Topics in philosophy Books

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 SynopsisOhne sich über das Verständnis von Gegenwart Klarheit zu verschaffen kann man auch die Rede von Gottes Gegenwart nicht verstehen. Was heißt es, dass etwas oder jemand gegenwärtig ist? Und in welchem Sinn kann man sagen oder bestreiten, dass Gott gegenwärtig ist? Dass Gott der ist, ohne den nichts anderes gegenwärtig wäre, ist ein Kerngedanke des Bekenntnisses zum Schöpfer. Aber was ist unter Gegenwart zu verstehen? Darüber besteht keine Einigkeit. Ingolf U. Dalferth untersucht diese Frage in fünf Gedankengängen über Gegenwart, Anwesenheit und Abwesenheit, Gegebensein und Gegenwärtigkeit, Wahrnehmung und Wahrnehmung Gottes. Er zeigt, dass Gegenwart keine Eigenschaft von Ereignissen oder des Erlebens von Ereignissen ist, sondern Teil unserer Orientierungsstrategie in den Zeitstrukturen der Lebens- und Ereigniswelt. Zeit ist immer die Zeit von Ereignissen und Ereignisfolgen. Sie gäbe es auch, wenn es uns nicht gäbe. Von der Gegenwart lässt sich das nicht sagen. Zeit gibt es ohne uns, Gegenwart nur mit und durch uns. Und beides nicht ohne die Gegenwart Gottes.

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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 isTrade ReviewIn this book, Guy Axtell joins this important conversation about lucky belief, with an eye toward the religious case. He focuses on the epistemic justification of religious belief: the "de jure question" (p. 6). Axtell's main target is religious exclusivism -- a doctrinal or soteriological uniqueness that sets a particular religion apart from other religions. . . . Overall, the contingency of belief is a fascinating issue that deserves serious consideration. I'm hopeful that Axtell's book draws more attention to the intriguing problems raised by religious luck. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *A 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 IReligious Cognition and Philosophy of Luck1 Types of Religious Luck: A Working Taxonomy2 The New Problem of Religious LuckPart II Applications and Implications of Inductive Risk3 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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Book SynopsisSince Heidegger, it has become something of an unquestioned presupposition to analyse selfhood from the perspective of being-in-the-world. In the book, DeLay sets out a view of existence instead emphasizing humanity’s ineluctable experience before-God. Surmounting received divisions between philosophy and theology, the work’s eight chapters explore our relation to God and others, tracing a path instituted in antiquity and latent still in certain strands of contemporary phenomenology. After two introductory explorations of the ancient conception of philosophy as a way of life undermining the modern notion of philosophy as methodologically atheist, the third chapter examines our relation to others through an assessment of how, paradoxically, we are together in the world yet ever alone. The theme of being-with-others is deepened with an analysis of forgiveness in its various forms. The theme is continued in the next chapter’s discussion of peace, which is seen to prove so elusive because of the omnipresence of evil in the world, a fact which itself is explored in connection to the varieties of silence we encounter throughout our daily lives. Utilizing these results from the preceding chapters on forgiveness, peace, and silence, the final chapters inquire into perennial questions as doubt, deception, and hope. Drawing together the previous results, the conclusion underscores the view of man that has theretofore emerged: we are open to a God who in Jesus Christ calls each of us back to ourselves.Trade ReviewBefore God is a richly insightful, frequently opinionated, and sometimes idiosyncratic book well worth the effort. This is philosophically-inspired discussion at the service of spiritual growth, enrichment, and conversion. It is a book I recommend and will very happily return to. -- John D O'Connor OP, Blackfriars * New Blackfriars *DeLay’s account of a life lived before God succeeds in its task of shedding light on the world from the perspective of faith. This is in part because while the existence of God might not be a matter to be settled by description or argument, DeLay does provide a rich phenomenological characterization of what living with a secure faith and trust in God involves. It is a work of immense wisdom, compelling arguments, and rich phenomenological descriptions. It is, finally, a refreshing reminder of what draws most of us to philosophy in the first place: to grapple with ultimate questions of human existence, with clarity of thought and expression, and without methodological evasions. -- Walter Hopp, Boston University * Phenomenological Reviews *The preposition “before”, coram in the Latin, has had a distinguished intellectual history since Luther discovered its importance in Jerome’s translation of the Bible. Steven DeLay comes after many theologians and philosophers who have described what man is “before God” — and who have done so because they found it fruitless to speak of man as he “is”, substantially and before all relation. This clear and precise book summarizes a long episode. An original contribution to philosophy, it also brings noteworthy precisions. -- Jean-Yves Lacoste, Clare Hall, CambridgeHenry David Thoreau once wrote that “there are nowadays professors of philosophy, but no philosophers.” In this brief claim, Thoreau challenges the hyper-professionalization of a discourse in which