Topics in philosophy Books

Book SynopsisIn Freedom in Resistance and Creative Transformation, Michael Miller addresses the concept of freedom that is central to the grammar of Christian faith and important in a wide range of religious and nonreligious settings across the globe. He confronts the fact that despite the claimed importance of freedom there continues to be interpersonal, socio-political, and religious power hierarchies that keep some people dominant and others subjugated. The book suggests that often these hierarchies are informed by Christian teachings that deny freedom to human beings on the basis of their humanity per se. Having classified humanity as fallen, we are instructed that freedom is experienced by disparaging our humanity as we actually experience it, seeing ourselves as our own worst enemies and accepting bondage to Godthe bondage reflected in the character of relations with those seen as God's special representatives in the world. Miller presents a case against this understanding of the human situTrade ReviewThe promise of Christian faith is that "for freedom Christ has set us free." Yet in the witness and theology of the church this promise is frequently hampered and often undermined by claims about God and humanity that serve instead to reflect and reinforce hierarchies of oppression. Michael Miller argues instead for views of God's creativity and humanity's limited self-creativity that make good on the promise of genuine freedom. -- Clark Williamson, Indiana Professor of Christian Thought, Emeritus, Christian Theological SeminaryMichael Miller’s attempt to provide an understanding of freedom in what he calls a “realistic” libertarian manner is a refreshingly honest series of studied reflections on how we can begin to re-appropriate our Christian traditions in ways that promote authentic freedom. His abiding concern throughout the text is that “the denial of freedom, which has characterized life in many parts of the world, has been perpetrated not simply because the oppressors misused theological concepts, especially the grounding concept of God, but because many traditional theological concepts, including that of ‘God’, lend themselves to oppressive use.” This is a bold statement and his text is a successful attempt to support this claim. Professor Miller’s dialogues with a range of interlocutors in philosophy, sociology, cultural theory and theology give the reader wonderful critical insights into historical and contemporary perspectives on this issue. If you carefully follow his argument you are compelled to engage his search for a realistic realignment of our theological endeavor in support of authentic freedom. This is done not only through a revision of the theological concepts used to understand God, but also through practical suggestions for Christian living, given towards the end of the book. Of special significance in this text, to my mind, is Professor Miller’s privileging of thinkers and theologians from his native context, the Caribbean. All who engage the task of re-envisioning theological concepts especially as they inform Christian practice in the service of the marginalized should read this book. -- Gerald Boodoo, Duquesne UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction Section I: Establishing Conceptual Foundations Chapter 1 Freedom as a Concept and Ideal Section II: Clearing a Path for Freedom Chapter 2 Free-Will Established as a Christian Problematic Chapter 3 Reformed, but Not Free Chapter 4 The Mixed Message of the Scriptures Regarding Freedom Section III: The Journey toward Freedom—Restructuring Theological Foundations Chapter 5 Breaking Away in the Name of Freedom Chapter 6 God-Talk and Human Freedom Section IV: Struggling For Freedom at Ground Level Chapter 7 Freedom in Its Negative and Positive Aspects Chapter 8 Freedom in Imagination Chapter 9 Modest Imaginings on Freedom-Oriented Ecclesiology

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Book SynopsisThe past fifty years has seen the emergence of an energetic dialogue between religion and the natural sciences that has contributed to a growing desire for interdisciplinarity among many constructive theologians. However, some have also resisted this trend, in part because it seems that the price one must pay for such engagement is much too high. Interdisciplinary work appears overly abstract and methodologically restrictive, with little room for systematic theologians self-consciously operating within a particular historical tradition. In Interdisciplinary Interpretation: Paul Ricoeur and the Hermeneutics of Theology and Science, Kenneth A. Reynhout seeks to address this concern by constructing an alternative understanding of interdisciplinary theology based on the hermeneutical thought of Paul Ricoeur, generally recognized as one of the most interdisciplinary philosophers of the twentieth century. Appealing to Ricoeur's view of interpretation as the dialectical process of understandiTrade ReviewKenneth Reynhout . . . has made a novel contribution not only in the science and theology dialogue but also in the philosophy of science and hermeneutic and interdisciplinary studies. . . . [A] superb work of scholarship. The book is consistent with Ricoeur’s thought but has a freshness that goes well beyond Ricoeur . . . [This] book is highly accessible and can, therefore, act as an introduction to both Ricoeur and to interdisciplinary studies in science and theology. * Theology and Science *Furthermore hermeneutics could function as a bridge between interreligious/intercultural dialogue and the dialogue between theology and natural science. This is exactly what for me personally is so exciting about Kenneth A. Reynhouts’ study Interdisciplinary Interpretation – that it crosses borders between disciplines so far not in dialogue with each other and shows similarities i.e. analogies between different interdisciplinary dialogues as well as between the dialogue between theology and natural science and interreligious dialogue. * European Society for the Study of Science and Theology *For those who have worked in the science and theology dialogue for many years this book comes like a breath of fresh air. Here at last is a careful and well-argued philosophical argument for that dialogue in terms that make sense for the constructive theological task. By mining the work of Paul Ricoeur the author gives us a much needed hermeneutic basis for that dialogue, culminating in a novel thesis, namely, an argument for faith seeking understanding through explanation. But this is no facile fideism, but rather a respectful acknowledgment of the importance of commitment and self-awareness of the experience of faith in the constructive task. Although this book is geared primarily to a theological audience, scientists coming to interdisciplinary conversations would benefit enormously from a careful reading of this book. Further, the author has argued convincingly in my view that theology is the poorer without such dialogue, so theologians are beholden to consider particular ways in which they can take up the challenge presented here. While this book is no easy read, and the language is primarily philosophical rather than theological, it is well worth the effort. -- Celia Deane-Drummond, professor of theology, University of Notre DameIn this timely work, Kenneth Reynhout offers a foundation for establishing a sophisticated dialogue between theology and the natural sciences. He argues not only for the hermeneutic character of each but for the hermeneutic nature of the interchange. Particularly apt is his insistence that explanation —the traditional hallmark of the sciences— and understanding —the traditional hallmark of theology and the humanities— should not be characterized as separate spheres but as dialectical. In extending hermeneutic analysis to the natural sciences, Reynhout builds on and also responsibly goes beyond the hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur. At the same time he importantly enlarges our conception of hermeneutics’ reach. -- George H. Taylor, Professor of Law, University of PittsburghTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Hermeneutics and the Interdisciplinary Question Chapter 2: Ricoeur and the Expansion of Hermeneutics Chapter 3: Interpretation as Understanding Through Explanation Chapter 4: Interpretation and the Natural Sciences Chapter 5: Interdisciplinary Interpretation Conclusion

