Topics in philosophy Books

Book SynopsisAbelard in Four Dimensions: A Twelfth-Century Philosopher in His Context and Ours by John Marenbon, one of the leading scholars of medieval philosophy and a specialist on Abelard''s thought, originated from a set of lectures in the distinguished Conway Lectures in Medieval Studies series and provides new interpretations of central areas of Peter Abelard''s philosophy and its influence. The four dimensions of Abelard to which the title refers are that of the past (Abelard''s predecessors), present (his works in context), future (the influence of his thinking up to the seventeenth century), and the present-day philosophical culture in which Abelard''s works are still discussed and his arguments debated.For readers new to Abelard, this book provides an introduction to his life and works along with discussion of his central ideas in semantics, ethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. For specialists, the book contains new arguments about the authenticity and chronoTrade Review"This searching, thorough, and original study examines Abelard's past, present, and future, and our present. John Marenbon offers the best enquiry yet made into the sequence of Abelard's writings and their chronology, followed by an incisive and highly illuminating account of the various, successive formulations of his 'unpopular argument' to the effect that God cannot do otherwise than as he does. This is an accomplished work which will be eagerly read and hugely appreciated by students and their teachers on courses of philosophy, theology, and history." —David Luscombe, University of Sheffield"Marenbon (Cambridge University), an important scholar of medieval philosophy, here returns to a topic that occupied him some years ago: the philosophy of Peter Abelard. Rather than serving as a general treatment of Abelard's philosophy, this book focuses on four different ways of reading the philosopher: in terms of his predecessors, his contemporaries, and his historical influence, and in terms of contemporary philosophy. This volume . . . will not disappoint. It should prove useful to students of Peter Abelard and of medieval thought more generally." —Choice"As a volume of Conway lectures, it is a worthy peer to sit alongside the recent contributions of Rosamund McKitterick, Jonathan Riley Smith, A. C. Spearing, and Barbara Newman. I hope this book will reach a wider audience of medievalists than only philosophers, theologians, and twelfth-century specialists (for whom it will be indispensable), if only for the tentative but convincing answer Marenbon provides to the immediately pressing question of the relevance of medieval studies." —Speculum“In this book, John Marenbon takes on select issues from Abelard’s philosophy and theology that have proven to be problematic. These he submits to close examination, hewing his own path in submitting these topics to careful scrutiny, never coming to easy conclusions, but offering original insights. For audiences responsive to Marenbon’s approach his book offers value.” —Mediaevistik“Much of what is explored here is explored with clarity, care, and judgment. In an important sense Marenbon proves the thesis of the book: that historical understanding and background helpfully informs attempts to see in thinkers from another era versions of contemporary theories and can prevent misreadings of many kinds.” —Journal of the History of Philosophy"Abelard in Four Dimensions is an excellent introduction to the study of Peter Abelard. The 'four dimensions' in the title refer to future, past, and present—Abelard's and our own. . . . In his conclusion, Marenbon reflects intelligently on how best to bring medieval thinkers into the contemporary discussion: not by distortion, forcing medieval ideas into 'a conceptual framework where they do not belong,' but by asking ourselves not only how they resemble modern positions, but also how the problems addressed differ from those today's philosophers pose." —The Medieval Review“Throughout this book, but especially in its conclusion, Marenbon steps back and reflects upon methodologies of historians of philosophy. [Marenbon] has identified some weighty issues that any historian of philosophy must address, and one would be well advised to read Marenbon’s thoughtful remarks on this subject.” —Vivarium

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Book SynopsisAssuming that people want to be happy, can we show that they cannot be happy without being ethical, and that all rational people therefore should be able to see that it is in their own best interest to be ethical? Is it irrational to reject ethics? Aristotle thought so, claims Anna Lännström; but, she adds, he also thought that there was no way to prove it to a skeptic or an immoral person. Lännström probes Aristotle''s view that desire is crucial to decision making and to the formation of moral habits, pinpointing the love of the fine as the starting point of any argument for ethics. Those who love the fine can be persuaded that ethics is a crucial part of our happiness. However, as Lännström explains, the immoral person does not share this love, and therefore Aristotle denied that any argument would convince the immoral person to become good. Lännström maintains that Aristotle''s Ethics speaks not just to ancient Greeks but to all those who already love the fiTrade Review“Explores the Greek philosopher’s view of the relationship between ethics and happiness.” —The Chronicle of Higher Education"Loving the Fine is a very interesting manuscript, treating some of the most significant issues in moral philosophy. As is well known, Aristotelian moral philosophy has undergone a great revival in the last quarter century through the work of scholars such as MacIntyre, Anscombe, and Nussbaum, to name only a few. Lännström enters into the debates that this revival has engendered and has important things to say about them." —Gilbert Meilaender, Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Professor of Christian Ethics, Valparaiso University

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Book SynopsisDrawing on research in anthropology, psychology, and a host of other disciplines, this book argues that cross-cultural variation raises serious problems for theories that propose universally applicable conditions for moral responsibility. It develops a way of thinking about responsibility that takes cultural diversity into account.Trade Review"This is a penetrating and far-reaching book."--Julian Baggini, Financial Times "[T]his is a keenly argued yet surprisingly accessible book that presents a provocative thesis that should not be ignored."--Choice "There is much to like about Relative Justice. It pursues and interesting line of reasoning in a literature literally littered with rehashed arguments and stubborn dialectics."--Matt King, Philosopher's MagazineTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. ix*Acknowledgments, pg. xi*Introduction, pg. 1*Chapter One. The Appeal to Intuition, pg. 9*Chapter Two. Moral Responsibility and the Culture of Honor, pg. 33*Chapter Three. Shame Cultures, Collectivist Societies, Original Sin, And Pharaoh's Hardened Heart, pg. 63*Chapter Four. Can the Variation Be Explained Away?, pg. 84*Chapter Five. Where Do We Go from Here?, pg. 111*Chapter Six. A Metaskeptical Analysis of Libertarianism and Compatibilism, pg. 133*Chapter Seven. A Very Tentative Metaskeptical Endorsement of Eliminativism about Moral Responsibility, pg. 173*Notes, pg. 203*Bibliography, pg. 213*Index, pg. 223

