Philosophy of religion Books

Book SynopsisMost people have a story to tell about a remarkable coincidence that in some instances changed the course of their lives. These uncanny occurrences have been variously interpreted as evidence of divine influence, fate, or the collective unconscious. Less common are explanations that explore the social situations and personal preoccupations of the individuals who place the most weight on coincidences. Drawing on a variety of coincidence stories, renowned anthropologist Michael Jackson builds a case for seeing them as allegories of separation and lossrevealing the hope of repairing sundered lives, reconnecting estranged friends, reuniting distant kin, closing the gap between people and their gods, and achieving a sense of emotional and social connectedness with others in a fragmented world.Table of ContentsPreface Time to Time A World in a Grain of Sand Lost and Found Synchronicity and Suffering The Other Portion Correspondences Ships That Pass in the Night Chance Meeting Coincidence and Theodicy Amazing Grace About Time March 15, 2019 Person to Person Confluences Love It So Happened That . . . Contrived Coincidences The Double Chinese Boxes Autumn Leaves Magdalene of the Black Rose All the Birds of the Air Place to Place The Relativity of Our Viewpoints As Time Goes By Pieces of Music Strangers on a Train The Lost Child In the Nature of Things Il Ritorno in Patria Affective Coincidences Coincidence and Fate The Question of Verisimilitude Coda Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisExpounds the ethical and religious views of Wittgenstein. The book stresses Wittgenstein's supreme conviction of the importance of ethical and religious values, his belief that this importance could not be adequately articulated, and the consistency of his ideas in this sphere.Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations and acknowledgements 1. Introduction Part I : Earlier Wittgenstein 1914 - 1930 2. The Sayable and Unsayable 3. Ethics 4. The Mystical 5. Absolute Value 6. God Part II : Later Wittgenstein 1930 - 1951 7. The Language of Value Revised? 8. Religion and Science 9. The Faith of Primitive Peoples 10. Religious Discourse 11. Faith and Theology 12 Whatever Happened to Ethics? 13. Other Commentators and Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book is written for those coming to philosophy for the first time. It explains the nature of philosophical inquiry and discusses traditional philosophical questions about the existence of God, miracles, creationism, the truth of the Bible, science, and the problem of evil.Trade Review"This is vintage Tilghman: accessible, good examples, and down to earth. The book will be an eminently useful primer." R. T. Herbert, University of Oregon "An engaging text; it offers students an accessible introduction to the arguments and history of the field." Charles Taliaferro, St Olaf CollegeTable of ContentsPreface: Addressed to the Instructor. I. Philosophy and Religion: Tracing Our Origins. II. The Existence of God. III. The Bible, Truth and History. IV. Religion and Science. V. Religion and Ethics. VI. Religion and Philosophy.

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Book SynopsisPresents a feminist framework for studying the philosophy of religion. This book shows that to partake of truly feminist philosophy of religion is to participate in a review of the philosophical project in its entirety. It provides an analysis of the symbolic role given to women and desire in traditional configurations of philosophical reason.Trade Review"With this book, Pamela Sue Anderson establishes a significant landmark in the development of a distinctively feminist approach to philosophy of religion. It makes an impressive contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the future of this discipline." Beverley Clack, Roehampton Institute, London "Anderson has written a provocative and challenging book which has implications for both feminist theologians and feminist philosophers of religion ... the question she asks extend beyond philosophical boundaries to issues which affect feminist scholarship in many different disciplines." Tina Beattie, University of Bristol "Anderson is a pioneer in the exciting new fields of feminist and poststructuralist philosophies of religion. She develops a conception of reason that can be rooted in religious life and practise rather than superimposed from outside. her work deserves to be studied." Philip Goodchild, University College of St. Martin, LancasterTable of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgements. Part I: Introduction: Background Matters:. 1. Reason, Belief, and What is Excluded. 2. Sex/Gender and Reason. 3. Contemporary Philosophy of Religion. 4. Thinking from the Lives and Beliefs of Others. 5. Anticipating Configurations and Refigurations. Part II: Epistemological Frameworks of Belief:. 1. The Rationality of Religious Belief: Reason in 'Crisis'. 6. The So-Called Crisis of Rationality. 7. Religious Belief, Experience, and Epistemetic Duty. 8. The Empiricist Privileging of Formal Rationality. 9. Epistemological Frameworks of Belief. 10. Questioning the Neutrality of Rationality. 11. Refiguring Rationality. 12. A Critique of Reason. 2. Feminists and the Rationality of Belief - I: Strong Objectivity. 13. Rationality and Epistemological Frameworks. 14. Accounts of Objectivity. 15. Objectivity as Too Weak. 16. Strong Objectivity. 17. The Subject of Feminist Standpoint Epistemology. 18. What is Still Lacking for Feminist Belief. 19. A Critical Coda. 3. Feminists and the Rationality of Belief - II: Female Desire. 20. New Content for Belief. 21. Desire and the Rational Subject. 22. Sexually Specific Discourse and the Numinous. 23. Post-Patriarchal Philosophy and Religion. 24. On the Buried Maternal. 25. A Feminist Modification of Rational Belief. Part III: Refigurations of Belief:. 4. Myth, Mimesis, and Religious Belief. 26. Reason, Embodiment and Belief. 27. Rethinking Myth. 28. Defining Mimesis. 29. Sexual Identity in Religion. 30. Mimetic Refigurations. 31. A Regulative Ideal: Reason and Desire. 5. Figuring the Rationality of Religious Belief: Belief, Action, and Devotion. 32. Figuring Belief: Reinventing Ourselves as Other. 33. Rational Passion and Female Desire: Yearning. 34. Reading Beliefs in Myths of Dissent. 35. Marginality and Dissent: Antigone and Mirabai. 36. Dominant Configurations of Religious Devotion. 37. Rationality of Belief Mimed. 38. Preliminary Conclusion: Yearning Assessed. Part IV: Conclusion:. 6. Final Critical Matters. 39. Reason and the Philosophical Imaginary. 40. Enlightenment Rationality and Patriarchy. 41. Reason's 'Crisis' and the Female Symbolic. 42. Belief and the Existence of a Personal Deity. 43. The Problem of a Universal Assumption: Patriarchy. 34. Death and Woman: Destructive and Creative. Summary. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis text contains a collection of readings treating both classical and contemporary issues in philosophy of religion. The text includes a special section devoted to multi-cultural perspectives on contemporary philosophy of religion.Trade Review"More advanced students will find this a valuable collection." Jeff Astley, Theology "This book will help fill the need of those who want a collection of brief and generally interesting samples taken from what the editors find important in recent literature." David A. Pailin, The Expository Times "Representative in content, broad in scope, coherent in structure, rich in information, this superbly crafted anthology is a very useful and highly interesting presentation of the philosophy of religion. It may well become the standard anthology in this field." Keith Yandell, University of Wisconsin-Madison "Based on a variety of topics addressed and approaches taken by the essays' authors, as well as the quality of the selections, there is not a better collection for an upper-division philosophy of religion course to be found." Jon Kvanvig, Texas A & M UniversityTable of Contents1. What Would Anything Have To Be In Order To Be God?. Omniscience. Omnipotence. Perfection. Eternity. 2. Can We Show By Reason That There Is A God?. Ontological Argument. Cosmological Argument. Teleological Argument. The Evolutionary Anti-naturalism Argument. The Argument from Religious Experience. 3. Doesn't All The Evil In The World Show That There Is No God?. The Problem. Defence. Theodicies. Alternative Perspectives. 4. What Is The Relation Of Reason To Religious Belief?. Evidentialism. Religious Belief As Basic. Pascal's Wager. 5. Can We Make Sense Of Religious Doctrines And Practices Miracles?. Prayer. Soul. Revelation. 6. Can Morality Have A Religious Foundation?. 7. How Should Religion, Gender, And Ethnic Diversity Influence Our Thinking About Religion?