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSurely, when we believe something, we believe it to be true, yet the truth claims of religion are in crisis today. In Interreligious Hermeneutics and the Pursuit of Truth, Jeremy Hustwit deftly charts a path between those who wish to dispense with truth altogether and those who are all too sure that they alone possess the final truth. Neither too skeptical nor too restrictive, Hustwitt offers a powerful platform for the new multi-faith dialogue. After all, how can the religions engage one another if they cannot even acknowledge where their beliefs differ? -- Philip Clayton, Ingraham Professor of Theology, Claremont School of Theology, Author of In Quest of Freedom: The Emergence of Spirit in the Natural WorldIn Interreligious Hermeneutics and the Pursuit of Truth, J. R. Hustwit proves to be a trustworthy guide to the tangled landscape of religious pluralism with its hermeneutical dead ends and epistemological bogs. His well-argued endorsement of a faillibilist hermeneutics in conjunction with a commonsense understanding of truth is sorely needed by interpreters of apparent conflict among religious beliefs. Hustwit leaves us not with a solution to the problem of religious pluralism, but with a meaningful, constructive, critical way forward. -- Wesley J. Wildman, Boston UniversityHustwit takes us through a history of hermeneutic philosophy that is truly a tour de force. Impeccable and insightful discussions of [philosophers] . . . are just a few of the choicest highlights. . . .The book is as refreshing as it is rewarding. . . .for those who want not merely to rehash what others have already had to say about the relationship between hermeneutics and philosophy, but for those who actually want to do some thinking of their own by putting those results to work. . . .Hustwit gets us thinking, and that, especially in a context as sometimes fraught with posturing and hand-waving as this, is no small thing. * Review of Metaphysics *J. R. Hustwit offers a perfectly pitched articulation and defense of a “reticent” realistic hermeneutical method that facilitates interreligious dialogue. Beyond seeking to understand commonalities and differences, he urges interfaith dialogue to engage truth questions. His review of European hermeneutics from Kant to the present is detailed and profound without being tortured. This is the best presentation of the Claremont Process School of hermeneutics to date, bringing its promotion of “constructive” (as opposed to “deconstructive”) postmodernism into clear conversation with the larger hermeneutical discussion. What a delight it is to find philosophical hermeneutics from the hands of someone who actually knows a lot about many religions! -- Robert Cummings Neville, professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Theology, Boston University and author of Realism in Religion and Religion in Late ModernTable of ContentsChapter 1: Reclaiming the Religions A Plea for Content A Plea for Contention The Hermeneutical Straddle Chapter 2: Mixed Transmission: Three Core Insights of Hermeneutics Hybrid Experience Communal Stability Epistemic Alienation Chapter 3: Agents of Comprehension What is Dialogue? What is Understanding? Agency and critical Reason Chapter 4: The Worry of Incommensurability The Gammar of a Life Three Orders of Difference Phronēsis: A Solution Based in Contingency From Genuine Commensuration to Genuine Controversy Chapter 5: Truth Beyond the Pale Mysteriosophy Internalism Critical Realism Reticent Realism Fear of Ontological Commitment Chapter 6: Reconstructing Plurality Hermeneutics as Meta-narrative The Disruption of Différance The Logical Status of Fallibilist Hermeneutics A Way Forward: Constructive Postmodernism Dialogue and Homogeneity The Hermeneutic Response to Deconstruction Conclusion: Reality, Religions, and Discursive Justice