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Book SynopsisPresents a novel account of hope, the motivational resources it presupposes, and its function in our practical lives. This title contends that hoping for an outcome means treating certain feelings, plans, and imaginings as justified, and that hope thereby involves sophisticated reflective and conceptual capacities.Trade Review"Inspired by her work with terminally ill cancer patients, Martin provides a valuable analysis of hope that makes excellent use of the tools of analytic philosophy, recent work in neuropsychology, and the philosophies of Immanuel Kant and Gabriel Marcel."--Choice "[A] short but substantial tome... Anyone who is interested in the ethics of hope will find a great deal of valuable insight in this book."--Ben Sherman, Philosophy in Review "Martin not only insightfully advances the philosophical literature on hope, but also, maybe more importantly, provides substantial food for thought to anyone whose philosophical interests encompass desires and motivations."--Rachel Fredericks, Mind "Martin's work is a timely and instructive contribution to a rapidly expanding literature on hope."--Aaron D. Cobb, Journal of Moral PhilosophyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION What Is Hope? 1 Questions about Hope 1 The Orthodox Definition and Its Critics 4 Hope as a Syndrome 6 The Incorporation Analysis 7 Summary of Chapters 8 CHAPTER 1 Beyond the Orthodox Definition of Hope 11 The Orthodox Definition in the Modern Period 11 The Orthodox Definition in Recent Philosophy 13 Challenge Cases 14 First Analysis: Luc Bovens and Mental Imaging 17 Second Analysis: Ariel Meirav and External Factors 19 Third Analysis: Philip Pettit and Cognitive Resolve 20 Final Analysis: Incorporation 24 Hopeful Thoughts: Fantasy 25 Hopeful Feelings: Anticipation 29 Summary 34 CHAPTER 2 Incorporation 35 Understanding Mental States through Their Fundamental Norms 36 Two Constraints on Reasons 38 Normative Governance Requires Deliberative Responsiveness 38 Deliberation Constrains Reasons 41 The Licensing Stance 44 The Transparency of Doxastic Deliberation to Evidence 46 Putting Transparency and Deliberation Constrains Reasons Together 48 Practical Deliberation about the Licensing Stance 48 The Other Part of the Incorporation Element: Treating Desire as a Practical Reason 52 The Inadequacy of Monist Theories of Motivation 54 The Dualist Theory: Subrational and Rational Motivational Representations 58 Hope as Incorporation 61 Hoping and End-Setting 64 Cases: Hoping without End-Setting 66 The End-Setting Conception's Inability to Accommodate These Cases 67 Conclusion: A Unified Theory of Hope and the Worry about Excessive Reflectiveness 69 CHAPTER 3 Suicide and Sustenance 72 Virtue and Sustenance 72 The First Extreme: Aquinas and Irascible Hope 75 The Thomistic "Inner Cathedral" 76 The Concupiscible and Irascible Passions 77 The Second Extreme: Calhoun and Seconding Practical Commitment 82 Hopeful Fantasies and Sustenance 85 Contingent Sustenance 91 An Example: "Self-Help" and Self-Sabotage 94 Summary 96 CHAPTER 4 Faith and Sustenance without Contingency 98 Chief Plenty Coups and Unimaginable Hope 98 Kant on the Highest Good and Morally Obligatory Hope 101 The Transformation of Hope into Faith 105 Marcel's Hope 108 Grounding Hope in Love 111 The Possibility of Secular Faith 114 Summary 117 CHAPTER 5 Normative Hope 118 Strawson and the Reactive Attitudes 118 Mapping the Territory: Interpersonal Relations 121 Gratitude, Disappointment, and Normative Hope 125 Hope for the Vicious 136 Summary 140 CONCLUSION Human Passivity, Agency, and Hope 141 Index 147

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Inspired by her work with terminally ill cancer patients, Martin provides a valuable analysis of hope that makes excellent use of the tools of analytic philosophy, recent work in neuropsychology, and the philosophies of Immanuel Kant and Gabriel Marcel."--Choice "[A] short but substantial tome... Anyone who is interested in the ethics of hope will find a great deal of valuable insight in this book."--Ben Sherman, Philosophy in Review "Martin not only insightfully advances the philosophical literature on hope, but also, maybe more importantly, provides substantial food for thought to anyone whose philosophical interests encompass desires and motivations."--Rachel Fredericks, Mind "Martin's work is a timely and instructive contribution to a rapidly expanding literature on hope."--Aaron D. Cobb, Journal of Moral PhilosophyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION What Is Hope? 1 Questions about Hope 1 The Orthodox Definition and Its Critics 4 Hope as a Syndrome 6 The Incorporation Analysis 7 Summary of Chapters 8 CHAPTER 1 Beyond the Orthodox Definition of Hope 11 The Orthodox Definition in the Modern Period 11 The Orthodox Definition in Recent Philosophy 13 Challenge Cases 14 First Analysis: Luc Bovens and Mental Imaging 17 Second Analysis: Ariel Meirav and External Factors 19 Third Analysis: Philip Pettit and Cognitive Resolve 20 Final Analysis: Incorporation 24 Hopeful Thoughts: Fantasy 25 Hopeful Feelings: Anticipation 29 Summary 34 CHAPTER 2 Incorporation 35 Understanding Mental States through Their Fundamental Norms 36 Two Constraints on Reasons 38 Normative Governance Requires Deliberative Responsiveness 38 Deliberation Constrains Reasons 41 The Licensing Stance 44 The Transparency of Doxastic Deliberation to Evidence 46 Putting Transparency and Deliberation Constrains Reasons Together 48 Practical Deliberation about the Licensing Stance 48 The Other Part of the Incorporation Element: Treating Desire as a Practical Reason 52 The Inadequacy of Monist Theories of Motivation 54 The Dualist Theory: Subrational and Rational Motivational Representations 58 Hope as Incorporation 61 Hoping and End-Setting 64 Cases: Hoping without End-Setting 66 The End-Setting Conception's Inability to Accommodate These Cases 67 Conclusion: A Unified Theory of Hope and the Worry about Excessive Reflectiveness 69 CHAPTER 3 Suicide and Sustenance 72 Virtue and Sustenance 72 The First Extreme: Aquinas and Irascible Hope 75 The Thomistic "Inner Cathedral" 76 The Concupiscible and Irascible Passions 77 The Second Extreme: Calhoun and Seconding Practical Commitment 82 Hopeful Fantasies and Sustenance 85 Contingent Sustenance 91 An Example: "Self-Help" and Self-Sabotage 94 Summary 96 CHAPTER 4 Faith and Sustenance without Contingency 98 Chief Plenty Coups and Unimaginable Hope 98 Kant on the Highest Good and Morally Obligatory Hope 101 The Transformation of Hope into Faith 105 Marcel's Hope 108 Grounding Hope in Love 111 The Possibility of Secular Faith 114 Summary 117 CHAPTER 5 Normative Hope 118 Strawson and the Reactive Attitudes 118 Mapping the Territory: Interpersonal Relations 121 Gratitude, Disappointment, and Normative Hope 125 Hope for the Vicious 136 Summary 140 CONCLUSION Human Passivity, Agency, and Hope 141 Index 147

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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"While the topic can get swamped in jargon, Michael Ruse, a professor of philosophy at Florida State University, is anything but a dry writer. In On Purpose, he revels in the arguments that philosophers, scientists and religious saints have had over ‘the big picture’ for the past 2,000 years. . . . Taking his cue from his own Quaker upbringing, [Ruse] argues that three things remain deeply satisfying in life, even if philosophically one ends up on the side of Epicurus and his denial of design: family; a life of service to others; and, not surprisingly for a philosopher, the life of the mind. For many people, there is indeed purpose in each of these, and perhaps, Mr. Ruse suggests, that is enough."---John Farrell, Wall Street Journal"Philosopher and perennial defender of evolution Ruse takes readers on a historical and constructive tour through one of the most importunate issues in basic metaphysics: is there any purpose behind the things--the universe, humans, nature, et al.--that are, and, if so, what is its nature and where does it come from? . . . As always, Ruse defends evolutionary science while valuing the beauty and expressiveness of human culture." * Library Journal *"A deeply intelligent book that treats key thinkers in philosophy, religion and the sciences fairly, humorously and with a virtuosity reflecting more than half a century in the field."---Paul Biegler, Cosmos"On Purpose is a book that represents Ruse at his most wide-ranging and engaging. . . . [He] is akin to the most enthusiastic and entertaining tour guide one could have through an already compelling exhibit at a museum."---Mark E. Borrello, Quarterly Review of Biology"On Purpose works both as an introductory text as well as a philosophical testament. . . . A book where one learns about the history of philosophy and the history of science, but not neutrally so, since one is looking through the eyes of one of the most active participants in recent debates."---Hugh Desmond, Science & Education