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Book SynopsisA contribution to the growing genre of works which offer a challenge to the modern and post-modern accounts of Christianity. The book shows how Platonic philosophy did not assume a primacy of metaphysical presence, as had been previously thought, but a primacy of liturgical theory and practice.Trade Review"Highly recommended." Fergus Kerr, Blackfriars, Edinburgh "After Writing establishes Catherine Pickstock as one of the most promising young theologians in the English-speaking world. The book is insightful, provocative, and of consistently high scholarly quality." L. Gregory Jones, Duke University "I applaud the thesis of this impressive work." Paul Avis, Center for the study of the Christian Church Exeter "One could in conscience recommended this volume only to the ambitious and determined, but they will find it rich, and Pickstock is a name to be watching for." William C. Placher, Christian Century "Catherine Pickstock, has perhaps written the best riposte yet to the archbishop's request for a 'spiritual space' within the Millennium Dome." C. W. Kemp "Pickstock's discussion of Derrida is sophisticated." Bryan D. Spinks, Yale University "Lightning may now be said to have struck in the form of Catherine Pickstock's After Writing, a bright flash in the sometimes murky world of religion and Postmodernism." David Williams, Religion & Literature "its theses are destined to be the subject of much discussion." Tracey Rowland, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge "Her argument deserves to be widely discussed: it is genuine theology, an example of what might be done were Christian theologians to abandon idolatry and take seriously the reality of the triune God to whom their work is supposed to be subject." Paul Griffiths, University of Chicago "The proposal of a radical self-surpassing giftedness in the eucharist invites the possibility of future conversations with other hermeneutical positions." David Livingston, Mercyhurst College "This a book of real originality, and in its finest moments it achieves an almost visionary intensity ... She is extraordinarily gifted, and I suspect that in this book we have merely glimpsed her portent." Pro EcclesiaTable of ContentsPart I: The Polity of Death:. 1. Socrates Goes Outside the City: Writing and Exteriority. 2. Spatialization: The Middle of Modernity. 3. Signs of Death. Transition: "Can My Eating Slake Your Hunger": The Evacuation of Liturgy. Part II: The Sacred Polis:. 4. I Will Go Unto the Altar of God: The Impossible Liturgy. 5. Seraphic Voices: The Space of Doxology. 6. The Resurrection of the Sign. Conclusion. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis much--needed volume draws on a wide range of resources and some of the freshest talent in the field to examine debates about theology and sexuality. Material is drawn from a variety of ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary texts to provide readers with a broad perspective on the issues discussed.Trade Review"Sexuality is a bitterly contested territory for many, probably most, Christians these days, and the climate of rather frantic controversy hasn't encourage a really theological debate. Here is a first-class resource for such debate, not propagandising, but setting out a broad spectrum of reflection on the issues that underlie the sniping of sexual politics - reflection on the meanings of the body itself for Christians, within a richly informed and traditionally literate framework. It is very welcome." Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Monmouth "The readings offer thoughtful reflections on the meanings of the body, homosexuality, marriage, and the interpretation of scripture. The book should inform the debate in a helpful way." Church Times "Those seeking information to guide them around the contemporary debate in the church about sexuality will welcome the publication of Theology and Sexuality." Expository Times "...a valuable resource for anyone who wants to think through the fundamental questions it poses: 'What does God want with sex, anyway?'" The WayTable of ContentsList of Contributors. Acknowledgments. Introduction. Part I: How and How Not to Think Theologically About the Body. 1. Embodiment in Time and Eternity: A Syriac Perspective. (Susan A. Harvey). 2. The Appeal to Experience. (George P. Schner, SJ.). Part II: Liturgical Resources. 3. The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage: from The Book of Common Prayer. 4. The Betrothal Service: from the Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church. 5. Order of Second Marriage: from the Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church. 6. Office of Same-Sex Union: from Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe. 7. Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day: from The Shorter New Oxford Book of Carols. Part III: Classical Resources. 8. From The Good of Marriage. ( St. Augustine of Hippo). 9. From Homily I on Marriage.( St. John Chrysostom). 10. From Against the Opponents of the Monastic Life.( St. John Chrysostom). 11. Hymns of Divine Love, 15. (St. Symeon the New Theologian). 12. From Commentary on Romans. (St. Thomas Aquinas). 13. From The Spiritual Canticle. (St. John of the Cross). 14. Freedom for Community. (Karl Barth). 15. From The Epistle to the Romans Karl Barth. Part IV: Contemporary Philosophical Resources. 16. Sexual Perversion. (Thomas Nagel). 17. Moral Abominations. (Jeffrey Stout). Part V: Nuptial Hermeneutics, Or What Marriage Means. 18. The Crisis of an Ethic Without Desire. Sebastian Moore. 19. From The Original Unity of Man and Woman. (Pope John Paul II). 20. From The Sacrament of Love Paul Evdokimov. 21. Faithfulness. (Robert Jenson). 22. The Relationship of Bodies: A Nuptial Hermeneutics of Same-Sex Unions. (David Matzko McCarthy). 23. Sanctification, Homosexuality, and God's Triune Life. (Eugene F. Rogers, Jr.). Part VI: Catholic Controversies. 24. Letter to the Catholic Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons: Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 25. The Pope Converts. (Mark D. Jordan). 26. Alone Again, Naturally. (Andrew Sullivan). 27. Gay Friendship: A Thought Experiment in Catholic Moral Theology. (Stanley Hauerwas). Part VII: Trinitarian Resources. 28. The Body's Grace. (Rowan D. Williams). 29. Trinitarian Friendship: Same-Gender Models of Godly Love. (Marilyn McCord Adams). Part VIII: Anthropology and Christology. 30. Sanctifying Nearness. (Thomas Breidenthal). 31. [Logos and Biography]. (John Boswell). 32. [Marriage and Idolatry]. (Charles Hawes). Part IX: Ecclesial Voices. 33. Disputed Questions: Debate and Discernment, Scripture and the Spirit. (Luke Timothy Johnson). 34. Homosexuality in the Church: Can There Be a Fruitful Theological Debate? (Oliver O'Donovan). 35. Theology Among the Stones and Dust. (James Alison). Appendix: Biblical Resources. Scripture Index. General Index.