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Book SynopsisWard's book focuses on the work of the Hungarian philosopher Agnes Heller; prominent member of the Budapest School, a group of students who studied under the Marxist social theorist György Lukács. For both Marx and Heller (albeit in different ways) dissatisfaction emerges as the inevitable result of the expansion of need(s) within modernity and as a catalyst for the development of anthropological wealth (what Marx refers to as the ''human being rich in need''). Ward argues that dissatisfaction and the corresponding category of human wealthas both motif and methodis central to grasping Heller's seemingly disparate writings. While Marx postulates a radical overcoming of dissatisfaction, Heller argues dissatisfaction is integral not only to the on-going survival of modernity but also to the dynamics of both freedom and individual life. In this way Heller's work remains committed to a position that both continually returns and departs, is both with and against, the philosophy of Marx.This Trade ReviewThis is an important book. Scholars of Agnes Heller’s work will find it exceptionally illuminating. Theorists who would utilize the succession of critical theory that runs from Marx through Lukács and the Budapest School will find in it a treatment of Heller’s distinctive critical theory previously unavailable in any literature. More urgently, this study is so important because as Ward identifies Heller’s array of interpretative tools, she also employs them in an argument which ends up placing Heller’s Marx on the developmental spectrum of modern liberalism . . . Ward is an adept guide into Heller’s thinking and forceful interlocutor for those who are already taken up with it. Her book is mandatory reading for anyone interested in Heller and in alternatives to the Frankfurt line of critical theory. It will prove valuable also for those concerned with how, as Marx intended, the ideological trappings of freedom might cease to stand against the free development of individual personalities and collaborative alliances. * Thesis Eleven *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Agnes Heller with and Against Marx Chapter One: The Theory of Need in Marx Chapter Two: Agnes Heller: Marx as Problem and Promise Chapter Three: Heller’s Anthropology of Affects and Feelings Chapter Four: Everyday Life and Values Chapter Five: A Theory of Modernity: Dissatisfaction and Critique Chapter Six: A Theory of Rationality Chapter Seven: Political Modernity and the Problem of Justice Chapter Eight: The Good Life Beyond Duty Conclusion: The Good Life and Human Wholeness

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Book SynopsisIn Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence, Jacob L. Goodson offers a philosophical analysis of the arguments and tendencies of Hans Frei's and Stanley Hauerwas' narrative theologies. Narrative theology names a way of doing theology and thinking theologically that is part of a greater movement called the return to Scripture. The return to Scripture movement makes a case for Scripture as the proper object of study within Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics. While thinkers within this movement agree that Scripture is the proper object of study within philosophy and religious studies, there is major disagreement over what the word narrative describes in narrative theology. The Yale theologian, Hans Frei, argues that because Scripture is the proper object of study within Christian theology and the philosophy of religion, Scripture must be the exclusive object of study. To think theologically means paying as close attention as possible to the details of the biblical narratives in their literal sense. Different from Frei's contentions, the Christian ethicist at Duke University, Stanley Hauerwas claims: if Scripture is the proper object of study within Christian theology, then the category of narrative teaches us that we ought to give our scholarly attention to the interpretations and performances of Scripture. Hauerwas emphasizes the continuity between the biblical narratives and the traditions of the church. This disagreement is best described as a hermeneutical one: Frei thinks that the primary place where interpretation happens is in the text; Hauerwas thinks that the primary place where interpretation occurs is in the community of interpreters. In order to move beyond the dichotomy found between Frei's and Hauerwas' work, but to remain within the return to Scripture movement, Goodson constructs three hermeneutical virtues: humility, patience, and prudence. These virtues help professors and scholars within Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics maintain objectivity in their fields of study.Trade ReviewThis is an ambitious book, which situates narrative theology in the context of American pragmatism and argues the case for humility, patience, and prudence as the essential virtues of the engaged theologian. In the process Goodson gives trenchant readings of Spinoza and Locke, James and Peirce, John Howard Yoder and Benedict XVI. It is particularly valuable for the ways in which it brings together Hans Frei, Peter Ochs, Stanley Hauerwas, and Eugene Rogers as contemporary guides for those who would take seriously the “plain sense” of Scripture. -- G. Scott Davis, University of RichmondIn this brilliant and original study, two apparent opposites meet and find that they are even better together than they were part. On the one side are narrative theologians, the ‘return to Scripture’ movement in American religious thought, like Hans Frei and Stanley Hauerwas. On the other side are philosophers, specialists in the tradition of American pragmatism, like William James. Thanks to Jacob Goodson, we may now say that these are two sides of a philosophically and scripturally grounded ethics and of a philosophically grounded scriptural hermeneutics. It is a significant achievement that should attract careful attention from theologians, biblical scholars, and philosophers. Among its innovations are a new reading of William James’ pragmatism as the basis for a scriptural hermeneutic; a convincing theo-philosophic dialogue among the writings of Thomas Aquinas, Hans Frei, and William James; a new reading of the theology of Stanley Hauerwas; and an ethics of humility, patience, and prudence for students of nature and Scripture alike. -- Peter Ochs, University of VirginiaDrawing on an extraordinary range of philosophical and theological scholarship, Goodson provides the best account yet of recent theological developments associated with the turn to narrative in theology. His analysis of my work taught me a great deal. That it did so is but an indication of Goodson’s embodiment of the virtues of humility and patience, which he rightly argues are necessary for the reading of texts, and in particular, the text of Scripture. This is a major work. -- Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University Divinity SchoolTable of ContentsPart I: Hermeneutics within Narrative Theology Chapter 1: What Is Narrative Theology? Hans Frei, Stanley Hauerwas, and the Hermeneutical Task Chapter 2: What Is Modern Philosophy’s Impact on Hermeneutics? The Role of Modern Philosophy in Hans Frei’s The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative Part II: Empiricism, Science, and Theological Hermeneutics Chapter 3: Against Spinoza: What Kind of Science Does Hermeneutics Require? Chapter 4: Against Locke What Kind of Empiricism Should Theological Hermeneutics Adopt? Chapter 5: Can Narrative Theology Meet the Demands of Novelty? The Case of Peter Ochs Part III: A Virtue-Centered Science of Interpretation Chapter 6: Who Do Scientists of Interpretation Serve? Chapter 7: What Kind of Readers Should Scientists of Interpretation Be?Conclusion: The Scientific Bases of a Dogmatic or Philosophical Theology Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis book asserts that the better one understands the causes of behavior, the better one can apply that knowledge to produce a better world. Harcum begins with a description of the nervous system and continues with chapters on development, perception, internal states, learning, memory, and the ultimate selection of behaviors.Table of ContentsBiblical Message List of Figures and Tables Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Nervous System Chapter 3: Development Chapter 4: Believing Chapter 5: Directing Chapter 6: Selecting Chapter 7: Learning and Teaching Chapter 8: Memory and Retrieval References Glossary Author Index Subject Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisHumanity at the Crossroads attempts to answer questions regarding the effect of technological progress on our lives. This book concludes that the very technology which threatens to destroy us, not merely its more favorable offshoots, is itself the catalyst for that better world we may yet hope to inhabit.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Dedication Introduction Part I: Old Endings and New Beginnings Chapter 1: The Turning Point Chapter 2: The Hinge of Paradox Chapter 3: Beyond the Turning Point Chapter 4: Out of Division and Darkness Chapter 5: Into Unity and Light Chapter 6: The New World on the Horizon Chapter 7: The Law of the Jungle and the Return to Eden Chapter 8: How We Perceive the World Chapter 9: When the Past Resists the Future Chapter 10: Projections and Conclusions Part II: Challenges Along the Way Chapter 11: Problems of Perception and the Transfer of Knowledge Chapter 12: The Problem of Selfish Individualism Chapter 13: The Problem of Accelerating Change Chapter 14: Problems with the Commercial Culture Chapter 15: The Problem of the Larger Context Chapter 16: The Issue of Collective Goods and “Bads” Chapter 17: The Problem of Basic Need Chapter 18: The Problem of Malignant Nationalism Conclusions Bibliography