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A deeply intelligent book that treats key thinkers in philosophy, religion and the sciences fairly, humorously and with a virtuosity reflecting more than half a century in the field."—Paul Biegler, Cosmos"[Ruse] revels in the arguments that philosophers, scientists and religious saints have had over 'the big picture' for the past 2,000 years."—John Farrell, Wall Street Journal"Ruse takes readers on a historical and constructive tour through one of the most importunate issues in basic metaphysics: is there any purpose behind the things—the universe, humans, nature, et al.—that are, and, if so, what is its nature and where does it come from?"—Library Journal"On Purpose is a book that represents Ruse at his most wide-ranging and engaging. . . . [He] is akin to the most enthusiastic and entertaining tour guide one could have through an already compelling exhibit at a museum."—Mark E. Borrello, Quarterly Review of Biology

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Entertaining and smart, this is philosophy for people who don’t usually like philosophy." * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisEvil is the most serious of our moral problems.Trade ReviewSince it reflects aspects of human nature—envy, ambition, the need for belonging—evil is a permanent threat. We can best combat it, John Kekes believes, by cultivating 'moral imagination.'... An education in the litearary and philosophical classics helps nourish the moral imagination.... There is much to admire in this lucid and morally serious book. Its concreteness sets it apart from the arid abstraction of many works of analytic philosophy. Its insistence on the existence of evil is refreshing in an age of academic relativism. Its modest conclusions are wise and generally right. * First Things *The principal value of The Roots of Evil is that the author squarely faces the challenge of evil, a task of no small importance when Islamofascism and much else are testing the mettle of the West. While some obsess over the 'root causes' of the appalling things people do to one another, Kekes reminds us that evil actions find their origin in the individual. His book closes with some sensible if currently unfashionable recommendations for coping with evil: attending to its internal conditions by exposing people to the humanities and attending to its external conditions by a firm commitment to punishment. Indeed, the book contains much by way of sturdy good sense. * The New Criterion *This is an interesting, systematic, nondogmatic, and informed attempt to make sense of evil on secular grounds. * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisCicero''s On the Republic and On the Laws are his major works of political philosophy. They offer his fullest treatment of fundamental political questions: Why should educated people have any concern for politics? Is the best form of government simple, or is it a combination of elements from such simple forms as monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy? Can politics be free of injustice? The two works also help us to think about natural law, which many people have considered since ancient times to provide a foundation of unchanging, universal principles of justice.On the Republic features a defense of politics against those who advocated abstinence from public affairs. It defends a mixed constitution, the actual arrangement of offices in the Roman Republic, against simple forms of government. The Republic also supplies material for students of Roman historyas does On the Laws. The Laws, moreover, presents the results of Cicero''s reflections as Trade ReviewFott accomplishes what he has set out to do: provide an accessible translation that focuses more on the text than on the secondary scholarship. Fott's translation will prove a handy reference guide for anyone interested in either or both of these political works. It would be exceptionally well-suited for an undergraduate class on cicero, Roman philosophy, or the reception of Greek philosophy by the Romans, and I look forward to adopting it for my own students. -- Polis * The Journal for Ancient Greek Political Thought *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Note on the Text and the Translation Chronology of Cicero's Life Outlines of On the Republic and On the Laws On the Republic (with explanatory notes) Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 Fragments of Uncertain Location On the Laws (with explanatory notes) Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Fragments Selected Bibliography Index of Personal Names Index of Terms

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Book SynopsisSummarizes the historical background to the Salmanticenses, from the time of Anselm up through the early-modern period. The book presents and defends the Salmanticenses' argument for the primacy of Christ the redeemer, and then turns to two key post-conciliar figures, Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar.

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Book SynopsisThe purpose of the present study is to undertake a confrontation of the thought of Martin Heidegger and of Thomas Aquinas on the question of Being and the problem of metaphysics.Trade Review"The volume, which tosses off insights by the pageful, demonstrates Caputo's masterful control of both the Heideggerian and Thomistic corpus." -Research in Phenomenology

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Book SynopsisThe purpose of the present study is to undertake a confrontation of the thought of Martin Heidegger and of Thomas Aquinas on the question of Being and the problem of metaphysics.Trade Review"The volume, which tosses off insights by the pageful, demonstrates Caputo's masterful control of both the Heideggerian and Thomistic corpus." -Research in Phenomenology

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This is a major contribution to the interpretation of Heideggerian philosophy! In five carefully developed and scrupulously documented chapters, Glazebrook (Colgate Univ.) traces Heidegger's view of science beginning with his earliest phase, extending into the 1930s, when he regarded philosophy as "scientific," through a transitional phase, when he turned away from "metaphysics" to "physics," to the 1950s onward, when he asserted that modern natural science is already the basic form of technological thinking. Heidegger's critique of science, Glazebrook shows in detail, forms the backdrop for his evolving understanding of the history of metaphysics. In her final paragraph, Glazebrook accurately summarizes: "I have argued that the issues pertaining to science lie behind Heidegger's rejection of metaphysics, his entanglement with the university, his nostalgia for the Greeks, and his critique of modernity. I have further shown that Heidegger's thinking can be put constructively into dialogue with the analytic tradition of philosophy of science." Clearly written and free of jargon, this reliable account of Heidegger's philosophy of science will take its place alongside the major studies of his philosophy and should be in every library where Heidegger's writings themselves have a place. This reviewer read it with great excitement and learned from every page. Highly recommended; all academic levels and professionals." -Choice