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Book SynopsisUncovering forgotten but still powerful arguments and approaches, this reader provides both an historical and contemporary examination of the practical and theoretical challenges that evil poses to faith, reason, and practice.Trade Review"The greatest strength of the reader, apart from the sheer number of selections, is the impressive variety of approaches. This richness of variety lends a particular grace to the volume, making for lively and engaging reading. The volume will prove a valuable reference tool for both student and specialist, and its usefulness is significantly enhanced by the detailed Person, Subject and Scripture indices." The Reformed Theological Review "Mark Larrimore of the Centre for Human Values at Princeton University has chosen the extracts judiciously and imaginatively and provided short introductions to each of them together with suggestions for further reading. Those students who work carefully through this reader should gain a much more nuanced understanding of this ancient dilemma." Theological Book ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. Responding to Evils. How to Use this Book. Beginnings. 1 Plato, Timaeus. 2 Lucretius , On the Nature of the Universe. 3 Ovid, Phaethon. 4 Seneca, “On Providence”. 5 Epictetus, Encheiridion. 6 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heretics. 7 Sextus Empiricus, “God”. 8 Plotinus, “Providence: First Treatise”. 9 Lactantius, The Wrath of God. 10 Augustine, City of God. 11 Pseudo-Dionysius, On the Divine Names and Mystical Theology. 12 Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy. Before Theodicy. 13 Anselm of Canterbury, On the Fall of the Devil. 14 Hildegard of Bingen, To the Congregation of Nuns. 15 Moses Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed. 16 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica. 17 Three liturgies: Stabat mater, a fifteenth-century Sarum, and Dies irae. 18 Meister Eckhart, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”. 19 Geoffrey Chaucer, “Patient Griselda”. 20 Julian of Norwich, Showings. 21 Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. 22 Martin Luther, Prefaces to Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Psalter. 23 John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion: John Calvin. 24 John Donne, Batter my hear, three-personed God. The Rise of Theodicy. 25 Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan. 26 John Milton, Paradise Lost. 27 Baruch Spinoza, Ethics. 28 Ralph Cudworth, The True Intellectual System of the Universe. 29 Anne Conway, Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy. 30 Nicolas Malebranche, Dialogues on Metaphysics and on Religion. 31 Pierre Bayle, “Manichees”;Note D. 32 G. W. Leibnitz, Theodicy. 33 Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. 34 Voltaire, “The Lisbon Earthquake: An Inquiry into the Maxim, ‘Whatever us, is right”. 35 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Letter from J.-J. Rosseau to Mr. de Voltaire, August 18, 1756”. 36 David Hume, Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. 37 Immanuel Kant, On the Miscarriage of all Philosophical Trials in Theodicy. Beyond Optimism. 38 Thomas Robert Malhus, An Essay on the Principle of Population. 39 F. W. Schelling, “Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedomand Related Matters”. 40 John Keats, To George & Georgiana Keats, 14 February-8 May 1819. 41 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Philosophical History of the World. 42 Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Tragic”. 43 The World as Will and Representation: Arthur Schopenhauer. 44 Charles Darwin, to Asa Gray, 22 May 1860. 45 John Stuart Mill, An Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy. 46 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov. 47 Freidrich Neitsche, On the Genealogy of Morality. 48 Gerald Manley Hopkins, “Thou Art Indeed Just, Lord”. 49 Josiah Royce, “The Problem of Job”. The 20th Century. 50 William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience. 51 W. E. B. DuBois, A Litany at Atlanta. 52 Thomas Hardy, Before Life and After. 53 Hermann Cohen, The Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism. 54 Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion. 55 Martin Heidegger, An Introduction to Metaphysics. 56 W. H. Auden, Musée des Beaux Arts. 57 C. S. Lewis, Animal Pain. 58 Simone Weil, The Love of God and Affliction". 59 C. G. Jung, Aion The Serenity Prayer. 60 Karl Barth, God and Nothingness. 61 John Hick, The 'Vale of Soul-Making' Theodicy. 62 William Jones, Is God a White Racist?. 63 Dorothee Soelle, A Critique of Christian Masochism. 64 Emmanuel Levinas, Useless suffering. 65 Nel Noddings, Women and Evil. Index. Scripture Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Religion features fourteen new essays written by some of the most prominent philosophers working in the field. Contributors include Linda Zabzeski, Hugh McCann, Brian Leftow, Gareth B. Matthews, William L. Rowe, Elliott Sober, Derk Pereboom, Alfred J. Freddoso, William P. Alston, William J.Trade Review"This is an excellent collection. It contains sophisticated but accessible essays by top-flight philosophers on the central topics of philosophy of religion. Highly recommended!" John Martin Fischer, University of California, Riverside "This is a superb, comprehensive, indispensable guide by outstanding philosophers of religion today. Each of the contributions is accessible, lucid, and rigorous. This collection puts the reader in touch with cutting-edge work in the field." Charles Taliaferro, St. Olaf College "If you thought a guide was someone who leads you down safe and well-trodden paths, then this guide will make you change your view. These are state-of-the-art discussions of the central issues in the tremendously lively field of contemporary philosophy of religion. Not only do they lucidly capture where the discussions are at, they carry them forward in imaginative and significant ways." Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University "The Guide contains 14 new essays by established philosophers...all are topics of critical interest wherever the philosophy of religion is taught and studied, while the essays will also be of interest to professionals (philosophers, theologians, lecturers) as exemplars of the application of philosophical method" Stuart Hannabuss, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen "The Guide is an attractive and topical work that will sharpen up the reasoning skills of anyone reading it, particularly any theologian grown complacent on passive belief." Philosophy and ReligionTable of ContentsNotes on Contributors. Preface. Part I: The Concept of God. 1. Omniscience, Time, and Freedom (Linda Zagzebski). 2. Divine Power and Action (Hugh McCan). 3. Eternity and Immutability (Brian Leftow). Part II: The Existence of God. 4. The Ontological Argument (Gareth B. Matthews). 5. Cosmological Arguments (William L. Rowe). 6. The Design Argument (Elliott Sober). 7. The Problem of Evil (Derk Pereboom). Part III: Religious Belief. 8. Christian Faith as a Way of Life (Alfred J. Freddoso). 9. Mysticism and Perceptual Awareness of God (William P. Alston). 10. Competing Religious Claims (William J. Wainwright). Part IV: Religion and Life. 11. Human Destiny (Peter van Inwagen). 12. The Many-Sided Conflict Between Religion and Science (Philip Kitcher). 13. Theism and the Foundations of Ethics (William E. Mann). 14. Religion and Politics (Philip L. Quinn). Index.

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Book SynopsisIn this defence of the secularization paradigm, Bruce elaborates just what Weber, Durkheim, Berger and Wilson thought was happening to religion in the West, and responds to critics of this concept. Topics covered include new age spirituality, and the influence of Eastern religions.Trade Review'Steve Bruce's book has all the hallmarks of his work: clarity, verve, graphic illustration and common sense. The argument is Bruce's cumulative statement of the secularization theme, bringing the various elements together in an impressive synthesis, as well as building in counter-arguments, such as those to do with the role of religion in ethnic solidarity. Within its own terms and specific context – western liberal democracies, and especially Europe – it is difficult to refute.' --David Martin, London School of Economics "Bruce's book is a compelling, vigorous and scrupulously fair defense of what the secularization paradigm means and does not mean. Highly recommended." (Library Journal) "The sooner churches face up to Bruce's thesis, the better." (Ministry Today) "Readable, debatable, and full of important insights on everything from the failure of New Age religions to a cautious defense of the golden age of religion thesis, it is a book that all libraries should own. No serious (or even casual) student of religion can afford to neglect it." (Choice) "...the pace and style of Bruce's narrative, the crispness and clarity of his argument, and his frequent digs at aspects of the contemporary mood...make God is Dead a truly entertaining and enlightening book." --Michael Rosie (British Sociological Association Network Magazine) "Readable, debatable, and full of important insights on everything from the failure of New Age religions to a cautious defense of the golden age of religion thesis, it is a book that all libraries should own. No serious (or even casual) student of religion can afford to neglect it." (Choice) "This book is exactly what the back cover claims: a robust defense of the secularization thesis...The writing and the presentation are both concise and clear, offering a resource that students will cherish." (Theology) "[T]his volume is a welcome resource for teachers/scholars interested in current theoretical disputes in the sociology of religion as well as students of the religious change in particular cultures of the West." (Religious Studies Review) "[T]he pace and style of Bruce's narrative, the crispness and clarity of his argument, and his frequent digs at aspects of the contemporary mood...make God is Dead a truly entertaining and enlightening book." (BSA Network)Table of ContentsFigures. Tables. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. The Secularization Paradigm. 2. The Golden Age of Faith. 3. God is Dead: Christianity in Britain. 4. The Failure of the New Age. 5. Science and Secularization. 6. The Easternization of the West. 7. Regression to the Mean. 8. Subsistence Religion. 9. The Charismatic Movement and Secularization. 10. Discovering Religion: Mistakes of Method. 11. Religion in the United States. 12. Postmodernism and the Religious Revival. Notes. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisParadise has shaped our poetic and religious imagination and informed literary and theological accounts of man's relation with his creator, with language and history. Doueihi contemplates the philosophical reception and uses of Paradise, marked by the rise of critical and historical methods in the Early Modern period.Trade ReviewAnyone who wants to understand the ethical turn in modern philosophy, or the intellectual roots of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, needs to read Doueihi's account of the philosophical conditions under which our ideas of paradise developed and were at last overthrown. In this lucid study, beautifully translated by Jane Marie Todd, Milad Doueihi, argues that while the earthly paradise belongs to myth, it is a myth around which our most vital thinking continually turns. -- Gordon Teskey, Harvard UniversityMilad Doueihi's beautiful book does not seek to lift the mystery over earthly paradise. He shows, with select erudition, how this history prior to history informs the foundations of modernity. This modernity, while it is inaugurated with a contestation of the authority of the Bible, inherits and depends upon the same Biblical categories it seeks to undermine. -- Fabrice Hadjaj * Art Press *Milad Doueihi's essay shows that a theological and erudite past can rejoin, through singular ways reconstructed here, some of the essential interrogations of our present. Although our sense of modernity may suffer from it, there are living cultural units that only mastered erudition, and the subtlety of analysis, allow us to reconstruct in their slow but certain elaboration. -- Jean Marie Goulemot * La quinzaine littéraire *Table of Contents* Contents * Acknowledgments * Preface * A Few Adamic Difficulties * Burlesque Diversions and Serious Amusements * The Return of the Manichaeans * Paradise between Politics and Freedom * Philosopher without Paradise * Paradise of Reason * God's Hell * By Way of Conclusion * Notes * Authors Cited * Index

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Book SynopsisThis bookthe first full-length study of Theodoret's Therapeutic for Hellenic Maladiesexamines Theodoret's arguments against Greek religion, philosophy, and culture. Its analysis of the interaction between Hellenism and early Christian culture offers insights into the broader late Roman and early Byzantine world in the fifth century.