far too many scholars write books about what someone else has said, but rarely write books actually saying something worth hearing. Steven DeLay is a striking and exciting counter to this trend. In the very best sense of the term: DeLay is a philosopher in that he is devoted to a life in which he sees his task as in line with Thoreau’s description: “to love wisdom and to live according to its dictates.” In this strikingly original account, he offers a constructive vision of philosophy as religiously implicated. Far from simply being a book “about” philosophers and theologians, Before God itself stands as an “exercise” in thinking and living well. Ultimately, whether one offers “amens” or criticisms in response, DeLay invites us all to rethink our assumptions about God, others, and ourselves. -- J. Aaron Simmons, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Furman UniversityTable of Contents1. Divine Things and the Fluidity of Thought / 2. The Interlacement of Self and God / 3.What is the Problem of Intersubjectivity? / 4. Forgiveness / 5. Making Peace / 6. A Sketch of Silence and Evil / 7. Suffering and Salvation: A Note on Art / 8. The Light that Lights Every Man

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Book SynopsisGadamer’s Truth and Method: A Polyphonic Commentary offers a fresh look at Gadamer’s magnum opus, Truth and Method, which was first published in German in 1960, translated into English in 1975, and is widely recognized as a ground-breaking text of philosophical hermeneutics. The volume features essays from fourteen scholars—both established and rising stars—each of which cover a portion of Truth and Method following the order of the text itself.The result is a robust, historically and thematically rich polyphonic reading of the text as a whole, valuable both for scholarship and teaching.Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Introduction (Greg Lynch and Cynthia Nielsen)2. Greg Lynch, North Central College: “What is the question to which Truth and Method isthe answer?”Part 1: Art1. Theodore George, Texas A&M University (TM I.1.1)2. Nicholas Davey, University of Dundee (TM I.1.2)3. Jessica Frazier, University of Oxford (TM I.2.1)4. Daniel Tate, St. Bonaventure University (TM I.1.3)5. Cynthia Nielsen, University of Dallas (TM I.2.2)Part 2: Tradition, History, and the Human Sciences1. Kevin Vander Schel, Gonzaga University (TM II.1.1)2. Eric Nelson, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (TM II.1.2)3. Carolyn Culbertson, Florida Gulf Coast University (TM II.2.1)4. David Liakos, Houston Community College (TM II.2.2)5. Jerome Veith, Seattle University (TM II.2.3)Part 3: Language and Linguisticality1. Carlo DaVia, Fordham University (TM III.1)2. Gert-Jan van der Heiden, Radboud University (TM III.2)3. James Risser, Seattle University (TM III.3)Index

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Book SynopsisGadamer’s Truth and Method: A Polyphonic Commentary offers a fresh look at Gadamer’s magnum opus, Truth and Method, which was first published in German in 1960, translated into English in 1975, and is widely recognized as a ground-breaking text of philosophical hermeneutics. The volume features essays from fourteen scholars—both established and rising stars—each of which cover a portion of Truth and Method following the order of the text itself.The result is a robust, historically and thematically rich polyphonic reading of the text as a whole, valuable both for scholarship and teaching.Trade ReviewThere is no doubt this book will make a welcome contribution to the existing literature in the field, and it is distinct in important ways from many other books in the field. Anyone who has read Gadamer’s work will be interested in this book. -- Paul Fairfield

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Book SynopsisIn this classic exposition of Marxist thought, Raya Dunayevskaya, with clarity and great insight, traces the development and explains the essential features of Marx's analysis of history. Using as her point of departure the Industrial and French Revolutions, the European upheavals of 1848, the American Civil War, and the Paris Commune of 1871, Dunayevskaya shows how Marx, inspired by these events, adapted Hegel's philosophy to analyze the course of history as a dialectical process that moves "from practice to theory." The essence of Marx's philosophy, as Dunayevskaya points out, is the human struggle for freedom, which entails the gradual emergence of a proletarian revolutionary consciousness and the discovery through conflict of the means for realizing complete human freedom. But freedom for Marx meant freedom not only from capitalist economic exploitation but also from all political restraints. Continuing her historical analysis, Dunayevskaya reveals how completely Marx's original conception of freedom was perverted through its adaptations by Stalin in Russia and Mao in China, and the subsequent erection of totalitarian states. The exploitation of the masses persisted under these regimes in the form of a new "state capitalism." Yet despite the profound derailment of Marxist political philosophy in the twentieth century, Dunayevskaya points to developments such as the Hungarian revolt of 1956, and the Civil Rights struggles in the United States as signs that the indomitable quest for freedom on the part of the downtrodden cannot be forever repressed. The Hegelian dialectic of events propelled by the spirit of the masses thus moves on inexorably with the hope for the future achievement of political, economic, and social freedom and equality for all.