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Book SynopsisDevelops an account of testimony and the ethics of witnessing through readings of nineteenth-century American literary texts, including those of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, and Henry James.Trade Review"Goldberg's book is both timely and exciting. Her readings of Emerson (a writer whose work has always seemed to me to resist the pressures of close reading) are quite simply brilliant American literature. Her work, more than that of any other critic since Charles Feidelson, allows us to teach Emerson and Melville together by pointing to similarities rather than differences as well as to see their formal and ethical concerns as establishing a trajectory that includes the work of Douglass and James. Goldberg's voice is one of the most exciting ones among the current group of young scholars of nineteenth-century." -- -Edgar Dryden University of Arizona "Quiet Testimony proceeds from a deceptively simple question: Who testifies in nineteenth-century America? The several answers Shari Goldberg exacts through the book's five chapters amount to a provocative reformulation of the concept of human agency, with significant ethical and political consequences." -Textual Practice "This is an ambitious, daring, and provocative book, and one that resonates deeply and significantly with contemporary debates over the relation between testimony and historical truth that have occupied a great deal of literary and philosophical work within the last two decades. Goldberg's wonderful readings of the ways in which nineteenth-century writers understood the force of silence in the act of bearing witness suggest that testimony is perhaps most audible, most powerful, when we are able to hear its silences, the silences that give voice not only to the issues that felt most urgent for these writers but also to those that are of most concern for us today." -- -Eduardo Cadava Princeton University "[Goldberg's] careful consideration of how Emerson, Douglass, Melville, and James think and write about testimony reveals myriad and unexpected sites of meaning... Goldberg seeks to adjust not only how we read these particular writers' works but how we read in general by considering the literary text's role in teaching us to understand and respond sensitively to the extra-textual world." -The Henry James Review "[T]heoretically sophisticated ... Goldberg considers how each of the writers she considers demonstrates a connection to earlier, 'enchanted' modes of confronting the natural world and the potentially permeable boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead." -Studies in the Novel "Through Shari Goldberg's passionately attentive readings of core texts within 19th century American literature, Quiet Testimony bears witness to the intimacy between testimony and literary thinking, and in so doing provides a model for radically rethinking the very concept of literature." -- -Donald Pease Dartmouth College "This is a major and exemplary work that deftly situates the authors in their historical situations while at the same time deeply respecting their thinking, reading them in order to adduce their complicated attitudes toward testimony, which Goldberg successfully advances as an urgent and central issue for each of them." -- -Mitchell Breitwieser University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Arriving at Quiet 1 Emerson: Testimony without Representation 2 Douglass: Testimony without Identity 3 Melville: Testimony without Voice 4 James: Testimony without Life Conclusion: Staying Quiet Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Certain dualities, spirit vs. body, idea vs. sensation, self vs. the world, etc., have long dominated, often injuriously, much Western thinking. In this remarkable volume, the editors, along with some of the most important voices in the Continental tradition, allow hermeneutics to go 'all the way down' and in so doing move beyond these dualities by taking more seriously the 'surplus of meaning arising from our carnal embodiment.' What emerges is a reenergized and radically embodied or 'incarnational' hermeneutics that opens new vistas for religious, environmental, and artistic thinking. This is an important and consequential collection." -- -Jason M. Wirth Seattle University "Richard Kearney and Brian Treanor have assembled a remarkable collection of essays by important recent philosophers devoted to the surprising intersection of 'carnal' and 'hermeneutics' -the body as interpreter as well as interpreted. The British, French and American authors explore the existential, environmental and religious implications of a philosophy of the body." -- -David Carr Emory University "Carnal Hermeneutics brings together essays from some of the most prominent philosophers writing today. These excellent essays challenge us to think through the body in every sense. This collection makes an important contribution to philosophy of embodiment. The very idea of carnal hermeneutics is breath-taking." -- -Kelly Oliver Vanderbilt University "In response to the apparent 'non-relevance' of traditional phenomenological hermeneutics, must those scholars who continue to cling to a more 'conservative' perspective capitulate to the various nihilisms, to the critiques of correlationalism, or to the solid reductionism of speculative realism? Richard Kearney and Brian Treanor answer with an insistent 'No!' Indeed, they seek to infuse the debate with a dialogical energy that will keep the process moving and flesh renewed. That would not be a bad embodiment of a carnal hermeneutics." -- -B. Keith Putt Samford UniversityTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction: From Head to Foot Richard Kearney and Brian Treanor Why Carnal Hermeneutics? What Is Carnal Hermeneutics? Richard Kearney Mind the Gap: The Challenge of Matter Brian Treanor Rethinking the Flesh Rethinking Corpus Jean-Luc Nancy From the Limbs of the Heart to the Soul's Organs Jean-Louis Chretien A Tragedy and a Dream: Disability Revisited Julia Kristeva Incarnation and the Problem of Touch Michel Henry On the Phenomenon of Suffering Jean-Luc Marion Memory, History, Oblivion Paul Ricoeur Matters of Touch Skin Deep: Bodies Edging into Place Ed Casey Touched by Touching David Wood Umbilicus: Toward a Hermeneutics of Generational Difference Anne O'Byrne Getting in Touch: Aristotelian Diagnostics Emmanuel Alloa Between Vision and Touch: From Husserl to Merleau-Ponty Dermot Moran Biodiversity and the Diacritics of Life Ted Toadvine Divine Bodies The Passion According to Teresa of Avila Julia Kristeva

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1987. Philosopher Maurice Mandelbaum offers a broad-ranging essay on the roles of chance, choice, purpose, and necessity in human events. He traces the many changes these concepts have undergone, from the analyses of Hobbes and Spinoza, through the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. Mandelbaum examines two contrary tendencies in the history of social theories. Some thinkers, he shows, have explained the character of institutions in terms of their individual purposes, whereas others have stressed relationships of necessity among society's institutions. Mandelbaum discusses chance, choice, and necessity at length and reaches some provocative conclusions about the ways in which they are interwoven in human affairs.Trade ReviewStudents of the humanities and social sciences who want to see the relevance of philosophical debates over free will versus determination and individual versus social causation can do no better than consult this book.—ChoiceTable of ContentsPrefacePart I: Introduction1. The Analysis of Social TheoriesPart II: Individualistic & Institutional Theories2. Individualistic Theories of Purpose & Necessity3. Necessity & Purpose in Intsitutional TheoriesPart III: Necessity, Chance & Choice4. Determinism & Chance5. Determinism & Choise6. Necessity, Chance & Choice in Human AffairsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1970. The question of man's freedom to exercise his willas active an issue among twentieth-century philosophers and theologians as it was in the Jesuit and Jansenist camps known to Pascalis basic to this study. Pascal's theological thinking, which Professor Miel demonstrates to be the source of unity and coherence in virtually all phases of his thought, is preoccupied by a concern for man's limitations. In his analysis of Pascal's theology, Miel is concerned not only with characterizing Pascal's theological position but also with evaluating it in terms of the history of the church. In a concise and lucid review of the Christian doctrine of grace from the pre-Augustinians through the Renaissance, the author identifies the intellectual-theological atmosphere that created the need for Pascal's strong defense of Augustinian theology. Miel considers Pascal's Écrits sur la grâce, Lettres provincials, and Pensées as well as shorter compositions and correspondence. HeTable of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviationsChapter 1: Grace and Free Will: An Historical IntroductionChapter 2: The Ecritus sur la graceChapter 3: The Lettres provincials and Shorter WorksChapter 4: The PenseesAppendicesIndex

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Book SynopsisDuty and Hypocrisy in Hegel’s ‘Phenomenology of Mind’ combines a general discussion of Hegelian themes with the first loose commentary, explication, and testing of Hegel’s discussion of morality in the Phenomenology of Mind. In this work Hegel analyses a life ordered around the idea of duty and concludes that it must inevitably end in hypocrisy. The reasons for Hegel’s conclusions are complex, and his discussion is conducted in a way which is relatively unfamiliar to English-speaking readers. His analysis of the moral consciousness is neither an inquiry into the various sorts of ethical concepts and the logical relations between them nor merely a description of how different people behave. Nor, again is it hortatory or prescriptive. Unlike Aristotle he does not instruct ‘in order to become good.’ Rather, he adopted a kind of middle ground between analysis and description and seeks to show how the faulty logic of duty brings terrible c