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Book SynopsisOn the one hundredth anniversary of the death of William James, the author assembles essays and writings that reveal the evolution of James' thought over time, especially as it was continually being shaped by the converging influences of psychology, philosophy, and religion throughout his life.Trade ReviewWilliam James brought heart to the intellect and passion to the world of ideas in an unprecedented manner in American life. He is the most profound, adorable, and unpretentious public intellectual in American history. -- Cornel West, Princeton UniversityA gift from the best biographer of William James, this volume collects some of James's most engaging and unforgettable writings. Readers unfamiliar with James will discover why his ideas continue to reverberate so powerfully a century after his death; those who already know James will delight in Robert Richardson's expert selections and incisive commentary. At a time when self-proclaimed followers of James's philosophy inhabit schools of medicine and law as well as divinity, and his ideas inspire those working in sites ranging from psychology laboratories and corporate board rooms to the White House, this sparkling collection reminds us why James remains alive today. -- James T. Kloppenberg, Harvard UniversityAn admirably broad overview of the author's expansive output. Scattered too among classic essays are lesser known gems such as "The Ph.D. Octopus," a brief disquisition on higher education, and a fascinating 1910 essay on war that might raise some modern eyebrows for its exhortation to substitute war between men for "warfare against nature." * Publishers Weekly *Editor Richardson provides a perceptive introduction to the material, as well as separate insights into each selection. -- Leon H. Brody * Library Journal *William James, brother of the--in some quarters--more famous Henry, was that rarest of beings, a philosopher who wrote clear, elegant, and exciting prose. In The Heart of William James, James's biographer Robert Richardson has put together a dazzling selection of this great thinker's work, with perfectly judged short pieces to usher in each of the selections. -- John Banville * The Guardian *It is difficult for any selection to do justice to the thought of William James, and difficult as well for a reviewer to do justice to the seventeen fine essays collected in The Heart of William James. He is fortunate to have Robert Richardson as his biographer, editor and interpreter, a kindred spirit whose admiration for James is thoroughly compounded with his enjoyment of him. He makes the great man accessible as if he were presenting an honored friend, ready to step out of the way and allow a wonderful conversation to begin. And James is indeed a remarkable acquaintance, full of the pleasures of fine prose and humorous insight, and demanding all the same. -- Marilynne Robinson * The Nation *James seeks to instruct his readers in how they can achieve their best selves, how they can retain and expand and nourish their individuality. As this collection makes clear, he has good reason to fear that that individuality is being squandered. In fact, the subtext of all the essays in this collection might very well be: Americans are in perennial danger of surrendering their Americanness, and I will do my best to stop them...It was, and is, the role of William James, the articulator if not the keeper of the faith, to remind us of who we are and who we were meant to be. -- Peter Savodnik * Commentary *So fresh is William James's thought and so unbuttoned and irreverent his character that he is always contemporary; it comes as something of a shock, therefore, to recall that he was born as long ago as 1842...James is a philosopher--practical and romantic, down-to-earth and ecstatic, accommodating and specific--whom we need ever more urgently in our own times. In Robert Richardson, whose biography of James is, along with his lives of Thoreau and Emerson, one of the glories of contemporary American literature, the philosopher has found a tireless champion and a perceptive editor. Richardson is that increasingly rare phenomenon among academics, an enthusiast, even a lover, of his subjects. In this book, no less than in the biography, he brings to life this great thinker and rare human being. -- John Banville * New York Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisCurrent debate about religion seems to be going nowhere. Atheists persist with their arguments, many plausible and some unanswerable, but they make no impact on believers. Defenders of religion find atheists equally unwilling to cede ground. Noting that religion is not what atheists think it is, Tim Crane offers a way out of this stalemate.Trade Review[A] lucid and thoughtful book… In a spirit of reconciliation, Crane proposes to paint a more accurate picture of religion for his fellow unbelievers. -- James Ryerson * New York Times Book Review *Like Hitchens, Crane is a committed atheist, but his intellectual project is very different…He wants to understand religion…For those willing to listen, Crane opens up a more nuanced and enlightened conversation. His intervention in the debate tackles the meaning of religious belief rather than its truth, and he elucidates two features of religion—religious identification and the religious impulse—which are neglected or misunderstood by many of its critics…There is much to admire in this book: it offers an elegant and careful analysis of religion from an outsider’s point of view, and Tim Crane’s writing is crystal clear. His sincere and unfailingly intelligent effort to understand religion is a welcome antidote to the blinkered bluster we find in many atheist polemics. -- Clare Carlisle * Times Literary Supplement *[A] small but valuable volume…What emerges in Crane’s description of religion, and what goes missing in the New Atheists’ treatment of it, is the meaning introduced into the life of the believer. By investigating this meaning Crane hopes to offer a more nuanced and sympathetic treatment of religion without going so far as to approve of it. -- Todd May * Los Angeles Review of Books *As Tim Crane points out in The Meaning of Belief, a lucid critique of the many ways in which atheists have misunderstood religion, religious opinions or beliefs are not entitled to respect just because they are religious. -- Michael Ignatieff * New York Review of Books *The Meaning of Belief prefers calm logic to bold catchphrases. It likely will not attract the attention given by supporters or detractors of the New Atheists' shelf of screeds, but it invites poised reaction. -- John L. Murphy * PopMatters *The Meaning of Belief is a breath of fresh air. Crane’s argument is as cogent and well-researched as his writing is accessible and lively. It is exciting to see someone who is unwavering in both their atheism and their defense of religion as rational response to human needs that is deserving of respect. His book should be required reading for anyone, believer or nonbeliever, who wishes to engage with ‘the other side’ of the religious divide. -- Alexandra Greenwald * National Catholic Reporter *[A] valuable and compact contribution to the dialogue between atheists and believers. Crane writes as an atheist to an atheist audience in hopes of reducing the combativeness stirred up by ‘New Atheists’ such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, but he also provides useful language for religionists about their own experiences. By identifying the religious experience in terms of ‘religious impulse’ and ‘identification’ linked under a canopy of the sacred, Crane situates religious belief as complexly human, rather than something that should die with the advent of science. Tolerance with a goal of living peaceably with religionists should be the atheist aim, argues Crane. Crane’s precise arguments, lucid writing, and astutely selected examples make this book enjoyable as well as clarifying. His concise unpacking of religion and violence in the context of war, as well as of the nitty-gritty of moral relativism, provides a vital lens for interpreting today’s politics. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Tim Crane has written an unusual and excellent book about religion. By recognizing the psychological and social attitudes constitutive of religious belief, Crane enables us to see how shallow many atheist critiques are. He is following in the footsteps of serious thinkers about religion—William James, in particular, often comes to mind—and he presents with great clarity a far more sophisticated atheism than we usually find. -- Philip Kitcher, Columbia UniversityDistinctive, thoughtful, and carefully argued, The Meaning of Belief contributes to correcting the misleading picture of religious belief promoted by many contemporary atheists, as well as exploring some of the reasons why religious belief plays such an important role in people’s lives. -- John Cottingham, University of Reading