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Book SynopsisWhy are we here? Who really wrote the Bible? Was Jesus actually a messenger of God? Can science and religion be reconciled? Do we have free will? Divine Wisdom and Warning: Decoded Messages from God introduces a new way of using the ancient system of Gematria to solve these and other timeless questions. Nicholas Gura has developed an original technique, easily reproducible without the use of computers, that uncovers hidden, encoded messages in the Bible. These mathematically generated messages are both profound and metaphoric and will contribute to the meaning, quality, and purpose of our lives. Divine Wisdom and Warning reveals new insights on the parting of the Red Sea, suffering, quantum physics, the environment, treatment of women, and answers the eternal question: What is God's true religion?Trade Review[This book is] for the religious, secular and new age readers alike who wish to consider a different method to interpreting God's word. . . .Divine Wisdom and Warning is more specific and methodical than most, explaining the basics of Gematria and specifying its use in Bible study. . . .[The book provides an] intriguing new method of viewing the Bible and its messages: one easily accessible to all spiritual thinkers, which offers further opportunity for reflection and understanding. * Midwest Book Review *WOW!!! Hats Off. -- Yoram Ettinger, former Israeli Ambassador to the United StatesI am blown away by Nick's work—it is wild and very powerful. -- Rabbi Yael Levy, “A Way In: Jewish Mindfulness,” Mishkan Shalom, Philadelphia, PA,After many years of exploring the deeper, hidden meanings that lie behind the words of the world’s greatest best seller of all time, Nick Gura has finally put his years of research down on paper, for a book which should be an exciting journey, dealing as it does with some of the major questions of our time. Are the incredible events of our time the fulfillment of Divine promises past? Nick’s fascinating research, utilizing modern science and ancient, often mysterious traditions, makes a pretty convincing case. If like me, these questions fascinate you, you will probably not be able to put this book down! -- Rabbi Binny Freedman, director of Isralight, and dean of Orayta Yeshiva, JerusalemNick Gura is a gematria whiz. He is able to unlock so much contemporary, relevant wisdom for the words of the Torah. This book will open up new vistas of Jewish knowledge to learners of all levels. -- Rabbi Elie Weinstock, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, New York CityNicholas Gura has made a strong case for looking to the Bible for answers for a few more of the troubles we are likely to face in the days to come. By choosing issues that are nonreligious as well as widely known, like quantum mechanics, he seems to have succeeded in giving greater acceptability and reach to his findings. . . .Such numerical comparison . . . is a new and different approach with a lot of scope for further research. This is a thorough dissertation in a clear, concise manner and the book is worth the effort. * Readers' Favorite *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Part I. Divine Messages: Real or Random? Chapter 1. The Discovery Chapter 2. Gematria: God’s Math or Numerical Coincidence? Part II. Divine Wisdom and Warning for Timeless Questions and Mysteries Chapter 3. Why Are We Here? Why Does the World Exist? Chapter 4. Who Wrote the Bible? Is the Bible Really True? Chapter 5. Was Jesus Actually a Messenger of God? Chapter 6. What Is God’s True Religion? Chapter 7. Do We Really Have Free Will? Chapter 8. What Are the Minimum Requirements for Entry into Heaven? And What Happens After Death? Chapter 9. Suffering: Is It Divine Punishment? Part III. Divine Wisdom and Warning Regarding Science Chapter 10. Do Science and the Bible Conflict? Chapter 11. The Environment: Heal It or Ignore It? Chapter 12. The Mystery of Quantum Theory Revealed Chapter 13. Did the Biblical Miracle of the “Parting of the Sea” Actually Occur? Part IV. Divine Wisdom and Warning for Major Concepts, Issues, and Events Chapter 14. Was 9/11 a Random Date or Preordained? Chapter 15. What Is the Lesson of the Holocaust? Chapter 16. Peace: Make It or Cry Out Chapter 17. What Does Zion Represent? Chapter 18. Anti-Semitism: Is It Hatred of Jews or of God Himself? Chapter 19. Where Are the Greats of the Generation? What Is the Secret to Becoming a Star? Chapter 20. A Curse upon Corruption Part V. Divine Wisdom and Coaching for a Great Life Chapter 21. Feed the Hungry Chapter 22. Honor Mothers . . . but Not Daughters? Epilogue: What Does God Say About Gematria?