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Book SynopsisIn Plato''s Republic, Socrates contends that philosophers make the best rulers because only they behold with their mind''s eye the eternal and purely intelligible Forms of the Just, the Noble, and the Good. When, in addition, these men and women are endowed with a vast array of moral, intellectual, and personal virtues and are appropriately educated, surely no one could doubt the wisdom of entrusting to them the governance of cities. Although it is widelyand reasonablyassumed that all the Republic's philosophers are the same, Roslyn Weiss argues in this boldly original book that the Republic actually contains two distinct and irreconcilable portrayals of the philosopher.According to Weiss, Plato's two paradigms of the philosopher are the philosopher by nature and the philosopher by design. Philosophers by design, as the allegory of the Cave vividly shows, must be forcibly dragged from the material world of pleasure to the sublime realm of the intellect, and fromTrade ReviewThis important book takes Plato at his word. Delicately attuned to nuances and alterations in Plato's language, Roslyn Weiss painstakingly—but never uninterestingly—accumulates convincing textual evidence in support of three main thesis: (1) The Republic contains two distinct and irreconcilable portrayals of the philosopher: the philosophers by nature of books five and six and the philosophers by design of book seven (chapters one through three); (2) Socrates is superior to both of these philosophical types because he displays the virtue, deliberately suppressed in the Republic, of piety (chapter four); (3) Socrates intentionally blurs the difference between the other-regarding virtue of justice and the self-regarding virtue of moderation (chapter five). These theses are internally connected by Weiss's guiding intuition that the example of Socrates, who puts himself in harm's way in the course of caring for the souls of others, furnishes the proper measure of philosophy and justice in the Republic. * The Review of Metaphysics *Weiss develops her bold and refreshing alternative to standard interperetations of the Republic by way of close readings of the dialogue that attend with nuance to its language and arguments and also its dramatic structure. Weiss's exceptionally rich footnotes supplement the careful arguments of her text, while also offering, over the course of the book, a sustained set of insightful gestures to undernoted proximities between Plato and Aristotle. -- Jill Frank * The Review of Politics *What we expect from Roslyn Weiss is close textual argument and unusual readings. Her book on philosophers in the Republic does not disappoint.... The audacity of this close reading of the dialogue is a welcomed challenge to settled habits. Whether you agree with the conclusion or not, you will learn a lot about the text. -- Richard D. Parry * The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition *In Philosophers in the 'Republic,' Roslyn Weiss argues that Plato’s Republic contains two ‘distinct and irreconcilable’ portrayals of the philosopher: what Weiss calls the ‘philosopher by nature’ and the ‘philosopher by design.’ Through close reading of the arguments and the dramatic action of the Republic, Weiss convincingly shows the distinctness of these two types while also educing a third: that of Socrates himself. Weiss illuminates the multifaceted arguments of the Republic anew with deft intelligence, calling attention to conspicuous absences as well as important inconsistencies that ought to shift conventional readings of the dialogue from any approach. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Two Paradigms 1. Philosophers by Nature 2. Philosophers by Design I: The Making of a Philosopher 3. Philosophers by Design II: The Making of a Ruler 4. Socratic Piety: The Fifth Cardinal Virtue 5. Justice as Moderation Conclusion: "In a Healthy Way"Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisNarratives produce the ties that bind us. They create community, eliminate contingency and anchor us in being. And yet in our contemporary information society, where everything has become arbitrary and random, storytelling becomes storyselling and narratives lose their binding force. Whereas narratives create community, storytelling brings forth only a fleeting community – the community of consumers. No amount of storytelling could recreate the fire around which humans gather to tell each other stories. That fire has long since burnt out. It has been replaced by the digital screen, which separates people rather than bringing them together. Through storytelling, capitalism appropriates narrative: stories sell. They are no longer a medium of shared experience. The inflation of storytelling betrays a need to cope with contingency, but storytelling is unable to transform the information society back into a stable narrative community. Rather, storytelling as storyselling is a pathological phenomenon of our age. Byung-Chul Han, one of the most perceptive cultural theorists of contemporary society, dissects this crisis with exceptional insight and flair.Table of ContentsPreface From Narration to InformationThe Poverty of ExperienceThe Narrated LifeBare LifeThe Disenchantment of the WorldFrom Shocks to LikesTheory as NarrativeNarration as HealingNarrative CommunityStoryselling Notes

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Book SynopsisJust as the six branches of a snow crystal converge in regular proportions toward their common center, the six contributions to this book point toward a future philosophy of cosmic life. In this sense, this edited volume represents a multidisciplinary and transcultural polylogue of distinguished authors from three continents, which aims to establish highly innovative perspectives and open new frontiers of developing philosophical reflections and scientific foundations for the emergence of a common cosmic consciousness, for an integral ecology, and for a cooperative planetary civilization of humanity. John B. Cobb, Jr. uses a process-philosophical foundation to describe life as living events expressing novelty and the cosmos as a process of self-enriching and self-evolving “Life Itself.” Chandra Wickramasinghe unfolds his scientific and philosophical perspective on cosmic life in twelve successive steps, offering a wide range of arguments and insights that support an up-to-date theory of panspermia. Attila Grandpierre presents the "Cosmic Life Principle" and the comprehensive science based upon it that is inextricably linked to the healthy and cooperative civilization, to the biological laws of nature, to the laws of logic, to the uplifting of the well-being of people and ecological communities. Chunyou Yan introduces the approach of his holographic philosophy, according to which the universe must be understood as a vast living entity, every aspect of which represents life. Bei Peng shows that the proportions of energy meridians in traditional Chinese medicine correspond to musical intervals, and on this basis she demonstrates the analogy of the human body to macrocosmic phenomena. David Bartosch offers an examination of three important systematic foundations for a poly-contextural, transcultural philosophy of cosmic life with roots in Greek, Chinese, South and West Asian, and European traditions of thought. Table of Contents1. Introduction2. Cosmic Life 3. Admitting Our Inalienable Links with the Cosmos 4. The Cosmic Life Instinct Points the Way to a Healthy Ecological Civilization 5. Holographic Philosophy as a Philosophical Basis of Cosmic Life Theory 6. The Human Body as the Singing Universe 7. Poly-contextural Cornerstones for a Transcultural Philosophy of Cosmic Life

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This book offers new arguments for determinism. It draws novel and surprising consequences from determinism for our attitudes toward such things as death, regret, grief, and the meaning of life.The book argues that rationalism is the right attitude to take toward reality. It then shows that rationalism implies determinism and that determinism has surprising and far-reaching consequences. The author contends that the existence of all of humanity almost certainly depends on the precise time and manner of your death and mine; that purely retrospective regret, relief, gratitude, and grief are irrational for all but those who hold extreme values; and that everyone's life has an unending impact on the future and thereby achieves the strongest kind of meaning that it makes sense to desire. Written in a direct and accessible style, Determinism, Death, and Meaning will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working in metaphysics, philosophy of

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Book SynopsisFooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin in the Game, and The Bed of Procrustes.Now in a striking new hardcover edition, Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader, renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar, erudite raconteur, and New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan–has written a modern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luck and skill. This book is about luck–or more precisely, about how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous for

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Book SynopsisDie Freiheitsschrift aus dem Jahr 1809 ist eines der zentralen Werke nicht nur Schellings, sondern der gesamten Philosophie des 19. Jahrhunderts. Christian Brouwer interpretiert die Schrift vor dem Hintergrund sowohl der zeitgenössischen Philosophie als auch der großen Freiheits- und Unfreiheitstraktate (Augustin, Erasmus, Luther). Das Denken und Sprechen, wie es die Freiheitsschrift entfaltet, erweist sich als abgründig, aber gerade so angemessen angesichts eines Gottes- und Freiheitsbegriffes, der ebenso unvermeidlich wie nicht selbstverständlich ist. In einer sprachtheoretischen Überlegung erscheint die Metapher als diejenige Sprachform, die in der Intention von Schellings Werk eine Durchsichtigkeit der Welt auf Gott bei bleibender Distanz zwischen beiden verspricht. Diese Interpretation lässt die Freiheitsschrift anschlussfähig für die theologische Diskussion werden.