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Book SynopsisThrough research into Daoist ritual in history and as it survives today, Andersen shows that the concept of truth in Chinese Daoist philosophy and ritual posits being as a paradox anchored in the inexistent Way, and consists in seeking to be an exception to ordinary norms and rules of behavior which nonetheless engages what is common to us all.Trade ReviewAndersen brings a philosopher’s taste and touch to the study of organized Daoism, and the concrete grounding of a historian and ethnographer to abstract questions of ontology. -- Stephen C. Walker * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *By enabling us to engage with Daoism in a drastically new manner that not only brings together discourse and practice in ingenious ways but also uses Daoism to illuminate existentialism, The Paradox of Being has the potential to become a classic in Daoist studies. -- Tobias Benedikt Zürn * History of Religions *

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Book SynopsisReconstructing the philosophical project of William James, Alexis Dianda deploys a concept of experience that avoids both foundationalist epistemology and an account of the subject rooted in immediately given objects of consciousness. In doing so, Dianda rethinks the role of experience as well as the aims and resources of pragmatic philosophy.Trade ReviewThis is a brilliant book and a stunning debut. In clear and eminently readable prose, Dianda succeeds in showing the centrality of experience in James’s work and how the existential richness of experience exceeds the rather narrow picture of pragmatism that we associate with Rorty, Brandom, and others. Avoiding the dead ends of classical empiricism and idealism, Dianda is right to suggest that James offers a philosophical vision attuned to the living complexity of the relations between self and world. -- Simon Critchley, The New SchoolThis book is the best philosophical treatment of the great William James in this generation. Alexis Dianda’s brilliant and subtle readings of James’s profound pluralism against Richard Rorty’s influential linguistic turn in contemporary neopragmatism are powerful and persuasive. She preserves the best of both by giving us a twenty-first-century pragmatism that embraces the vague, ambiguous, and indeterminate in order to better our grasp of the existential and moral challenges of our turbulent times. -- Cornel West, Union Theological SeminaryA brilliant reinterpretation of William James’s complex views of experience. The ‘pragmatic-existential’ conception of experience that Alexis Dianda carefully works out in this book will transform both James scholarship and current debates in and about pragmatism. -- Michael Bacon, Royal Holloway, University of LondonAlexis Dianda discovers a capacious account of an active lived experience in the work of William James. Importantly, she shows the weakness of neopragmatist attempts to abandon the concept of experience and instead focus on language alone. This is a major contribution to our understanding of James. -- Wayne Proudfoot, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisGregory shows that the loss of nature from theological discourse is only one reflection of the larger cultural change that marks the transition of European society from a 19th-century to a 20-century mentality, depicting varying theological responses to the growth of natural science.Table of ContentsPart I. The Historical Challenge of Religion and Science 1. Historiographical Approaches to German Religion and Science 2. The Shape of German Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century Part II. Nature Retained 3. The New Hegelian Faith of David Friedrich Strauss 4. Otto Zockler, the Orthodox School, and the Problem of Creation 5. Rudolf Schmid and the Reconciliation of Science and Religion Part III. Nature Lost 6. Wilhelm Hermann's Encounter with the Theology of Albrecht Ritschl 7. The Existential Critique of Religion and Science Epilogue: The Future Challenge of Religion and Science Bibliography Notes Index

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Book SynopsisSoren Kierkegaard (1813-55) published a number of works during his lifetime, but he left behind nearly as much unpublished writing, most of which consists of what are called his "journals and notebooks." This volume includes materials from 1836 to 1846, a period that takes Kierkegaard from his student days to the peak of his activity as an author.Trade Review"For all of his lyricism, many of Kierkegaard's works project themselves as an impenetrable fortress of abstractions. These magnificently translated journals are a tunnel beneath the moat of that fortress. They capture the unpackaged and unbuttoned Kierkegaard and thus provide a stimulus to anyone intent on understanding a religious author who could well be reckoned a Luther of Lutheranism."--Gordon Marino, Christian Century "These new critical editions do an excellent job of making Kierkegaard's journals and notebooks available in all their richness."--Brian Gregor, Elizabeth C. Shaw and StaffTable of ContentsIntroduction vii Journal EE 1 Journal FF 67 Journal GG 109 Journal HH 115 Journal JJ 133 Journal KK 289 Notes for Journal EE 353 Notes for Journal FF I 393 Notes for Journal GG I 429 Notes for Journal HH 437 Notes for Journal JJ 451 Notes for Journal KK 585 Selected Variants for Volume 1 627 Maps 629 Calendar 641 Concordance 665

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Book SynopsisSoren Kierkegaard (1813-55) published an extraordinary number of works during his lifetime, but he left behind nearly as much unpublished writing, most of which consists of what are called his "journals and notebooks." This title includes Kierkegaard's extensive notes on lectures.Trade Review"[T]he new series Kierkegaard's Journals and Notebooks, which aims to become the standard English version of Kierkegaard's papers, journals, and notebooks ... is certainly well positioned to achieve this goal... [T]his volume is an excellent addition to an excellent series. It is a rich resource for English-language Kierkegaard scholars, and reason to look forward to future volumes with great anticipation."--Brian Gregor, Philosophy in Review "The attention to detail in this work is at times astonishing... As befits a library volume of this type, it is encyclopedic rather than analytic: the critical accounts are essentially summaries of content and context, rather than interpretative discussions."--Thomas Grimwood, European Legacy "For all of his lyricism, many of Kierkegaard's works project themselves as an impenetrable fortress of abstractions. These magnificently translated journals are a tunnel beneath the moat of that fortress. They capture the unpackaged and unbuttoned Kierkegaard and thus provide a stimulus to anyone intent on understanding a religious author who could well be reckoned a Luther of Lutheranism."--Gordon Marino, Christian Century "These new critical editions do an excellent job of making Kierkegaard's journals and notebooks available in all their richness."--Brian Gregor, Elizabeth C. Shaw and StaffTable of ContentsIntroduction vii Notebook 1 Notebook 2 83 Notebook 3 93 Notebook 4 123 Notebook 5 169 Notebook 6 185 Notebook 7 199 Notebook 8 217 Notebook 9 241 Notebook 10 279 Notebook 11 301 Notebook 12 367 Notebook 13 379 Notebook 14 421 Notebook 15 427 Notes for Notebook 1 447 Notes for Notebook 2 491 Notes for Notebook 3 511 Notes for Notebook 4 525 Notes for Notebook 5 551 Notes for Notebook 6 565 Notes for Notebook 7 585 Notes for Notebook 8 603 Notes for Notebooks 9 and 10 621 Notes for Notebook 11 657 Notes for Notebook 12 715 Notes for Notebook 13 729 Notes for Notebook 14 765 Notes for Notebook 15 773 Maps 789 Calendar 799 Concordance 819

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Book SynopsisThis book explores one of the great questions of our time: How can we preserve our sense of what it means to be a person while at the same time accepting what science tells us to be true--namely, that human nature is continuous with the rest of nature? What, in other words, does it mean to be a person in a world of things? Alan Mittleman shows howTrade Review"This concise and accessible exploration of personhood and its moral and spiritual implications will appeal to religious and secular thinkers, Jewish or otherwise."--Publisher's Weekly "Though this content is dense, Mittleman conveys it with astonishing vivacity and nearly no philosophical jargon, producing a compelling, cogent rejoinder to the New Atheists that saves the baby--science--while dumping the bathwater--scientism--of antimetaphysical debates."--Booklist "Every so often ... a book comes along which deals with an important philosophical concept and is written in a style that is at once academically rigorous and accessible to the non-philosophers among us. Human Nature & Jewish Thought is such a volume, thanks to Alan L. Mittleman's lucid writing and clear articulation of his positions."--Jewish Book Council "[P]rovocative and compelling... This deeply insightful and readable volume exemplifies how, even in a scientific age, religious writings--in this case, the sources of Judaism--have much to add to contemporary philosophical and scientific debate."--Choice "Mittleman presents an erudite and elegant brief for human dignity... This passionate and evocative book illustrates some of the challenges confronting projects to introduce Jewish texts into Western philosophical discourse."--Julie E. Cooper, Review of Politics "[An] excellent new book."--Dr. Erica Brown, Jewish World ReviewTable of ContentsPreface ix Introduction 1 I Persons in a World of Things 21 II Persons in the Image of God 44 III Are Persons Free to Choose? 107 IV Persons Together 145 Conclusion 178 Notes 185 Index 211