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Book SynopsisThe subject of this book is the controversy—one of the oldest in philosophy—about whether it is possible to have freedom in the face of universal causal determinism. Of course, it is crucial to consider what such freedom might mean—in particular, there is an important distinction between libertarian “free will” and the more naturalistic view of freedom taken by compatibilists. This book provides background for laypersons through a historical survey of earlier views and some discussion and criticism of various contemporary views. In particular, it states and discusses the Consequence Argument, the most important argument challenging human freedom in recent literature. The main feature of the book is the argument for a solution: one that is within the compatibilist tradition, is naturalistic and in accord with findings of science and principles of engineering control theory. Some particular features of the offered solution include an argument for a close tie between freedom and control—where what is meant is the voluntary motion control of our bodies, and this “control” is understood naturalistically, by which the author means in accordance with concepts of engineering control theory and modern science. Such concepts are used to explain and demarcate the concept of “control” being used. Then it develops a working conception of what rationality is (since what is crucial is freedom in choice, and rationality is crucial to that), by reviewing texts on the subject by three expert authors (namely, Nathanson, Nozick, and Searle). It is argued that rationality is a species of biological learning control that involves deliberation; and that our freedom in choice is greatest when our choices are most rational.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: An Old Controversy Chapter 2: The Consequence Argument Chapter 3: Problems with Incompatibilism Chapter 4: Modern Compatibilism: Selected Sources Chapter 5: Toward a Theory of Freedom: The Relation to Control Chapter 6: Three Perspectives on Rationality Chapter 7: Rational Selves Emerge Chapter 8: How Rationality Enlarges Freedom Chapter 9: Doing Otherwise Chapter 10: Doing Well Conclusion Bibliography About the Author

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Book SynopsisSøren Kierkegaard’s authorship exhibits two different trajectories concerning the relation of responsible human agency to sovereign divine agency: one trajectory stresses free human striving, while the other trajectory emphasizes the dominance of divine agency. The first theme led to the view of Kierkegaard as the champion of autonomous existential “leaps,” while the second led to the construal of Kierkegaard as a devout Lutheran who trusted absolutely in God’s gracious governance. Lee C. Barrett argues that Kierkegaard, influenced by Kant’s critique of metaphysics, did not attempt to integrate human and divine agencies in any speculative theory. Instead, Kierkegaard deploys them to encourage different passions and dispositions that can be integrated in a coherent human life, making use of literary strategies to foster the different passions and dispositions that are associated with the themes of human responsibility and divine governance. Kierkegaard on God’s Will and Human Freedom: An Upbuilding Antinomy offers an incisive account of what makes Kierkegaard’s conception of theology as a matter of edification rather than speculation so distinctive and enduringly worthwhile.Trade ReviewOne of our most trustworthy guides into Søren Kierkegaard offers here a thick description of the Dane’s struggle with the tensive valorization of divine and human agency. Exhibited in the process is Kierkegaard’s rhetorical style of doing theology that privileges practical reason over theoretic reason while emphasizing the necessary involvement of certain forms of passion, disposition, and virtue within religious practice. Readers will be grateful for this refreshing portrayal of Kierkegaard as theologian. -- Curtis L. Thompson, Thiel CollegeIf you understand how Kierkegaard navigates the problem of grace and freedom, there is a sense in which you understand his approach to Christian writing as such. On this subject, there is no better guide than Lee Barrett. This book situates Kierkegaard’s treatment of the will against the backdrop of previous debates and, even more importantly, models how to read him well. -- Carl S. Hughes, Texas Lutheran UniversityTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgementsSigla for Kierkegaard's WorksIntroduction: Kierkegaard and the Tensive Virtues of Resting in God’s Governance and Striving for Eternal HappinessChapter One: Kierkegaard’s Contentious Philosophical BackgroundChapter Two: Kierkegaard’s Tensive Theological BackgroundChapter Three: Kierkegaard and the Later Grace/Free-Will DebateChapter Four: Kierkegaard’s Unconventional Practice of TheologyChapter Five: Active Leaping and Gracious Receiving in Philosophical FragmentsChapter Six: Concluding Unscientific Postscript and the Truth and Untruth of SubjectivityChapter Seven: The Upbuilding Discourses and the Art of Being Nothing while Being SomethingChapter Eight: Preparing for Communion and the Impossibility of Preparing for CommunionChapter Nine: Authorial Intentions and Divine GovernanceChapter Ten: Repentance Interrupted by Birds, Lilies, and Little LudvigConclusion: The Conceptual Antinomy Becomes a Passional AntinomyBibliographyAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisGenerative Worlds. New Phenomenological Perspectives on Space and Time accounts for the phenomenological concept of generativity. In doing so, this book brings together several recent phenomenological studies on space and time. Generative studies in phenomenology propose new ways of conceiving space, time, and the relation between them. Edited by Luz Ascarate and Quentin Gailhac, the collection reveals new dimensions to topics such as