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Book SynopsisDass das Leben des Glaubens affekt- und gefühlsbestimmt ist, war eine erfahrungsgesättigte Grundüberzeugung der Reformatoren. Der Wechsel vom Leben der Sünde zum Leben des Glaubens wird nicht als intellektuelle Einsicht oder freier Willensentschluss, sondern als ein Affektwechsel beschrieben, in dem der menschliche Wille von seinen sündigen Affekten befreit und durch neue, entgegengesetzte Affekte der Gnade bestimmt wird. Über die Affekte, Passionen, Emotionen, Gefühle oder kurz: die Leidenschaften des Menschen nachzudenken, ist daher eine zentrale Aufgabe theologischer Anthropologie. Ingolf U. Dalferth versucht das an den Beispielen der Angst, des Zorns, der Liebe, des Mitleids und des Vertrauens. Ohne Leidenschaften können Menschen nicht menschlich zusammenleben, aber ohne kulturelle Gestaltung können Leidenschaften zu unmenschlichem Verhalten führen und menschliches Zusammenleben behindern, schädigen oder unmöglich machen. Deshalb ist beides wichtig: die Leidenschaften kulturell zu gestalten und die kulturelle Gestaltung der Leidenschaften kritisch zu kontrollieren. Ohne Kultivierung der Leidenschaften ist menschliches Zusammenleben nicht möglich. Doch jede Kultivierung führt die Gefahr mit sich, das zu unterdrücken, was man zu gestalten versucht. Wo Leidenschaften bedenkenlos selbstisch ausgelebt werden, wird das Leben ebenso beschädigt wie dort, wo man die Leidenschaften zu unterdrücken sucht. Gegenüber beiden Fehlformen entfaltet Ingolf U. Dalferth in diesem Buch die These: Nicht die Leidenschaften, sondern das Selbstische an ihnen ist zu korrigieren, und nicht das Selbstische, sondern die Leidenschaften sind zu kultivieren.

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Book SynopsisDer französische Philosoph Paul Ricœur (1913-2005) hat es stets abgelehnt, als "Theologe" bezeichnet zu werden. Nichtsdestotrotz hat er sich zeitlebens mit biblischen Themen auseinandergesetzt. Philosophische und biblische Hermeneutik stehen während seines gesamten reflexiven Schaffens in einem außerordentlichen, jedoch niemals direkt behandelten Spannungsverhältnis zueinander.Dieser Herausforderung versucht Kathrin Messner in ihrer Untersuchung zu begegnen. Den beiden bisher nicht ins Deutsche übersetzen Schlussvorlesungen der Edinburgher Gifford Lectures von 1986 kommt dabei eine ebenso zentrale Bedeutung zu wie Ricœurs Tübinger Festvortrag Amour et justice. Liebe und Gerechtigkeit von 1989. Verglichen mit seinem zentralen philosophisch-hermeneutischen Werk Das Selbst als ein Anderer (1990) und in den Kontext seiner Intellektuellen Autobiographie (1995) gestellt, ergeben sich dabei erstaunliche Entdeckungen.Die Arbeit wurde mit dem Jahrespreis 2014 der Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Zürich ausgezeichnet.

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Book SynopsisReligion steht seit der europäischen Neuzeit zunehmend unter dem Verdacht, einer wissenschaftlich nicht mehr vertretbaren Kosmologie verpflichtet und erst recht zum modernen Prozessdenken der Evolution unfähig zu sein. Träfe beides zu, wäre eine zeitgemäße Schöpfungstheologie unmöglich und der religiöse Glaube geriete in eine vollständige Isolation gegenüber dem als Wissenschaftsstandard geltenden Welt- und Menschenbild seiner eigenen Gegenwart. Inzwischen hat sich gezeigt, dass die Grenzen zwischen den Wissenschaften und den Lebens-, Glaubens- und Handlungsformen gar nicht so exklusiv gezogen werden können, wie bestimmte mechanistische Weltanschauungen angenommen haben. Diese neue Situation des Dialogs hat vor allem die Wissenschafts- und Religionsphilosophie des amerikanischen Pragmatismus (Ch. S. Peirce) ermöglicht, dessen Bedeutung Hermann Deuser in den sieben Essays an jeweils aktuellen Problemstellungen auslotet und entwickelt.

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Book SynopsisIst radikale Selbstbestimmung freiheitstheoretisch relevant, d.h. ein konstitutives Moment von Freiheit? Und ist radikale Selbstbestimmung möglich oder gar wirklich? Unter radikaler Selbstbestimmung versteht Frank Dettinger dabei das Vermögen eines Handlungssubjekts, dessen persönliche und charakterliche Beschaffenheit, in der seine Entscheidungen und Handlungen gründen, in einem unabhängigen Akt selbst zu bestimmen.Dettinger gibt Impulse sowohl für die analytisch-philosophische als auch für die theologische Freiheitsdebatte. In der ersten Hinsicht versteht sich seine Arbeit insbesondere als Beitrag zur Verständigung der Freiheitsdebatte über sich selbst. In der zweiten Hinsicht liegt das Proprium im Aufweis des Potentials eines interdisziplinären Vorgehens. Er rekonstruiert Luthers Freiheitsverständnis in Anwendung analytisch-philosophischer Freiheitssystematik präzise und macht es auf diese Weise einer argumentativen Prüfung zugänglich.

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Book SynopsisIn der Theologie war, über den größten Teil ihrer Geschichte, die Verwendung der Metaphysik so selbstverständlich wie heute ihre Zurückweisung. Bei Gerhard Ebeling findet sich, im Kontrast dazu, eine sorgfältige Untersuchung von Sinn und Funktion der Metaphysik in der Theologie. Seine Arbeiten zeigen, was in der Theologie überhaupt als Metaphysik bezeichnet wird und warum diese abzulehnen ist. Die Kritik an der Metaphysik scheint sich bei Ebeling außerdem, wie im allgemeinen Empfinden, von der reformatorischen Theologie herzuleiten. Ruth Görnandt bindet sie zurück an ihren zeit- und theologiegeschichtlichen Kontext und zeigt damit, dass sie nicht nur in einem bestimmten Strom protestantischer Theologie verwurzelt ist, nämlich von Albrecht Ritschl über Wilhelm Herrmann zu Rudolf Bultmann, sondern dass sie auf einen Streit um die Theologie unter den Anforderungen der Moderne antwortet. Dieser Kontext ist für das korrekte Verständnis von Ebelings Metaphysikkritik unerlässlich.

