplementary Tables After Syria: Communal Religion and Democracy in 2014 Lebanon Appendices Appendix 5.A Description of Experiment Appendix 5.B Description of Variables Representation or Redistribution? Evidence from Iraq Appendices Appendix 6.A Supplementary Tables and Figures Conclusion: Implications for Religion and Politics Appendices Appendix 7.A Additional Information, Cross-National Notes Index

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Book SynopsisA study of the theology of Maximus the Confessor, bringing contemporary insights from the Orthodox tradition to bear on his understanding of temporality.Trade Review"In this remarkable book, Dr. Mitralexis seeks more than an exposition of a central notion in St. Maximus the Confessor's metaphysical vision, but rather a genuine fusion of the horizons, in a Gadamerian sense, so that his understanding of Maximus is informed by the development of a relational ontology by the likes of Zizioulas and Yannaras, whose own thought has been inspired by their reading of Maximus. The result is a bold and original contribution to ontology and metaphysics." -Andrew Louth, FBA, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University "This book, written by a young and promising Maximus scholar, is an interesting study of a central set of notions in Maximus' writings, namely, the notions of time, the Aeon, and eternity. These notions have been studied by others as well, but never as extensively as by Mitralexis. He finds the roots of Maximus' notion of time in Aristotle, but has a quite original hermeneutical approach since he tries to unravel the Confessor's philosophy from the vantage point of the Greek modern philosopher Christos Yannaras, thus seeking to make Maximus' thought relevant for our own age. The depth of Mitralexis' knowledge of the sources and his grasp of modern scholarship on Maximus is impressive. I highly recommend this book." -Torstein Theodor Tollefsen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oslo "This is a really welcome addition to the fast-growing literature on Maximus the Confessor. It is a first-class study of the original texts, but is distinctive in its willingness to bring Maximus' thought into fruitful conversation with contemporary philosophical discussions, so that the implications of this study will be of interest to many more than Byzantine specialists." -Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge 'This book will be important both to theologians looking to further explore Maximus' works and their relevance for today, and to philosophers interested in ancient conceptions of time and the way these may challenge our contemporary understanding of physics.' - Emma Brown Dewhurst, Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Munchen, The Expository Times, Volume 130, Number 6, March 2019Table of ContentsForeword - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction PART ONE: Introducing Maximus the Confessor - and Our Contemporary Perspective 1. Maximus the Confessor 2. Hermeneutic Tools in Approaching Maximus: Christos Yannaras' Ontology 3. Ontological, Epistemological, Anthropological Themes in Maximus 4. Maximus' 'Logical' Ontology: PART TWO: Maximus the Confessor's Understanding of Motion and Temporality 5. Motion and Time in Aristotle's Physics as a Precursor to Maximus' Definition of Time 6. Maximus' Philosophy of Motion 7. Introducing Maximus' Conception of Time 8. The Fundamentals of Temporality, Spatiality, and Motion: Sections 35-40 from the Tenth 'Difficulty' 9. Inverted Temporality: The Aeon 10. Ever-Moving Repose Concluding Remarks: Reconstructing Maximus the Confessor's Theory of Time Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTranslation of: Les Grecs ont-ils cru aa leurs mythes?