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Book SynopsisA Crisis of Belief, Ethics and Faith presents a self-corrective and contemporary system of philosophy in a very readable format. The current rate of technological, scientific and social change is such that being ready and able to change with the evidence is needed in any attempt to render an intelligible account of our experiences. This work attempts to explain how we might go about forming our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves, our world and how we should properly conduct ourselves in a justifiable and non-arbitrary fashion.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface: A Crisis of Belief PART I: THE FOUNDATIONS OF BELIEF PART II: EXPLANATIONS PART III: THE SEARCH FOR ETHICS PART IV: POLITICAL ECONOMIC BELIEF PART V: CONCLUSION: FROM FAITH TO PHILOSOPHY Index Bibliography

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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 SynopsisWilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911), the great German humanist, remained a towering figure in Europe long into the twentieth century. Published in 1954, this translation by Stephen Emery and William Emery was the first English translation of Dilthey's Das Wesen der Philosophie (1907) and his first work to be translated completely into English.

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Book SynopsisIt is widely accepted in science that the universe is a closed deterministic system in which everything can, ultimately, be explained by purely physical causation. And yet we all experience ourselves as having the freedom to choose between alternatives presented to us ''we'' are in the driving seat. The puzzling status of volition is explored in this issue by a distinguished body of scientists and philosophers.

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Book SynopsisEssays address the major themes of Pareyson''s hermeneutic philosophy in the context of his existentialist approach to personhood.What if the inexhaustible were the only mode of self-revelation of truth? The question of the inexhaustibility of truth, and its relation to being and interpretation, is the challenge posed by the philosophy of the prominent Italian thinker Luigi Pareyson (1918?1991). Art, the interpretation of truth, and the theory of being as the ontology of both inexhaustibility and freedom constitute the main themes of Pareyson''s distinctive form of philosophical hermeneutics, which develops also on the basis of another fundamental concept, that of personhood understood in the radically existentialist sense of the human being. In Thinking the Inexhaustible, Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder bring together essays devoted to Pareyson''s hermeneutic philosophy by important international scholars, including well-known Italian thinkers Umberto Eco and Gianni Vattimo, who were both students of Pareyson. Pareyson''s philosophy of inexhaustibility unfolds in conversation with major figures in Western intellectual history-from Croce to Valéry, Dostoevsky, and Berdyaev; from Kant to Fichte, Hegel, and German romanticism; and from Pascal to Schelling, Kierkegaard, Marcel, Jaspers, and Heidegger.

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Book SynopsisEssays address the major themes of Pareyson''s hermeneutic philosophy in the context of his existentialist approach to personhood.What if the inexhaustible were the only mode of self-revelation of truth? The question of the inexhaustibility of truth, and its relation to being and interpretation, is the challenge posed by the philosophy of the prominent Italian thinker Luigi Pareyson (1918?1991). Art, the interpretation of truth, and the theory of being as the ontology of both inexhaustibility and freedom constitute the main themes of Pareyson''s distinctive form of philosophical hermeneutics, which develops also on the basis of another fundamental concept, that of personhood understood in the radically existentialist sense of the human being. In Thinking the Inexhaustible, Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder bring together essays devoted to Pareyson''s hermeneutic philosophy by important international scholars, including well-known Italian thinkers Umberto Eco and Gianni Vattimo, who were both students of Pareyson. Pareyson''s philosophy of inexhaustibility unfolds in conversation with major figures in Western intellectual history-from Croce to Valéry, Dostoevsky, and Berdyaev; from Kant to Fichte, Hegel, and German romanticism; and from Pascal to Schelling, Kierkegaard, Marcel, Jaspers, and Heidegger.