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Mosaic's Best Books of 2018 (Moshe Koppel)""Highly recommended."---Jonathan Schofer, Reading Religion

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Book SynopsisOne of the foremost experts on magic, religion, and the occult in the ancient world provides an unparalleled exploration of magic in the Greco-Roman world, giving insight into the shifting ideas of religion and the divine in the ancient past and in the later Western tradition.Trade Review"[An] ambitious and enthusiastic study of magic in classical antiquity."---Marina Warner, New York Review of Books"An insightful and approachable survey of magical (or non-normative) practices and the beliefs thereto attached in Greco-Roman antiquity. The reasonable price and the attractive design of the volume, with high-quality pictures, make it particularly useful to students and general readers."---Leonardo Constantini, Classical Review"[Edmonds] does a terrific job of covering a vast amount of ground, adducing a phenomenal amount of evidence, and providing a synoptic but detailed overview of the most significant magical phenomena. . . . [Drawing Down the Moon] should, from now on, be the first port of call for anyone who wants to be introduced to the field."---Andrej Petrovic, Greece and Rome"Drawing Down the Moon can be recommended as an updated gateway into ancient 'magic' for English-speaking academic and public readers. Edmonds offers a rich overview of the present state of knowledge in the field announced by the subtitle: Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman World."---Bryn Mawr Classical Review, Thomas Galoppin"In Drawing Down the Moon, Edmonds has produced an extensive, engaging and, crucially, accessible overview which is likely to establish itself quickly as essential reading for anyone seeking to learn more about the vast array of topics that fall under the sweeping category of magic. . . . Ultimately, this work should be considered a resounding success and Edmonds is to be congratulated for providing an extensive and accessible introduction to such a wide-ranging and complex subject."---Jack Lennon, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"[A] careful scholarly study of ancient Mediterranean ‘magical’ practices and discourses of alterity—a significant advance in conceptualizing these historical subjects."---David Frankfurter, Review of Biblical Literature"Not only is Drawing Down the Moon for readers interested in magic, it is also one for readers interested in social history. An unmissable one, at that."---Owain Williams, Ancient History"Wide-ranging and meticulously researched."---Andrew Teverson, Folklore"A fresh approach and welcome comprehensive account. . . . [Drawing Down the Moon] will undoubtedly become a benchmark in the field of ancient magic scholarship.—David B. Levy, Classical World"

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Book SynopsisKierkegaard translator Walter Lowrie presents a charming and warmly appreciative introduction to the life and work of the great Danish writer. Lowrie tells the story of Kierkegaard's emotionally turbulent life with a keen sense of drama and an acute understanding of how his life shaped his thought.Trade Review"Probably as good an introduction to Kierkegaard and his works as any that is likely ever to be produced."--Times Literary Supplement "A remarkable phosphorescent condensation... [Lowrie gives] us the very essence of the man... A superb study."--New Republic "A very fine introduction."--Commonweal "A magnificent portrait."--Christian Century "A sympathetic and powerful study."--Union Seminary Review "A clear and moving account of the history of Kierkegaard's development and his writings."--Baltimore Evening SunTable of ContentsIntroduction by Alastair Hannay ix Preface xxiii Background 3 Childhood 31 Early Youth - 1830 to 1834 55 The Great Earthquake - Twenty-second birthday 67 At the Cross Roads - 1835 79 The Path of Perdition- 1836 92 Groping His Way Back - May 1836 to May 1838 104 Father and Son United - Twenty-five years of age 118 The Great Parenthesis - August 1838 to July 1840 128 Regina - September 1840 to October 1841 135 The Aesthetic Works 1841 to 1845 144 The Postscript - 1846 166 The Affair of the Corsair - 1846- 176 Thirty-four Years Old - 1847 188 The Edifying Discourses - 1843 - 1855 196 Metamorphosis - 1848 201 Venturing Far Out - 1849 to 1851 210 Holding Out - 1852 to 1854 222 Godly Satire - 1854/55 239 Death and Burial - October 2 to November 18, 1855 253 Kierkegaard's Last Words 257 Kierkegaard's Works in English 261 How Kierkegaard Got into English 265 Index 289

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Book SynopsisThe name Erasmus of Rotterdam conjures up a golden age of scholarly integrity and the disinterested pursuit of knowledge, when learning could command public admiration without the need for authorial self-promotion. Lisa Jardine, however, shows that Erasmus self-consciously created his own reputation as the central figure of the European intellectuaTrade Review"Erasmus, Man of Letters may inspire skepticism about Erasmus's alleged sincerity, but it is hard not to feel increased admiration for the energy and ingenuity with which the indefatigable scholar continued to combine so successful a publicity campaign with his countless other literary activities."--Alastair Hamilton, The Times Literary Supplement "Jardine's spirited study exploits the evidence of Erasmus's own statements about himself, direct and oblique, and the estimates of his situation in the great tradition that he influenced others to make... [Her portrait of Erasmus] is taken under a raking light, to show a master of the media [and] a master-builder of a textual persona, of an intellectual genealogy culminating in himself."--J. B. Trapp, London Review of Books "A contribution to the understanding of the modern age. Jardine vividly shows how reading-attentive, critical reading-became a form of 'spiritual education' in the early modern period, and how Erasmus became the pattern for the modern Man of Letters."--Tom D'Evelyn, BostoniaTable of ContentsList of Illustrations vii Preface to the New Paperback Edition ix Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xv INTRODUCTION Self-Portrait in Pen and Ink 3 CHAPTER ONE 'A better portrait of Erasmus will his writings show': Fashioning the Figure 27 CHAPTER TWO The In(de)scribable Aura of the Scholar-Saint in His Study: Erasmus's Life and Letters of Saint Jerome 55 CHAPTER THREE Inventing Rudolph Agricola: Recovery and Transmission of the De inventione dialectica 83 CHAPTER FOUR Recovered Manuscripts and Second Edition: Staging the Book with the Castigatores 99 CHAPTER FIVE Reasoning Abundantly: Erasmus, Agricola, and Copia 129 CHAPTER SIX Concentric Circles: Confected Correspondence and the Opus epistolarum Erasmi 147 CONCLUSION 'The name of Erasmus will never perish' 175 Appendices 191 Notes 207 Index 279

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, Biography Category""[A] fascinating, judicious biography. Professor of Apocalypse is at once a history of ideas, a gripping psychological melodrama and a study of the surprising power of intellectual charisma to make and unmake lives."---Mark Lilla, New York Times Book Review"This comprehensive biography is an important one. . . . [Muller’s] cogently documented biography, empathic in its presentation and judgment, goes a long way in helping us put mortal flesh on the charismatic puzzle that was Jacob Taubes."---Steven E. Aschheim, Los Angeles Review of Books"In Professor of Apocalypse Jerry Z. Muller accomplishes the nigh-impossible task of contextualizing the manifold reminiscences and myths surrounding Taubes into a clearly periodized and expertly documented account."---Eugene R. Sheppard, Times Literary Supplement"Muller has written more than a biography of a talented and tormented Jew and professor of philosophy and religion. Through painstaking reconstruction of the myriad communities of scholars in which Taubes operated and the various worlds of ideas in which he revolved, Muller illuminates hitherto unconnected but fascinating chapters in European, American, and Israeli intellectual life."---Peter Berkowitz, Commentary"A well-crafted, exhaustively researched, intellectually balanced biography."---Abigail Rosenthal, VoegelinView"[Professor of Apocalypse] captures the complex personality of an exceptionally difficult man, and the complexity of the age he lived through. . . . Biographers often grow to despise their subjects. Not without cause, Muller at some points is clearly exasperated. But it speaks to his talent and patience that by the end of his book his readers cannot help but love Taubes, for all of his sins."---Daniel Miller, Mars Review of Books