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Book SynopsisBy intertwining ancient wisdom from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with cutting-edge research, Jonathan K. Crane demonstrates that ethical eating is a means to achieve both personal health and social cohesion. Grounded in science and tradition, Eating Ethically shows us what it truly means to eat well.Trade ReviewAn accomplished ethicist and philosopher, Crane crafts a careful argument for what it means to eat well. Following a trajectory set by Michael Pollan and others, Eating Ethically is set apart by its interdisciplinarity, using biblical scholarship, nutritional science, biochemistry, and medicine to effectively buttress the idea that eating is an activity that resonates in both personal and social contexts. -- Benjamin Zeller, coeditor of Religion, Food, and Eating in North AmericaTable of ContentsContentsPrefacePart I: Eating Unwell1. Full of Ourselves2. Deprivation and GluttonyPart II: I Eat Therefore I Am3. The Eater4. The Eaten5. EatingPart III: Eating Well6. Eating’s Genesis7. Satisfaction8. Just RightPart IV: I Eat Therefore I Am Tasteful9. Savoring10. Sacrificing11. SharingPart V: Conclusion12. Go Ahead, RefrainNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisSpinoza's Ethics, and its project of proving ethical truths through the geometric method, have attracted and challenged readers for more than three hundred years. In Spinoza and the Cunning of Imagination, Eugene Garver uses the imagination as a guiding thread to this work. Other readers have looked at the imagination to account for Spinoza's understanding of politics and religion, but this is the first inquiry to see it as central to the Ethicsas a wholeimagination as a quality to be cultivated, and not simply overcome. Spinoza initially presents imagination as an inadequate and confused way of thinking, always inferior to ideas that adequately represent things as they are. It would seem to follow that one ought to purge the mind of imaginative ideas and replace them with rational ideas as soon as possible, but as Garver shows, the Ethics don't allow for this ultimate ethical act until one has cultivated a powerful imagination. This is, for Garver, the cunning of imagination. The simple plot of progress becomes, because of the imagination, a complex journey full of reversals and discoveries. For Garver, the cunning of the imagination resides in our ability to use imagination to rise above it.

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: After the Death of God, by Jeffrey W. Robbins 1. Toward a Nonreligious Christianity, by Gianni Vattimo Spectral Hermeneutics: On the Weakness of God and the Theology of the Event, by John D. Caputo 2. A Prayer for Silence: Dialogue with Gianni Vattimo On the Power of the Powerless: Dialogue with John D. Caputo 3. The Death of God: A Deconstruction, by Gabriel Vahanian Notes Index

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Book SynopsisQuestions the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the 20th century - Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas - to help the author reconcile the philosophical and religious sides of his life. This work explains the leading ideas of each of these great thinkers.Trade ReviewOne of the most distinguished analytical philosophers, Putnam has written an unusual book that uses the thought of key philosophers to find points of commonality between the religious and the philosophical. October 1, 2008 * Library Journal *Hilary Putman has been in the thick of philosophical discussion for more than half a century . . . engagingly personal . . . there are interesting, characteristically Putnamian insights to be had throughout.November 7, 2008 -- Abraham Socher * Times Literary Supplement *In yoking Jewish thought to his efforts to give philosophy a human face, and in giving us glimpses of three men who helped shape a vibrant and beautiful form of Jewish thought, Hilary Putnam—to his profit, and to ours—has sided with Isaiah.October 2008 * FIRST THINGS *. . . Putnam has . . . discovered a barely contemplated terrain, where American pragmatism and Continental Jewish existentialism are happily intermarried. Mazel tov.Volume 15, Number 2 (rec'd 6/09) -- Michael Fagenblat * Common Knowledge *Philosopher Hilary Putnam, who is also a practicing Jew, examines the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the 20th century—Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas—to help him reconcile the philosophical and religious sides of his life. . . . Although the religion discussed is Judaism, the depth and originality of these philosophers, as incisively interpreted by Putnam, make their thought nothing less than a guide to life.Vol. 28.1 Fall 2009 -- Joseph Haberer * Book Editor *Written by the distinguished emeritus professor of analytical philosophy, this intriguing little study is a concise presentation of three figures in modern Jewish thought: Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas.Vol. 33/2 * AJS Review *Putnam is a master teacher, and his elucidations of four difficult thinkers are valuable in themselves.Vol. 28, No. 3, 2010 * Shofar *Putnam succeeds in his goals of introducing Anglo-American philosophers to some of the 'post-modernist' philosophy of Judaism; and of providing a reminder of a central task of philosophy as a directional guide for living a worthwhile life. * Studies in Religion *Rosenzweig, Buber, and Levinas are for Putnam the great Jewish philosophers of the twentieth century. As their thought has intrigued him in his struggle with his Jewish heritage, he wrote this slim volume to 'help a reader who is struggling with these difficult authors to understand their difficult and spiritually deep writings.'72 Winter/Spring 2010 * Menorah Review *Table of ContentsContentsPrefaceIntroduction (Autobiographical)1. Rosenzweig and Wittgenstein2. Rosenzweig on Revelation and Romance3. What I and Thou Is Really Saying4. Levinas on What Is Demanded of UsAfterword Notes