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Book SynopsisDrawing on a range of sources in philosophy and literature, but with particular reference to the work of Heidegger, makes a compelling case for the importance of place in philosophical discourse.The work of Jeff Malpas is well-known for its contribution to contemporary thinking about place and space. In the Brightness of Place takes that contribution further, as Malpas develops it in new ways and in relation to new topics. At the same time, the volume also develops Malpas'' distinctively topological approach to the work of Martin Heidegger. Not limited simply to a reading of the topological in Heidegger, In the Brightness of Place also takes up the idea of topology after Heidegger, showing how topological thinking provides a way of rethinking Heidegger''s own work and of rethinking our own being in the world.

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Book SynopsisUses a comparative hermeneutical method to explain the most important terms in the classical Confucian philosophical texts, in an effort to allow the tradition to speak on its own terms.Over the years, Roger T. Ames and his collaborators have consistently argued for a processual understanding of Chinese natural cosmology made explicit in the Book of Changes. It is this way of thinking, captured in its own interpretive context with the expression "continuities in change" (biantong) that has shaped the grammar of the Chinese language and informs the key philosophical vocabulary of Confucian philosophy. Over the past several centuries of cultural encounter, the formula established by the early missionaries for the translation of classical Chinese texts into Western languages has resulted in a Christian conversion of Confucian texts that is still very much with us today. And more recently, the invention of a new Chinese language to synchronize East Asian cultures with Western modernity has become another obstacle in our reading of the Confucian canons. This volume, a companion volume to A Sourcebook in Classical Confucian Philosophy, employs a comparative hermeneutical method in an attempt to explain the Confucian terms of art and to take the Confucian tradition on its own terms.

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Book SynopsisUses a comparative hermeneutical method to explain the most important terms in the classical Confucian philosophical texts, in an effort to allow the tradition to speak on its own terms.Over the years, Roger T. Ames and his collaborators have consistently argued for a processual understanding of Chinese natural cosmology made explicit in the Book of Changes. It is this way of thinking, captured in its own interpretive context with the expression "continuities in change" (biantong) that has shaped the grammar of the Chinese language and informs the key philosophical vocabulary of Confucian philosophy. Over the past several centuries of cultural encounter, the formula established by the early missionaries for the translation of classical Chinese texts into Western languages has resulted in a Christian conversion of Confucian texts that is still very much with us today. And more recently, the invention of a new Chinese language to synchronize East Asian cultures with Western modernity has become another obstacle in our reading of the Confucian canons. This volume, a companion volume to A Sourcebook in Classical Confucian Philosophy, employs a comparative hermeneutical method in an attempt to explain the Confucian terms of art and to take the Confucian tradition on its own terms.

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Book SynopsisArgues that friendship is the gift of a world that is not one''s own and that transforms one''s world in unforseeable ways.The Promise of Friendship investigates what makes friendship possible and good for human beings. In dialogue with authors ranging from Aristotle and Montaigne to Proust, Levinas, and Derrida, Sarah Horton argues that friendship is suited to our finitude-that is, to the limits within which human beings live-and proposes a novel understanding of friendship as translation: friends translate the world for each other so that each one experiences the world not as the other does but in light of the friend''s always-unknowable experience. The very distance between friends that makes it impossible for them to know each other wholly also makes it possible for them to be transformed by friendship. Friendship, then, is possible and good for those who love precisely that they can never wholly know the friend. Friendship is a profound, mutual self-giving that highlights the irreplaceability of each person, fundamentally shapes the self, and is one of the greatest joys of human existence.