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Book SynopsisWas ist Freiheit? Ist der Mensch frei? Und: Sind Gott und menschliche Freiheit vereinbar? Diese Fragen untersucht Anselm von Canterbury in seinen Freiheitsdialogen.Katrin König deutet Anselms Freiheitstheorie in ihrem theologischen Zusammenhang, verortet sie historisch und bringt sie ins Gespräch mit analytisch-philosophischen Freiheitstheorien der Gegenwart. Damit wird ein qualitativer Begriff von Freiheit als Gabe zum Guten zur Diskussion gestellt: begnadete Freiheit. Freiheit ist diesem Verständnis nach mehr als individuelle Selbstbestimmung oder Wahl zwischen alternativen Möglichkeiten. Sie gründet in Wahrheitserkenntnis, entfaltet sich in Gerechtigkeitsliebe und ist mit vollkommener Bestimmtheit durch das Wirken Gottes vereinbar. In diesem Horizont können Aporien der modernen Determinismusdebatte wahrgenommen und scheinbare Gegensätze vermittelt werden.Diese Arbeit wurde mit dem Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise 2017 ausgezeichnet.

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Book SynopsisEnde des 19. Jahrhunderts kündigte Friedrich Nietzsche den "Tod Gottes" als das "grösste neuere Ereigniss" an und stellte zugleich fest: dieses "ungeheure Ereigniss ist noch unterwegs und wandert". Die Idee des Todes Gottes und die Vorstellung vom Sterben der Götter wanderten jedoch bereits seit Jahrtausenden durch die Geistes- und Kulturgeschichte und werden bis heute in unzähligen Schattierungen aufgegriffen, die von mythischen Narrativen über radikale Atheismen bis hin zu kreuzestheologischen Integrations- und ethischen Substitutionsversuchen variieren. In der Moderne spitzt sich diese Gemengelage epistemisch zu. Der Tod Gottes wird nun zum Lebensgefühl einer Zeit, die als auf Dauer gestellte Krise des Verlustes metaphysischer Letztbegründungen erlebt wird. Philipp David verfolgt die Geschichte eines polyphonen Motivs in Theologie und Philosophie, Literatur und Kultur und fragt, wie sich nach und mit dem Tode Gottes - aber keinesfalls an ihm vorbei - Theologie treiben lässt.

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Book SynopsisDas Internationale Jahrbuch für Hermeneutik repräsentiert eine der Hauptströmungen in der Philosophie der Gegenwart und den angrenzenden Disziplinen. Es versammelt Studien zu Fragen des Verstehens und Interpretierens auf allen Gebieten, einschließlich der Philosophie, Theologie, Rechtswissenschaften und Wirtschaftstheorie wie der Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaften. Das Jahrbuch nimmt Beiträge zu aktuellen Debatten ebenso auf wie solche zur Ideengeschichte von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Jeder Band ist einem Schwerpunktthema gewidmet.Erstmals sind nun die Bände 1-10 in einem Paket zum Sonderpreis erhältlich.Im Paket enthaltene Bände:IJH 1 (Schwerpunkt: Sprache), IJH 2 (Schwerpunkt: Humanismus), IJH 3 (Schwerpunkt: Kunst-Verstehen), IJH 4 (Schwerpunkt: Platon und die Hermeneutik), IJH 5 (Schwerpunkt: Hermeneutik der Religion), IJH 6 (Schwerpunkt: Hermeneutik der Literatur), IJH 7 (Schwerpunkte: Hermeneutik der Geschichte / Hermeneutik der Kunst), IJH 8 (Schwerpunkte: Wort und Schrift), IJH 9 (Schwerpunkte: Hermeneutik und Phänomenologie/Schöne Kunst), IJH 10 (Schwerpunkt: 50 Jahre Wahrheit und Methode)

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Book Synopsis'Deuten', 'Interpretieren', 'Auslegen' und 'Verstehen' bilden in der Moderne nicht mehr nur wesentliche Momente einer Hermeneutik schriftlicher Texte. Im Verlauf des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts kam es zu einer tiefgehenden Transformation, in deren Zug hermeneutische Reflexionen sowohl in methodologischer als auch in grundlagentheoretischer Hinsicht zur Basis aller Geistes-, Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften avancierten. Wilhelm Dilthey spielt innerhalb dieses Transformationsprozesses eine Schlüsselrolle. Constantin Plaul widmet sich der Erarbeitung seiner Verstehenskonzeption und nimmt dafür zunächst den philologischen Entdeckungszusammenhang in den Blick. Zudem untersucht er ihre systematischen Dimensionen in Diltheys Gesamtwerk. Die Fluchtlinie liegt in den Konsequenzen für die Problematik der Religion, die von Dilthey nicht nur als Objekt, sondern auch als Fall von Verstehen begriffen wird.

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Book SynopsisDas Gerücht, Gott sei tot, scheint übertrieben gewesen zu sein. An dessen Verbreitung haben die Naturwissenschaften einen wesentlichen Anteil gehabt. Gegenwärtig führen dagegen gerade sie Gott wieder im Munde. Maßgeblichen Anteil daran hat die Entdeckung des Phänomens der "Feinabstimmung": Wenn Naturkonstanten, die die Gestalt unseres Universums bestimmen, nur wenig andere Werte angenommen hätten, hätte es bewusstes Leben nie gegeben. Matthias Schleiff entwickelt daraus das teleologische "Feinabstimmungsargument". In der Nachfolge traditioneller Gottesbeweise, aber mit den wissenschaftlichen Einsichten unserer Zeit, argumentiert er dafür, dass sich die Annahme eines kosmischen Schöpfers auf rationale Gründe stützen kann. Er setzt sich dabei intensiv mit alternativen Erklärungshypothesen auseinander - etwa der Erklärung durch den Zufall, das Anthropische Prinzip oder die Theorie des Multiversums - und bringt so Naturwissenschaften, Philosophie und Theologie wieder in ein Gespräch über den Anfang der Welt."Nicht wenige Theologen, besonders unter den protestantischen, ziehen es vor, wenn sich Theologie und Naturwissenschaften niemals wechselseitig ins Gehege kommen. […] Da macht das Buch des evangelischen Theologen und Philosophen Matthias Schleiff hellhörig, das die schiedlich-friedliche Funkstille zwischen Theologie und Naturwissenschaften […] aufkündigt. […] Wer Sinn für gut durchdachte und klar präsentierte Argumente hat, für den ist die Lektüre dieses Buches ein intellektuelles Vergnügen besonderer Art. […] Im letzten Kapitel seines Buches führt Schleiff in neun sehr klug abwägenden Thesen aus, wie Theologen und Naturwissenschaften über das so verstandene Feinabstimmungsargument wieder in ein direktes Gespräch miteinander kommen können. Das Gespräch dürfte, wie Schleiff darlegt, beide Seiten vielfältig herausfordern und folgenreich für sie werden. Das Buch von Matthias Schleiff eröffnet in provozierender Weise ein solches Gespräch. Ein hervorragendes Buch."Holm Tetens in zeitzeichen 8/2019, S. 26"Auch dann, wenn man dem Argument weniger oder anderes zutraut als der Verfasser, wird man für künftige Beschäftigungen mit dem teleologischen Argument im Besonderen, den Gottesbeweisen im Allgemeinen und der Frage nach dem Verhältnis von naturwissenschaftlicher Erkenntnis und heute verantworteter Schöpfungstheologie an dieser Arbeit nicht vorbeikommen."Dirk Evers in Theologische Literaturzeitung 144 (2019), S. 1188-1190"Schleiffs Dissertation ist ein Ausnahmewerk. Es liest sich trotz seiner anspruchsvollen Thematik hervorragend dank einer großartigen Leserführung und der anschaulichen Entfaltung aller logischen Argumentationen. Wer es liest, gewinnt quasi im Nebengang Einblick in aktuelle Theoriebildungen der Kosmologie. Das Buch ist aber auch ein hervorragendes Beispiel einer interdisziplinären Arbeit. Die Art des Zusammenspiels von Philosophie und Theologie mit der Physik leuchtet intuitiv ein. Obwohl Schleiff einen dezidierten Schluss zugunsten der Schöpferhypothese zieht, wirkt er in vielem unvoreingenommener und offener als seine Vordenker, die zumeist als Naturwissenschaftler schrieben."Giancarlo Voellmy in AfeT Rezensionen auf rezensionen.afet.de