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Book SynopsisIn this global introduction to philosophy of religion you begin not with a single tradition, but with religious philosophies from East Asia, South Asia, West Africa, and Native North America, alongside the classical Abrahamic and modern European traditions. Matching this diversity of traditions, chapters are organized around questions that acknowledge there is no single understanding of any god or ultimate reality. Instead you approach six different traditions of philosophizing about religion by asking questions about the journeys of both the self and the cosmos such as What is my path? and Where did the cosmos come from? Accompanied by introductory materials and an extensive glossary, each chapter includes learning objectives, questions for discussion, and suggested primary and secondary sources. The categories of religion and philosophy are interrogated throughout. Equipped with study tools and universal questions about the self and the cosmos, Philosophies of Religion: A GlobalTrade ReviewPhilosophies of Religion is a stunning intellectual achievement, from one of the world’s pioneers in forging a properly global and critical path within philosophy of religion. This is the undergraduate textbook for which we’ve been desperately waiting. In a field plagued by parochialism and cultural innocence, Knepper is lighting the way forward, dragging all of us into a new era of enlightened research and teaching. Masterpiece! * Wesley J. Wildman, Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, Boston University, USA *Timothy Knepper offers a comprehensive and critical introduction to perennial philosophical questions addressed from diverse religious and intellectual perspectives. This outstanding textbook demonstrates how philosophy of religion should be studied and taught in the global age. * Yujin Nagasawa, H.G. Wood Professor of the Philosophy of Religion, University of Birmingham, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction PART I: PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, AND PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Chapter 1: The Traditions of Philosophy of Religion Chapter 2: What Is Religion? Chapter 3: What Is Philosophy? Chapter 4: The Content, Method, and Goals of Global-Critical Philosophy of Religion PART II: JOURNEYS OF THE SELF Chapter 5: Who Am I? Chapter 6: Where Do I Come From? Chapter 7: Where Am I Going? Chapter 8: How Do I Get There? Chapter 9: What Obstacles Stand in My Way? PART III: JOURNEYS OF THE COSMOS Chapter 10: What is the Cosmos? Chapter 11: Where Does the Cosmos Come From? Chapter 12: Where Is the Cosmos Going? Chapter 13: What is the Path of the Cosmos? Chapter 14: What Obstacles Stand in the Way of the Cosmos? Epilogue: Which Journey, if any, Leads to its Destination? Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisKönig often gave lectures based around Christian festivals, and the selection in this book were first presented at Easter time. The central theme here is the development of conscience and memory, which raises questions about individual freedom and spirituality, particularly in the context of community building.Running alongside the main theme, König discusses subjects close to his heart including the search for the Grail, Parsifal and St Paul, bringing them together in surprising and challenging ways.

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Book SynopsisCentral, yet previously unexamined, infl uences on Marion's thoughtTrade Review[A]n informative and provocative book . . . . * International Philosophical Quarterly *Jones has written an informative and provocative book. * International Philosophical Quarterly *Jones's excellent work . . . should be on the wish-list of anyone interested in Jean-Luc Marion and contemporary continental philosophy and theology more broadly. * Modern Theology *Jones has here offered an excellent analysis of the patristic genealogy of Marion's phenomenology: clear, precise and richly documented in its accounts of Marion's thought, as well as astute and balanced in its critical appraisals. If only more philosophers – both analytic and Continental – could write this way. * The Heythrop Journal *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Sightings: The Location and Function of Patristic Citation in Jean-Luc Marion's Writing2. How to Avoid Idolatry: A Comparison of "Apophasis" in Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite3. Giving a Method: Securing Phenomenology's Place as "First Philosophy"4. Interpreting "Saturated Phenomenality": Marion's Hermeneutical Turn?5. The Apparent in the Darkness: Evaluating Marion's Apophatic PhenomenologyConclusionNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

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