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Book SynopsisThe past fifty years has seen the emergence of an energetic dialogue between religion and the natural sciences that has contributed to a growing desire for interdisciplinarity among many constructive theologians. However, some have also resisted this trend, in part because it seems that the price one must pay for such engagement is much too high. Interdisciplinary work appears overly abstract and methodologically restrictive, with little room for systematic theologians self-consciously operating within a particular historical tradition. In Interdisciplinary Interpretation: Paul Ricoeur and the Hermeneutics of Theology and Science, Kenneth A. Reynhout seeks to address this concern by constructing an alternative understanding of interdisciplinary theology based on the hermeneutical thought of Paul Ricoeur, generally recognized as one of the most interdisciplinary philosophers of the twentieth century. Appealing to Ricoeur's view of interpretation as the dialectical process of understandiTrade ReviewKenneth Reynhout . . . has made a novel contribution not only in the science and theology dialogue but also in the philosophy of science and hermeneutic and interdisciplinary studies. . . . [A] superb work of scholarship. The book is consistent with Ricoeur’s thought but has a freshness that goes well beyond Ricoeur . . . [This] book is highly accessible and can, therefore, act as an introduction to both Ricoeur and to interdisciplinary studies in science and theology. * Theology and Science *Furthermore hermeneutics could function as a bridge between interreligious/intercultural dialogue and the dialogue between theology and natural science. This is exactly what for me personally is so exciting about Kenneth A. Reynhouts’ study Interdisciplinary Interpretation – that it crosses borders between disciplines so far not in dialogue with each other and shows similarities i.e. analogies between different interdisciplinary dialogues as well as between the dialogue between theology and natural science and interreligious dialogue. * European Society for the Study of Science and Theology *For those who have worked in the science and theology dialogue for many years this book comes like a breath of fresh air. Here at last is a careful and well-argued philosophical argument for that dialogue in terms that make sense for the constructive theological task. By mining the work of Paul Ricoeur the author gives us a much needed hermeneutic basis for that dialogue, culminating in a novel thesis, namely, an argument for faith seeking understanding through explanation. But this is no facile fideism, but rather a respectful acknowledgment of the importance of commitment and self-awareness of the experience of faith in the constructive task. Although this book is geared primarily to a theological audience, scientists coming to interdisciplinary conversations would benefit enormously from a careful reading of this book. Further, the author has argued convincingly in my view that theology is the poorer without such dialogue, so theologians are beholden to consider particular ways in which they can take up the challenge presented here. While this book is no easy read, and the language is primarily philosophical rather than theological, it is well worth the effort. -- Celia Deane-Drummond, professor of theology, University of Notre DameIn this timely work, Kenneth Reynhout offers a foundation for establishing a sophisticated dialogue between theology and the natural sciences. He argues not only for the hermeneutic character of each but for the hermeneutic nature of the interchange. Particularly apt is his insistence that explanation —the traditional hallmark of the sciences— and understanding —the traditional hallmark of theology and the humanities— should not be characterized as separate spheres but as dialectical. In extending hermeneutic analysis to the natural sciences, Reynhout builds on and also responsibly goes beyond the hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur. At the same time he importantly enlarges our conception of hermeneutics’ reach. -- George H. Taylor, Professor of Law, University of PittsburghTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Hermeneutics and the Interdisciplinary Question Chapter 2: Ricoeur and the Expansion of Hermeneutics Chapter 3: Interpretation as Understanding Through Explanation Chapter 4: Interpretation and the Natural Sciences Chapter 5: Interdisciplinary Interpretation Conclusion

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Book SynopsisTo speak of being religious lucky certainly sounds odd. But then, so does My faith holds value in God's plan, while yours does not. This book argues that these two concerns with the concept of religious luck and with asymmetric or sharply differential ascriptions of religious value are inextricably connected. It argues that religious luck attributions can profitably be studied from a number of directions, not just theological, but also social scientific and philosophical. There is a strong tendency among adherents of different faith traditions to invoke asymmetric explanations of the religious value or salvific status of the home religion vis-à-vis all others. Attributions of good/bad religious luck and exclusivist dismissal of the significance of religious disagreement are the central phenomena that the book studies. Part I lays out a taxonomy of kinds of religious luck, a taxonomy that draws upon but extends work on moral and epistemic luck. It asks: What is going on when persons,Trade ReviewA thought-provoking, historically-informed, and highly distinctive take on the important questions raised by religious luck, this is a welcome addition to the literature. -- Duncan Pritchard, University of EdinburghTable of ContentsPart I Religious Cognition and Philosophy of Luck 1 Types of Religious Luck: A Working Taxonomy 2 The New Problem of Religious Luck Part II Applications and Implications of Inductive Risk 3 Enemy in the Mirror: The Need for Comparative Fundamentalism 4 We Are All of the Common Herd: Montaigne and the Psychology of our ‘Importunate Presumptions’ 5 Scaling the ‘Brick Wall’: Measuring and Censuring Strongly Fideistic Religious Orientation 6 The Pattern Stops Here? Counter-Inductive Thinking, Counter-Intuitive Ideas, and Cognitive Science of Religion

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Book SynopsisHow do we conceptualize death when its very nature implies absence and nothingness? It is difficult to put into words precisely because we want our words to help us delineate the world around us, whereas the absence associated with death is the opposite of such delineation. For this reason, death might be said to represent a form of infinite otherness, something radically different from our usual, finite, anthropomorphic way of thinking about the world. With this in mind, Apple Igrek observes an unusual paradox. Some philosophers argue that we should be more open to that which is infinitely other (as with change or death) in the context of ethics, culture, and politics, while others critique this position since we cannot logically say what is more or less open to the immeasurable. It would therefore seem impossible to defend the relevance of what is infinite to ethics while nevertheless acknowledging the validity of the above-stated critique. If we want, in other words, to say that infTrade ReviewAlthough it is rigorously grounded in the Continental tradition, this is a strikingly original philosophical work. It both deepens our reception of that tradition and draws out its ethical ramifications in challenging new directions. -- Jason Wirth, Professor of Philosophy, Seattle UniversityThinking through the intimate entanglement of life and death, the ways change is itself a constant attribute of this thanato-vitalism, and the constitutive trouble of external social values, Apple Igrek develops a novel and much-needed methodology for approaching agonistic social relations. Given the world we’re in, and the world before us, the book could not be more timely. -- Keith P. Feldman, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsChapter 1: Thanato-Vitalism Chapter 2: Infinite Embodiment and Entropic Affirmation Chapter 3: The Catastrophic Trajectory Chapter 4: Expansive Singularities Interlude: Cybernetic Clouds Chapter 5: Entropic Refraction Chapter 6: Dolls and Death Chapter 7: Agonistic Pathos Chapter 8: Questions and Objections