the generation of life, birth, historicity, intersubjectivity, narrativity, institution, touching, and places, and in some cases, the contributors invert the classical definitions of space and time. These transformative readings are fruitful for the interdisciplinary exchange between philosophy and fields such as cosmology, psychology, and the social sciences. The contributors ask if phenomenology reaches its own concreteness through the study of generation and whether it manages to redefine certain dimensions of space and time which, in other orientations of the Husserlian method, remain too abstract and detached from the constitutive becoming of experience.Table of ContentsIntroduction. Generativity: Between Generation and LifeLuz Ascarate and Quentin GailhacPart I. Emerging LifeChapter 1. Born to OneselfNatalie DeprazChapter 2. Decision as UrstiftungBruce BégoutPart II. GenerationsChapter 3. Between Generation and Genesis: A New StiftungMariana LarisonChapter 4. Generative TemporalityClaudia SerbanChapter 5. Thinking Space-Time as Earth-World: Husserl, Heidegger, and DeLilloTanja StaehlerPart III. HomesChapter 6. On the Generation of Meaningful and Valuable Space: The Place of Feelings in GenerativityAndrew BarrettChapter 7. Phenomenology of the Book and Hermeneutics of the Text: Touching and Interpreting SpaceFrancisco Diez FischerChapter 8. Belonging and CosmologyRenaud Barbaras

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Book SynopsisThe topic of revelation is fundamental to any account of religious experience, playing a special role in the Judeo-Christian tradition where the texts of Scripture are regarded as revealed. Yet, any reflection on the revealed status of a given message or text requires interpretation. Paul Ricœur, one of the most important hermeneutic philosophers of the twentieth century, provides crucial insights on how such interpretation might proceed and what it might mean for texts to be revealed. Edited by Christina M. Gschwandtner, Paul Ricoeur, Philosophical Hermeneutics, and the Question of Revelation brings together major scholars of Ricœur’s work on the topic of revelation, showing both the role it already plays in his work and how his thinking might be taken further. Several contributors trace the development of his thought in regard to the concept of revelation. Others discuss the revelatory dimensions of Ricœur’s hermeneutics of the self, especially for such issues as identity, trauma, and forgiveness. Several contributions also place his work in conversation with that of other seminal thinkers on the topic of revelation, such as Karl Barth and Paul Tillich.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Christina M. GschwandtnerPart I: The Question of Revelation in Ricœur’s WorkChapter 1: From the “Revealed” to the “Revealing”: Uses of the Notion of Revelation in the Philosophy of Paul Ricœur by Daniel FreyChapter 2: Thinking Revelation: A Catholic Reading of Paul Ricœur’s Philosophy of Revelation by Knut WenzelChapter 3: Hermeneutics Beyond Suspicion: Meaning-making and Trust in Language by Gonçalo MarceloPart II: Revelation and the Question of the SelfChapter 4: The Poetics of the Self: On the Three Levels of Transformation in Ricœur’s Account of Faith by Samuel UnderwoodChapter 5: The Poetics of Forgiveness at the Limit in Ricœur’s Thought by Sónia da Silva MonteiroChapter 6: The Discourse of Revelation: Ricœur’s Hermeneutics Untangles Trauma, Dependence, and Love by Stephanie N. ArelChapter 7: The Self of Revelation in Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricœur by Otniel A. KishPart III: Ricœur in Conversation on the Question of RevelationChapter 8: Revelation from the Ground Up: Embodied Hermeneutics by Dan R. StiverChapter 9: Preserving the Mystery: Paul Ricœur and Paul Tillich on Revelation by Nicola StrickerChapter 10: Meaning and Persons: The Ontology of the Word as Revelation by Brian Gregor

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Book SynopsisThis wide-ranging and inspiring volume of essays explores Nietzsche's philosophy of the free spirit. Nietzsche begins to articulate his philosophy of the free spirit in 1878 and it results in his most congenial books, including Human, all too Human, Dawn (or Daybreak), and The Gay Science. It is one of the most neglected aspects of Nietzsche's corpus, yet crucially important to an understanding of his work. Written by leading Nietzsche scholars from Europe and North America, the essays in this book explore topics such as: the kind of freedom practiced by the free spirit; the free spirit's relation to truth; the play between laughter and seriousness in the free spirit period texts; integrity and the free spirit; health and the free spirit; the free spirit and cosmopolitanism; and the figure of the free spirit in Nietzsche's later writings. This book fills a significant gap in the available literature and will set the agenda for future research in Nietzsche Studies.Trade ReviewThis impressive volume gathers the work of many notable Nietzsche scholars on a figural notion that has not received sustained attention in the literature. The complex character of the free spirit is duly articulated in a multi-layered and comprehensive manner, with attention to both chronological and substantive questions in Nietzsche’s texts. Highly recommended. -- Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy, Old Dominion UniversityThe figure of the “free spirit” plays a central role in Nietzsche’s ‘middle period’ texts but its significance and relationship to the evolving arc of his philosophy has been largely neglected. This collection provides an important exploration of the origins, constructions and implications of the figure of the ‘free spirit’ in Nietzsche’s thought and in doing so sheds new light on the character and development of his philosophical project. -- David Owen, Professor of Social and Political Philosophy, University of SouthamptonTable of ContentsNotes on Abbreviations / Acknowledgements / Introduction, Rebecca Bamford / Part I: Origins / 1. Skilled Marksman and Strict Self-Examination: Nietzsche on La Rochefoucauld, Ruth Abbey / 2. The Ethical Ideal of the Free Spirit in Human, All Too Human, Christine Daigle / 3. Beyond Selfishness: Epicurean Ethics in Nietzsche and Guyau, Keith Ansell-Pearson / 4. The Free Spirit and Aesthetic Self-Re-Education, Duncan Large / 5. Health and Self-Cultivation in Dawn, Rebecca Bamford / 6. Ridendo Dicere Severum: On Probity, Laughter and Self-Critique in Nietzsche’s Figure of the Free Spirit, Herman Siemens and Katia Hay / Part II: Developments, Applications, and Extensions / 7. The Experiment of Incorporating Unbounded Truth, Katrina Mitcheson / 8. Perspectives on a Philosophy of the Future in Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, Marcus Andreas Born / 9. Nietzsche’s “Free Spirit”, Richard Schacht / 10. Being Unattached: Freedom and Nietzsche’s Free Spirits, Christa Davis Acampora / 11. Free the Spirit!: Kantian, Jungian, and Neoplatonic Resonances in Nietzsche, Paul Bishop / 12. Almost Everything is Permitted: Nietzsche’s Not-So-Free Spirits, Daniel Conway / 13. Is There a Free Spirit in Nietzsche’s Late Writings?, Andreas Urs Sommer / Notes on Contributors / Index

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Book SynopsisThis wide-ranging and inspiring volume of essays explores Nietzsche's philosophy of the free spirit. Nietzsche begins to articulate his philosophy of the free spirit in 1878 and it results in his most congenial books, including Human, all too Human, Dawn (or Daybreak), and The Gay Science. It is one of the most neglected aspects of Nietzsche's corpus, yet crucially important to an understanding of his work. Written by leading Nietzsche scholars from Europe and North America, the essays in this book explore topics such as: the kind of freedom practiced by the free spirit; the free spirit's relation to truth; the play between laughter and seriousness in the free spirit period texts; integrity and the free spirit; health and the free spirit; the free spirit and cosmopolitanism; and the figure of the free spirit in Nietzsche's later writings. This book fills a significant gap in the available literature and will set the agenda for future research in Nietzsche Studies.Trade ReviewThis impressive volume gathers the work of many notable Nietzsche scholars on a figural notion that has not received sustained attention in the literature. The complex character of the free spirit is duly articulated in a multi-layered and comprehensive manner, with attention to both chronological and substantive questions in Nietzsche’s texts. Highly recommended. -- Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy, Old Dominion UniversityThe figure of the “free spirit” plays a central role in Nietzsche’s ‘middle period’ texts but its significance and relationship to the evolving arc of his philosophy has been largely neglected. This collection provides an important exploration of the origins, constructions and implications of the figure of the ‘free spirit’ in Nietzsche’s thought and in doing so sheds new light on the character and development of his philosophical project. -- David Owen, Professor of Social and Political Philosophy, University of SouthamptonTable of ContentsNotes on Abbreviations / Acknowledgements / Introduction, Rebecca Bamford / Part I: Origins / 1. Skilled Marksman and Strict Self-Examination: Nietzsche on La Rochefoucauld, Ruth Abbey / 2. The Ethical Ideal of the Free Spirit in Human, All Too Human, Christine Daigle / 3. Beyond Selfishness: Epicurean Ethics in Nietzsche and Guyau, Keith Ansell-Pearson / 4. The Free Spirit and Aesthetic Self-Re-Education, Duncan Large / 5. Health and Self-Cultivation in Dawn, Rebecca Bamford / 6. Ridendo Dicere Severum: On Probity, Laughter and Self-Critique in Nietzsche’s Figure of the Free Spirit, Herman Siemens and Katia Hay / Part II: Developments, Applications, and Extensions / 7. The Experiment of Incorporating Unbounded Truth, Katrina Mitcheson / 8. Perspectives on a Philosophy of the Future in Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, Marcus Andreas Born / 9. Nietzsche’s “Free Spirit”, Richard Schacht / 10. Being Unattached: Freedom and Nietzsche’s Free Spirits, Christa Davis Acampora / 11. Free the Spirit!: Kantian, Jungian, and Neoplatonic Resonances in Nietzsche, Paul Bishop / 12. Almost Everything is Permitted: Nietzsche’s Not-So-Free Spirits, Daniel Conway / 13. Is There a Free Spirit in Nietzsche’s Late Writings?, Andreas Urs Sommer / Notes on Contributors / Index

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Book SynopsisReading as a Philosophical Practice asks why reading—everyday reading for pleasure—matters so profoundly to so many people. Its answer is that reading is an implicitly philosophical activity. To passionate readers, it is a way of working through, and taking a stand on, certain fundamental questions about who and what we are, how we should live, and how we relate to other things. The book examines the lessons that the activity of reading seems to teach about selfhood, morality and ontology, and it tries to clarify the sometimes paradoxical claims that serious readers have made about it. To do so, it proposes an original theoretical framework based on Virginia Woolf’s notion of the common reader and Alasdair MacIntyre’s conception of practice. It also asks whether reading can continue to play this role as paper is replaced by electronic screens.Trade Review“Robert Piercey has written an important, engaging, and accessible book about books – specifically, about why we should all read more books. He argues that reading is a philosophical practice as conceived by Alasdair MacIntyre and that we should think about the benefits of the practice in terms of this conception rather than in the narrower frames of reference currently employed by the disciplines of literary aesthetics and literary criticism. Piercey