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Book SynopsisHäufig wird dem Hebräerbrief in wissenschaftlichen sowie kirchlichen Verlautbarungen ein negatives Verhältnis zum Judentum bescheinigt oder es wird ihm vorgeworfen, eine „judenfeindliche“ Wirkungsgeschichte durch seine Theologie begünstigt zu haben. Doch anders als häufig kritisiert, wird die alttestamentliche Tradition sowie die Bedeutung Israels im Hebräerbrief gerade nicht marginalisiert. Vielmehr zeigt Andreas-Christian Heidel exegetisch auf, dass sich durch eine israeltheologische Relektüre des theologischen Gesamtzeugnisses des Hebräerbriefs, ausgehend von Hebr 11,39–40, ein ekklesiologischer Heilsplan Gottes in Sachanalogie zu Röm 9–11 formulieren lässt. Dessen Ziel ist die eschatologische Vereinigung des einen glaubenden Gottesvolkes, welches sich durch alle Zeiten, Orte und menschliche Identitäten als ecclesia invisibilis hindurchzieht. Diese Einheit wird durch das Bekenntnis zu Jesus als Christus nicht infrage gestellt, sondern vielmehr darin verbürgt.

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Book SynopsisOffenbarung gilt im theologischen Diskurs des 20.und 21.Jahrhunderts als einer der bedeutendsten theologischen Grundbegriffe. Herrscht über das besondere Gewicht des Begriffs größtenteils Einigkeit, so gehen die Meinungen darüber, wie Offenbarung zu denken sei, konfliktiv auseinander. Patrick Ebert entfaltet ausgehend vom biblischen Befund, gemäß dem Offenbarung als Dynamik von Sichzeigen und Sichentziehen auftritt, einen eigenständigen offenbarungstheologischen Entwurf.Da sich diese Dynamik von Sichzeigen und Sichentziehen als phänomenologisches Problem par excellence darstellt, entwickelt er im Rückgang auf die Phänomenologien Levinas', Derridas und Waldenfels' die Methode der indirekten Beschreibung, aufgrund derer ein Offenbarungsverständnis in seinen eschatologischen, christologischen, pneumatologischen und trinitätstheologischen Implikationen entfaltet wird.

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Book SynopsisDiese Festgabe für Friedrich Hermanni ist der Frage gewidmet, was das Denken mit Gott zu tun hat und Gott mit dem Denken. Der Band verbindet klassische mit zeitgenössischen Positionen, indem er das Verhältnis von Denken und Gott in Geschichte und Gegenwart analysiert und diskutiert. Gegliedert ist er in fünf Themenbereiche:I. Gott und Denken in Theologie und Philosophie - Prinzipientheoretische Überlegungen - II. Der Gottesgedanke und die Frage nach seiner Wahrheit - III. Der Gottesgedanke und die Frage nach seiner Bestimmtheit - IV. Das Verhältnis von Gott und Denken in Gott und im Menschen - V. Zur Frage nach der Transzendenz GottesDie international renommierten Autoren stellen sich diesen Themen und treten in das systematisch-theologische und religionsphilosophische Gespräch mit den Argumenten Friedrich Hermannis ein. Für die gegenwärtige Theologie und Philosophie werden dabei entscheidende Einsichten für die Verhältnisbestimmung von Gott und Denken gewonnen.

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Book SynopsisHegels Philosophie des Geistes erhebt den Anspruch, den Menschen im Ganzen - durch und durch - als "geistig" zu denken. Thomas Oehl aktualisiert diesen Anspruch, indem er ihn an die gegenwärtige philosophische Debatte um die sinnliche Wahrnehmung heranträgt und damit kritisch in diese eingreift: Bereits in der sinnlichen Wahrnehmung verhält sich der Mensch aktiv und nicht, wie es in seinem naheliegenden Selbst(miss)verständnis scheint, passiv. In der Wahrnehmung konstituiert der Mensch Natur und Welt, und ist eben dadurch selbst nicht einfach Teil der Natur oder Welt, sondern "Geist". "Geist" ist so, wie Hegel sagt, das "absolut Erste" der Natur. Wie Oehl weiter zeigt, schließt dies ein, dass "Geist" sich gerade dort vollendet, wo er den Menschen von seinem Selbstmissverständnis befreit, Natur zu sein. Damit stellt sich "Geist" als etwas heraus, das mehr ist als bloß der Mensch, da es den Menschen über seine Selbstverkehrung hinausführt. So wird ein neuer Zugang zu Hegels Philosophie des absoluten Geistes gewonnen, die eben dieses Geschehen als von Gott bewirkte Befreiung des Menschen von seiner Selbstverkehrung begreift, wie es in Kunst, Religion und Philosophie Gestalt gewinnt.Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde mit dem Promotionsförderpreis der Münchener Universitätsgesellschaft 2020 ausgezeichnet.

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Book SynopsisDas Problem des Bösen wurde von der Aufklärung marginalisiert. Seinen Grund hat dies im Glauben an die unbezwingbare Stärke der Vernunft und der damit einhergehenden Überzeugung, dass die Menschheitsgeschichte eine Geschichte des Fortschritts, nicht bloß auf wissenschaftlicher und kultureller, sondern auch auf moralischer Ebene sei. Dass solch ein einseitiges Beharren auf der Vernunft selbst ins Böse umschlagen kann, wurde in der Gestalt des Terrors der Französischen Revolution auf schmerzliche Weise anschaulich. Die Klassische Deutsche Philosophie erkennt, dass die Vernunft ihre wahrhafte Kraft und Güte nur entfalten kann, wenn sie - anstatt das Böse zu verdrängen - sich mit dem Bösen konfrontiert. Das Vertrauen in die Vernunft ist also keineswegs gebrochen. Das Böse wird nicht als das vollkommen Fremde und Andere verstanden. Vielmehr entsteht der neue Anspruch an die Vernunft, das Böse mit dem Denken zu durchdringen. Dieser Band sucht die vielfältigen Zugänge der Klassischen Deutschen Philosophie zum Problem des Bösen darzustellen.

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