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Engaging and humane."---Robert Stern, Mind"The clearest reading of Hegel ever published in English."---Martin Kavka, Modern TheologyTable of ContentsPreface ix A Note on Primary Texts xiii 1 Social Ethics in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit 1 2 Tragedy and the Social Construction of Norms 13 3 Culture War and the Appeal to Authority 35 4 Rituals of Reconciliation 54 5 Religion, Philosophy, and the Absolute 81 6 Commitment, Conversation, and Contestation 101 7 Democratic Authority through Conf lict and Reconciliation 115 Notes 133 Bibliography 151 Index 159

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction vii Journal NB 26 1 Journal NB 27 113 Journal NB 28 213 Journal NB 29 295 Journal NB 30 385 Notes for Journal NB 26 503 Notes for Journal NB 27 561 Notes for Journal NB 28 593 Notes for Journal NB 29 637 Notes for Journal NB 30 701 Maps 757 Calendar 765 Concordance 773

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] lucid and illuminating book. . . . Cottingham’s short study explores fundamental questions more fully than many much longer volumes."---John Gray, New Statesman"I loved [this] erudite, bold, provocative, beautiful book."---Jane O’Grady, Literary Review"An enjoyable and illuminating read. Cottingham’s elegant account is sufficiently deep and detailed to contribute to debate among philosophers of religion, while retaining a clarity and energy that lend themselves to a broader readership."---Ruby Guyatt, Times Higher Education"[A] superb book. . . . There could be no better guide."---Maximilian de Gaynesford, The Tablet"Wide-ranging and well-written." * Paradigm Explorer *"In Search of the Soul, provides a good occasion to reflect, with a man who is both a distinguished philosopher and a gentle guide, on the state of religious belief and disbelief in our present age."---Bernard G. Prusak, Commonweal"In Search of the Soul is a philosophical ode to this ebbing faith, but it refuses to be elegiac: its impetus is a quiet confidence that a receding night tide returns at dawn."---Judith Wolfe, Times Literary Supplement"[A] well-crafted and humane book . . . [In Search of the Soul] is what a modern spirituality could look like."---Michael H. Barnes, Catholic Books Review"His very accessible essay ought to be essential reading for all Christians and epecially for teachers and preachers, in order to equip them to convey a credible understanding of the soul in our contemporary culture"---Fergus O’Ferrall, Methodist Reader"This book helps inspire us to turn away from these cheap substitutes for something more human and more real. The nature of the human soul is a large topic, and readers will get much from this book to fuel their own thoughts on what remains of the human soul in the twenty-first century."---Laurie M. Johnson, The European Legacy

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the 2018 SSSR Distinguished Book Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A compact and serious academic work. With ten pages of bibliography and extensive footnotes, Farneth offers readers a wide-ranging survey of contemporary thinking on social theory and the nature and history of rituals."---Emily Soloff, The Christian Century "A welcome contribution to ritual studies and to the study of religion and politics by offering a nuanced and compelling account of ritual activities and their public/political role. . . . Farneth’s combination of theoretical acuity, lucid writing and argumentation, and frequent use of examples make this text a valuable resource. - Nicholas Buck, Reading Religion "

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Autobiography and Memoir"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Engaging and humane."---Robert Stern, Mind"The clearest reading of Hegel ever published in English."---Martin Kavka, Modern Theology

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Mosaic's Best Books of 2018 (Moshe Koppel)"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] lucid and illuminating book. . . . Cottingham’s short study explores fundamental questions more fully than many much longer volumes."---John Gray, New Statesman"I loved [this] erudite, bold, provocative, beautiful book."---Jane O’Grady, Literary Review"An enjoyable and illuminating read. Cottingham’s elegant account is sufficiently deep and detailed to contribute to debate among philosophers of religion, while retaining a clarity and energy that lend themselves to a broader readership."---Ruby Guyatt, Times Higher Education"[A] superb book. . . . There could be no better guide."---Maximilian de Gaynesford, The Tablet"Wide-ranging and well-written." * Paradigm Explorer *"In Search of the Soul, provides a good occasion to reflect, with a man who is both a distinguished philosopher and a gentle guide, on the state of religious belief and disbelief in our present age."---Bernard G. Prusak, Commonweal"In Search of the Soul is a philosophical ode to this ebbing faith, but it refuses to be elegiac: its impetus is a quiet confidence that a receding night tide returns at dawn."---Judith Wolfe, Times Literary Supplement"[A] well-crafted and humane book . . . [In Search of the Soul] is what a modern spirituality could look like."---Michael H. Barnes, Catholic Books Review"His very accessible essay ought to be essential reading for all Christians and epecially for teachers and preachers, in order to equip them to convey a credible understanding of the soul in our contemporary culture"---Fergus O’Ferrall, Methodist Reader"This book helps inspire us to turn away from these cheap substitutes for something more human and more real. The nature of the human soul is a large topic, and readers will get much from this book to fuel their own thoughts on what remains of the human soul in the twenty-first century."---Laurie M. Johnson, The European Legacy

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the Best First Book in the History of Religions, American Academy of Religion""Winner of the CAMWS First Book Award, Classical Association of the Middle West and South""Winner of the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize, American Historical Association""Powerful. . . . Divine Institutions is impressively wide-ranging, covering everything from ancient enslavement to pilgrimage, techniques of healing to fire-management. . . . An essential read."---Mary Beard, Times Literary Supplement ​​​​​​​"This book is, simply, a wonderful work of ancient history. . . . [A] seminal contribution not just to the study of the Roman Republic, but to the writing of ancient history more generally."---James Corke-Webster, Greece & Rome"An indispensable read for anyone interested in Roman history and ancient religion."---Kresimir Vukovic, Religious Studies Review

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Book SynopsisThis wide ranging and challenging book explores the relationship between subjectivity and mortality as it is understood by a number of twentieth-century French philosophers including Sartre, Lacan, Levinas and Derrida. Making intricate and sometimes unexpected connections, Christina Howells draws together the work of prominent thinkers from the fields of phenomenology and existentialism, religious thought, psychoanalysis, and deconstruction, focussing in particular on the relations between body and soul, love and death, desire and passion. From Aristotle through to contemporary analytic philosophy and neuroscience the relationship between mind and body (psyche and soma, consciousness and brain) has been persistently recalcitrant to analysis, and emotion (or passion) is the locus where the explanatory gap is most keenly identified. This problematic forms the broad backdrop to the work's primary focus on contemporary French philosophy and its attempts to understand the intimate relationship between subjectivity and mortality, in the light not only of the death' of the classical subject but also of the very real frailty of the subject as it lives on, finite, desiring, embodied, open to alterity and always incomplete. Ultimately Howells identifies this vulnerability and finitude as the paradoxical strength of the mortal subject and as what permits its transcendence. Subtle, beautifully written, and cogently argued, this book will be invaluable for students and scholars interested in contemporary theories of subjectivity, as well as for readers intrigued by the perennial connections between love and death.Trade Review"An admirably clear account of a broad yet focused strand of twentieth-century French thought, and an impassioned yet subtle argument for its incompletion."French Studies"This book constitutes a magisterial study in its scope, the number of authors and perspectives studied, and the exactness and profundity of its aims. It goes as far as possible today in interrogating the supposed distinction between mind and body or between life and death (two couples in parallel and chiasmatic opposition). It's not a question of dissolving this double difference, but of thinking of it as the self-difference within a single 'subject'. This thought is crucial at a time when there is a danger of bodies becoming things and of death becoming insignificant. Christina Howells's journey is a powerful, rousing and passionate one: we must join her!"Jean-Luc Nancy, European Graduate School "Christina Howells's book approaches in an original way contemporary French thought by focusing on the intertwining of love and death, of body and soul, of passion and pain. By rigorously analysing several famous thinkers, but also less well-known authors, such as Gabriel Marcel or the psychoanalyst Didier Anzieu, she brings to light unexpected correspondences and fertile aporias, and introduces the reader to the richness and diversity of current continental thinking."Jacob Rogocinski, Strasbourg University "With wisdom, passion and great care, Christina Howells opens a world of understanding - from the ancient Greeks to contemporary neuroscience - to reveal modern French thought as a vital ally in our attempts to understand embodied existence. One of those rare books that help us think more deeply and feel more intensely, it is a magnificent achievement."Martin Crowley, Queens' College, University of CambridgeTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vi Abbreviations vii 1 Introduction: Love and Death 1 2 Phenomenology of Emotion and Forgetfulness of Death 24 Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir 3 Religious Philosophy: Keeping Body and Soul Together 69 Gabriel Marcel, Paul Ricoeur, Vladimir Jankélévitch, Emmanuel Levinas 4 Psychoanalytic Thought: Eros and Thanatos, Psyche and Soma 127 Jacques Lacan, Didier Anzieu, Julia Kristeva 5 The Deconstruction of Dualism: Death and the Subject 175 Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy Epilogue 216 Notes 228 Bibliography 244 Index 259