has the enviable ability to both make an original contribution to academic scholarship across several disciplines and provide an intelligent and lively read for those that care about books outside the academy. To use his own term, this is a book for everyone who has a reading life, whether or not they are aware of it.” — Rafe McGregor, Senior Lecturer, Edge Hill University, UK“Drawing on rich historical and academic sources, Rob Piercey presents a clear and convincing case as to how reading can be philosophical. At a time when many of us have been brought back to our reading roots, Reading as a Philosophical Practice is the perfect companion in a time of COVID.” — Todd Mei, Associate Professor, Philosophy, University of Kent, UKRobert Piercey’s Reading as a Philosophical Practice is a humane and generous book—that rare work that doubles as a rewarding scholarly inquiry and an accessible guide for the general reader. Sailing resolutely against the prevailing sentiment that books are an anachronism, Piercey believes that the practice of reading and the reading life offer a precious space of reflection for the cultivation of what is meaningful, and an indispensable element in the constitution of one’s own self. A work clearly written by someone who loves his theme, Piercey elevates the existential claim that books—as a kind of being—have upon us. — John Arthos, Associate Professor of English, Indiana UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; 1. Philosophizing about Reading: The Very Idea; 2. The Reading Self; 3. The Reading Life; 4. Ethics from Reading?; 5. Ethics of Reading?; 6. Reading Things; 7. The Future of the Common Reader; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisIn this first book-length study of the topic, Robert C. Scharff offers a detailed analysis of the young Heidegger's interpretation of Dilthey's hermeneutics of historical life and Husserl's transcendental phenomenology. He argues that it is Heidegger's prior reading of Dilthey that grounds his critical appropriation of Husserl's phenomenology. He shows that in Heidegger's early lecture courses, a "possible" phenomenology is presented as a genuine alternative with the modern philosophies of consciousness to which Husserl's "actual" phenomenology is still too closely tied. All of these philosophies tend to overestimate the degree to which we can achieve intellectual independence from our surroundings and inheritance. In response, Heidegger explains why becoming phenomenological is always a possibility; but being a phenomenologist is not. Scharff concludes that this discussion of the young Heidegger, Husserl, and Dilthey leads to the question of our own current need for a phenomenological philosophy—that is, for a philosophy that avoids technique-happiness, that at least sometimes thinks with a self-awareness that takes no theoretical distance from life, and that speaks in a language that is "not yet" selectively representational.Trade ReviewAs Scharff sees it, Heidegger's way of becoming phenomenological was not Husserl's, who regarded phenomenology as a theoretical-scientific attitude of a transcendental subject expositing its intentional objects, but rather Dilthey's, who situates it in the whole of life that is always already there as an articulated historical context that mutually correlates self and world into a meaningful whole. -- Theodore Kisiel, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Northern Illinois UniversityNo one knows the Heidegger-Dilthey connection better than Robert Scharff, and in this revolutionary new work he pushes the reset button on the origins of Being and Time. Through a meticulous reading of the earliest courses Scharff reveals how Heidegger’s grappling with Dilthey turned him into a phenomenologist of life and eventually of Dasein, in contrast to the transcendental consciousness of Husserl. Written with clarity and verve, this book leaves the “Seinology” of later commentaries in the dust and restores to Heidegger’s work the existential vitality that is its birthright. -- Thomas Sheehan, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford UniversityTable of ContentsPreface / Acknowledgments / Note on citations / Introduction / 1. Preparing to "Be" Phenomenological / Part I / 2. From Dilthey to Heidegger: Recasting the Erklären-Verstehen Debate / 3. Heidegger's Destructive Retrieval of Dilthey's "Standpoint of Life" / Part II / 4. From Dilthey to Husserl / 5. Heidegger's Diltheyian Retrieval of Husserl's "Two Sides" / Part III / 6. Continuously "Becoming" Phenomenological / References / Index

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Book SynopsisIn this first book-length study of the topic, Robert C. Scharff offers a detailed analysis of the young Heidegger's interpretation of Dilthey's hermeneutics of historical life and Husserl's transcendental phenomenology. He argues that it is Heidegger's prior reading of Dilthey that grounds his critical appropriation of Husserl's phenomenology. He shows that in Heidegger's early lecture courses, a "possible" phenomenology is presented as a genuine alternative with the modern philosophies of consciousness to which Husserl's "actual" phenomenology is still too closely tied. All of these philosophies tend to overestimate the degree to which we can achieve intellectual independence from our surroundings and inheritance. In response, Heidegger explains why becoming phenomenological is always a possibility; but being a phenomenologist is not. Scharff concludes that this discussion of the young Heidegger, Husserl, and Dilthey leads to the question of our own current need for a phenomenological philosophy—that is, for a philosophy that avoids technique-happiness, that at least sometimes thinks with a self-awareness that takes no theoretical distance from life, and that speaks in a language that is "not yet" selectively representational.Trade ReviewAs Scharff sees it, Heidegger's way of becoming phenomenological