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Book SynopsisReligion was a constant theme throughout Paul Ricoeur's long career, and yet he never wrote a full-length treatment of the topic. In this important new book, Brian Gregor draws on the full scope of Ricoeur's writings to lay out the essential features of his philosophical interpretation of religion, from his earliest to his last work.Ricoeur's central claim is that religion aims at the regeneration of human capabilityin his words, the rebirth of the capable self. This book provides a rich thematic account of Ricoeur's hermeneutics of religion, showing how the theme of capability informs his changing interpretations of religion, from his early work on French reflexive philosophy and the philosophy of the will to his late work on forgiveness, mourning, and living up to death. Gregor exhibits Ricoeur's original contribution to philosophical reflection on such themes as evil, suffering, and violence, as well as imagination, embodiment, and spiritual exercise. He also presents a criticalTrade ReviewBrian Gregor's "loving struggle" with Ricoeur's philosophical thinking of revelation provides rare and illuminating insights into the secret bridge between "fallible" and "capable" humanity. An indispensable contribution to contemporary religious hermeneutics. -- Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeWith clarity, lucidity, and elegance, Brian Gregor demonstrates in this book why not just philosophers but also theologians—indeed, why anyone interested in meaningful engagement with reality—should read Paul Ricoeur. Combining a deeply appreciative account of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of religion with incisive theological critique, this book is an invaluable contribution to philosophical theology. I have long waited for a presentation of Ricoeur so suitable for a broad range of academic, philosophical, and theological educational contexts. -- Jens Zimmermann, Canada Research Professor in Humanities, Trinity Western UniversitySome assembly required! Ricoeur's massive corpus does not come prearranged into a more or less coherent whole. By narrating his hermeneutics of religion, Gregor assembles Ricoeur's richly diverse authorship so that we can see its overall structure and the context for each of its parts. The result is a brilliant introduction for the new reader and a challenging, sympathetic but critical interpretation for long time scholars of Ricoeur's work. -- Merold Westphal, Fordham UniversityTable of Contents1. Reflection and Capability: The Formation of Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics 2. Homo incapax: Radical Evil and the Bound Will 3. Transcendence, Poetics, and the Formation of the I Can 4. Capability Reborn: The Hermeneutics of Religion 5. Addressed by the Word: The Hermeneutics of Revelation 6. The Summoned Subject: The Call and the Capable Self 7. Eschatology, Desire, and God 8. Being and God: Reflections on Transcendence, Immanence, and Divine Personhood 9. Violence, the Fundamental, and the Cross

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Book SynopsisReligion was a constant theme throughout Paul Ricoeur's long career, and yet he never wrote a full-length treatment of the topic. In this important new book, Brian Gregor draws on the full scope of Ricoeur's writings to lay out the essential features of his philosophical interpretation of religion, from his earliest to his last work.Ricoeur's central claim is that religion aims at the regeneration of human capabilityin his words, the rebirth of the capable self. This book provides a rich thematic account of Ricoeur's hermeneutics of religion, showing how the theme of capability informs his changing interpretations of religion, from his early work on French reflexive philosophy and the philosophy of the will to his late work on forgiveness, mourning, and living up to death. Gregor exhibits Ricoeur's original contribution to philosophical reflection on such themes as evil, suffering, and violence, as well as imagination, embodiment, and spiritual exercise. He alsoTrade ReviewBrian Gregor's "loving struggle" with Ricoeur's philosophical thinking of revelation provides rare and illuminating insights into the secret bridge between "fallible" and "capable" humanity. An indispensable contribution to contemporary religious hermeneutics. -- Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeWith clarity, lucidity, and elegance, Brian Gregor demonstrates in this book why not just philosophers but also theologians—indeed, why anyone interested in meaningful engagement with reality—should read Paul Ricoeur. Combining a deeply appreciative account of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of religion with incisive theological critique, this book is an invaluable contribution to philosophical theology. I have long waited for a presentation of Ricoeur so suitable for a broad range of academic, philosophical, and theological educational contexts. -- Jens Zimmermann, Canada Research Professor in Humanities, Trinity Western UniversitySome assembly required! Ricoeur's massive corpus does not come prearranged into a more or less coherent whole. By narrating his hermeneutics of religion, Gregor assembles Ricoeur's richly diverse authorship so that we can see its overall structure and the context for each of its parts. The result is a brilliant introduction for the new reader and a challenging, sympathetic but critical interpretation for long time scholars of Ricoeur's work. -- Merold Westphal, Fordham UniversityTable of Contents1. Reflection and Capability: The Formation of Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics2. Homo incapax: Radical Evil and the Bound Will3. Transcendence, Poetics, and the Formation of the I Can4. Capability Reborn: The Hermeneutics of Religion5. Addressed by the Word: The Hermeneutics of Revelation6. The Summoned Subject: The Call and the Capable Self7. Eschatology, Desire, and God8. Being and God: Reflections on Transcendence, Immanence, and Divine Personhood9. Violence, the Fundamental, and the Cross

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