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Book SynopsisThis wide ranging and challenging book explores the relationship between subjectivity and mortality as it is understood by a number of twentieth-century French philosophers including Sartre, Lacan, Levinas and Derrida. Making intricate and sometimes unexpected connections, Christina Howells draws together the work of prominent thinkers from the fields of phenomenology and existentialism, religious thought, psychoanalysis, and deconstruction, focussing in particular on the relations between body and soul, love and death, desire and passion. From Aristotle through to contemporary analytic philosophy and neuroscience the relationship between mind and body (psyche and soma, consciousness and brain) has been persistently recalcitrant to analysis, and emotion (or passion) is the locus where the explanatory gap is most keenly identified. This problematic forms the broad backdrop to the work's primary focus on contemporary French philosophy and its attempts to understand the intimateTrade Review"An admirably clear account of a broad yet focused strand of twentieth-century French thought, and an impassioned yet subtle argument for its incompletion."French Studies"This book constitutes a magisterial study in its scope, the number of authors and perspectives studied, and the exactness and profundity of its aims. It goes as far as possible today in interrogating the supposed distinction between mind and body or between life and death (two couples in parallel and chiasmatic opposition). It's not a question of dissolving this double difference, but of thinking of it as the self-difference within a single 'subject'. This thought is crucial at a time when there is a danger of bodies becoming things and of death becoming insignificant. Christina Howells's journey is a powerful, rousing and passionate one: we must join her!"Jean-Luc Nancy, European Graduate School "Christina Howells's book approaches in an original way contemporary French thought by focusing on the intertwining of love and death, of body and soul, of passion and pain. By rigorously analysing several famous thinkers, but also less well-known authors, such as Gabriel Marcel or the psychoanalyst Didier Anzieu, she brings to light unexpected correspondences and fertile aporias, and introduces the reader to the richness and diversity of current continental thinking."Jacob Rogocinski, Strasbourg University "With wisdom, passion and great care, Christina Howells opens a world of understanding - from the ancient Greeks to contemporary neuroscience - to reveal modern French thought as a vital ally in our attempts to understand embodied existence. One of those rare books that help us think more deeply and feel more intensely, it is a magnificent achievement."Martin Crowley, Queens' College, University of CambridgeTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vi Abbreviations vii 1 Introduction: Love and Death 1 2 Phenomenology of Emotion and Forgetfulness of Death 24 Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir 3 Religious Philosophy: Keeping Body and Soul Together 69 Gabriel Marcel, Paul Ricoeur, Vladimir Jankélévitch, Emmanuel Levinas 4 Psychoanalytic Thought: Eros and Thanatos, Psyche and Soma 127 Jacques Lacan, Didier Anzieu, Julia Kristeva 5 The Deconstruction of Dualism: Death and the Subject 175 Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy Epilogue 216 Notes 228 Bibliography 244 Index 259

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Book Synopsis* Jurgen Habermas is among the most influential and important social theorists in the world today. * This volume represents the first sustained engagement with Habermas's recent turn to religion as a focus of philosophical inquiry.Trade Review"Essential reading for philosophers and sociologists of religion and generally for anyone concerned with religion and politics." LSE Review of Books "This groundbreaking book contains a number of penetrating and insightful essays on Habermas's recent work, and on the meaning of the secular and of postsecularism. It will undoubtedly take the debate on all these issues to a much more rigorous and fruitful level. A stellar collection, with papers of a very high quality." Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus, McGill University "In 2001, shortly after 9/11, Jürgen Habermas's address 'Faith and Religion' attracted a great deal of attention. Until that time the topic of religion had not been a major concern in Habermas’s extensive oeuvre but he now began to speak of a postsecular age in which religion becomes a major topic in rethinking modernity and in meeting the challenge of religion in public life. This collection includes many of his most sophisticated interpreters and critics and Habermas, in his characteristic dialogical spirit, replies to each of his critics. Anyone seriously interested in the current state of the discussion about religion and public life will find this collection essential reading." Richard J. Bernstein, New School for Social Research "Jürgen Habermas has sometimes been called the pope of European secularism, but in recent years he has written frequently and appreciatively about religion without giving up his own position. This volume collects a number of very lively responses to these writings, many of them challenging Habermas in fairly sharp ways, and coming from those close to him, like Thomas McCarthy, and far from him, like John Milbank. The book ends with Habermas’s generous but firm response to his critics: altogether a most readable and thought-provoking book." Robert Bellah, Professor Emeritus, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsList of Abbreviations vii Editors’ Introduction 1 Part I Rationalization, Secularisms, and Modernities 1 Exploring the Postsecular: Three Meanings of “the Secular” and Their Possible Transcendence 27 José Casanova 2 The Anxiety of Contingency: Religion in a Secular Age 49 María Herrera Líma 3 Is the Postsecular a Return to Political Theology? 72 María Pía Lara 4 An Engagement with Jurgen Habermas on Postmetaphysical Philosophy, Religion, and Political Dialogue 92 Nicholas Wolterstorff Part II The Critique of Reason and the Unfinished Project of Enlightenment 5 The Burdens of Modernized Faith and Postmetaphysical Reason in Habermas’s “Unfinished Project of Enlightenment” 115 Thomas McCarthy 6 Having One’s Cake and Eating It Too: Habermas’s Genealogy of Postsecular Reason 132 Amy Allen 7 Forgetting Isaac: Faith and the Philosophical Impossibility of a Postsecular Society 154 J. M. Bernstein Part III World Society, Global Public Sphere, and Democratic Deliberation 8 A Postsecular Global Order? The Pluralism of Forms of Life and Communicative Freedom 179 James Bohman 9 Global Religion and the Postsecular Challenge 203 Hent de Vries 10 Religion and the Public Sphere: What are the Deliberative Obligations of Democratic Citizenship? 230 Cristina Lafont 11 Violating Neutrality? Religious Validity Claims and Democratic Legitimacy 249 Maeve Cooke Part IV Translating Religion, Communicative Freedom, and Solidarity 12 Sources of Morality in Habermas’s Recent Work on Religion and Freedom 277 Matthias Fritsch 13 Solidarity with the Past and the Work of Translation: Reflections on Memory Politics and the Postsecular 301 Max Pensky 14 What Lacks is Feeling: Hume versus Kant and Habermas 322 John Milbank Reply to My Critics 347 Jürgen Habermas (Translated by Ciaran Cronin) Appendix: Religion in Habermas’s Work 391 Eduardo Mendieta Notes and References 408 Bibliography of Works by Jürgen Habermas 465 Index 471

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