was not Husserl's, who regarded phenomenology as a theoretical-scientific attitude of a transcendental subject expositing its intentional objects, but rather Dilthey's, who situates it in the whole of life that is always already there as an articulated historical context that mutually correlates self and world into a meaningful whole. -- Theodore Kisiel, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Northern Illinois UniversityNo one knows the Heidegger-Dilthey connection better than Robert Scharff, and in this revolutionary new work he pushes the reset button on the origins of Being and Time. Through a meticulous reading of the earliest courses Scharff reveals how Heidegger’s grappling with Dilthey turned him into a phenomenologist of life and eventually of Dasein, in contrast to the transcendental consciousness of Husserl. Written with clarity and verve, this book leaves the “Seinology” of later commentaries in the dust and restores to Heidegger’s work the existential vitality that is its birthright. -- Thomas Sheehan, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford UniversityTable of ContentsPreface / Acknowledgments / Note on citations / Introduction / 1. Preparing to "Be" Phenomenological / Part I / 2. From Dilthey to Heidegger: Recasting the Erklären-Verstehen Debate / 3. Heidegger's Destructive Retrieval of Dilthey's "Standpoint of Life" / Part II / 4. From Dilthey to Husserl / 5. Heidegger's Diltheyian Retrieval of Husserl's "Two Sides" / Part III / 6. Continuously "Becoming" Phenomenological / References / Index

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Book SynopsisWords Underway offers the first full account of the important contributions the Continental tradition has made to the philosophy of language. Carolyn Culbertson examines the vital work of a range of thinkers, including Heidegger, Gadamer, Blanchot, and Kristeva. The book argues that Continental theorists are particularly helpful in recognizing our unique potential for becoming alienated from some discourse. At the same time, Culbertson argues that Continental philosophy of language tends not to treat the alienated relationship to language as something absolute. For most Continental theorists, at least, language is a living system, that is, a system maintained by undergoing constant expansion and transformation by language users. The book goes on to explore the attention Continental theorists have given to the way that forms of political power, for example gender dynamics in communication, can sometimes thwart this process and thus reinforce alienation. This book will transform the reader's sense of what the philosophy of language is about and will attract the attention of students and scholars of both philosophy of language and the Continental tradition.Trade ReviewCulbertson’s book breaks new ground in offering a comprehensive treatment of the philosophy of language from a Continental perspective, not simply a survey of representative authors but a unique thematic path for new directions that exceed standard assumptions: how normative and developmental elements take precedence over mere descriptive accounts of linguistic formats; how the experience of alienation is a key factor in human discourse and development; how creative openness is an ever-ready impetus in language; how constraining and liberating forces both contribute to identity formation and cultural possibilities. Highly recommended. -- Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy, Old Dominion UniversityCulbertson makes a clear and convincing argument for the importance of continental philosophy of language to contemporary thought, an argument that is accessible to beginners and useful to experts. Rather than surveying the entire field, she begins with Heidegger and Gadamer to establish the inescapable ways that language and existence are interwoven. She then complicates and enriches this picture by examining how continental thinkers address moments of “alienation” from language, from the traumas of the Holocaust, to the challenges of gender (Butler), from the silences of depression (Kristeva) to the agonies of colonialism (Derrida). She closes by returning to Heidegger and the questions posed at the beginning, so that the reader can see why it makes sense to speak of continental philosophy as a distinctive tradition. Her book is an important contribution to scholarship and to the classroom. -- Meili Steele, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of South CarolinaTable of ContentsIntroduction / 1. Walker Percy, Phenomenology, and the Mystery of Language / 2. Words That Neither Reveal nor Conceal: The Philosophical Depths of Literary Theory / 3. Rethinking Women's Silence: Contributions from Continental Feminism / 4. Language as Habitat: Doing Justice to Experiences of Linguistic Alienation / 5. Words Underway: The Ethics of Linguistic Life / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisWords Underway offers the first full account of the important contributions the Continental tradition has made to the philosophy of language. Carolyn Culbertson examines the vital work of a range of thinkers, including Heidegger, Gadamer, Blanchot, and Kristeva. The book argues that Continental theorists are particularly helpful in recognizing our unique potential for becoming alienated from some discourse. At the same time, Culbertson argues that Continental philosophy of language tends not to treat the alienated relationship to language as something absolute. For most Continental theorists, at least, language is a living system, that is, a system maintained by undergoing constant expansion and transformation by language users. The book goes on to explore the attention Continental theorists have given to the way that forms of political power, for example gender dynamics in communication, can sometimes thwart this process and thus reinforce alienation. This book will transform the reader's sense of what the philosophy of language is about and will attract the attention of students and scholars of both philosophy of language and the Continental tradition.Trade ReviewCulbertson’s book breaks new ground in offering a comprehensive treatment of the philosophy of language from a Continental perspective, not simply a survey of representative authors but a unique thematic path for new directions that exceed standard assumptions: how normative and developmental elements take precedence over mere descriptive accounts of linguistic formats; how the experience of alienation is a key factor in human discourse and development; how creative openness is an ever-ready impetus in language; how constraining and liberating forces both contribute to identity formation and cultural possibilities. Highly recommended. -- Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy, Old Dominion UniversityCulbertson makes a clear and convincing argument for the importance of continental philosophy of language to contemporary thought, an argument that is accessible to beginners and useful to experts. Rather than surveying the entire field, she begins with Heidegger and Gadamer to establish the inescapable ways that language and existence are interwoven. She then complicates and enriches this picture by examining how continental thinkers address moments of “alienation” from language, from the traumas of the Holocaust, to the challenges of gender (Butler), from the silences of depression (Kristeva) to the agonies of colonialism (Derrida). She closes by returning to Heidegger and the questions posed at the beginning, so that the reader can see why it makes sense to speak of continental philosophy as a distinctive tradition. Her book is an important contribution to scholarship and to the classroom. -- Meili Steele, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of South CarolinaTable of ContentsIntroduction / 1. Walker Percy, Phenomenology, and the Mystery of Language / 2. Words That Neither Reveal nor Conceal: The Philosophical Depths of Literary Theory / 3. Rethinking Women's Silence: Contributions from Continental Feminism / 4. Language as Habitat: Doing Justice to Experiences of Linguistic Alienation / 5. Words Underway: The Ethics of Linguistic Life / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisSkill and Mastery: Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi presents an illuminating analysis of skill stories from the Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Daoist text. In this intriguing text that subverts conventional norms and pursuits, ordinary activities such as swimming, cicada-catching and wheelmaking are executed with such remarkable efficacy and spontaneity that they seem like magical feats. An international team of scholars explores these stories in their philosophical, historical and political contexts. Their analyses' highlight the stories'underlying conceptions of agency, character and cultivation; and relevance to contemporary debates on human action and experience. The result is a valuable collection, opening up new lines of inquiry in comparative East-West philosophical debates on skill, cultivation and mastery, as well as cross-disciplinary debates in psychology, cognitive science and philosophy.Trade ReviewThe essays assembled in this outstanding and unusually well-integrated volume all address the role played by “skill” across many chapters of the Zhuangzi, drawing both on evocative stories and on more explicit theorizing. Collectively, the chapters establish a new state-of-the-art understanding of this central theme, relevant not just to China scholars but also to all students of performance, embodied knowing, and the cultivation of good lives. -- Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction (Karyn Lai and Wai Wai Chiu) Part I Reflections on Skill 1 Skilful Performances and the Zhuangzi’s Lessons on Orientation (Wai Wai Chiu) 2 Skill and Nourishing Life (Franklin Perkins) 3 Skill and Emotions in the Zhuangzi (David Machek) 4 Zhuangzi’s Politics from the Perspective of Skill (Timothy Connolly) 5 Elusive Masters, Powerless Teachers and Dumb Sages: Exploring Pedagogic Skills in the Zhuangzi (Romain Graziani) 6 Skill and Embodied Knowledge: Zhuangzi and Liezi (Steven Coutinho) 7 The Unskilled Zhuangzi: Big and Useless and Not So Good at Catching Rats (Eric Schwitzgebel) Part II The Stories 8 Cook Ding: A Meditation in Flow (James Sellman) 9 Wheelwright Bian: A Difficult Dao (Lisa Raphals) 10 The Cicada-Catcher: Learning for Life (Karyn Lai) 11 The Ferryman: Forget the Deeps and Row! (Chris Fraser) 12 The Unresponsive Fighting Cocks: Mastery and Human Interaction in the Zhuangzi (Wim De Reu) 13 The Swimmer: (Albert Galvany) 14 Woodworker Qing: Matching Heaven with Heaven (Kim-chong Chong) 15 The Naked Scribe: The Skill of Dissociation in Society (Hans-Georg Moeller) 16 The Forger: The Use of Things (Wai Wai Chiu)

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Book SynopsisSkill and Mastery: Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi presents an illuminating analysis of skill stories from the Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Daoist text. In this intriguing text that subverts conventional norms and pursuits, ordinary activities such as swimming, cicada-catching and wheelmaking are executed with such remarkable efficacy and spontaneity that they seem like magical feats. An international team of scholars explores these stories in their philosophical, historical and political contexts. Their analyses' highlight the stories'underlying conceptions of agency, character and cultivation; and relevance to contemporary debates on human action and experience. The result is a valuable collection, opening up new lines of inquiry in comparative East-West philosophical debates on skill, cultivation and mastery, as well as cross-disciplinary debates in psychology, cognitive science and philosophy.Trade ReviewThe essays assembled in this outstanding and unusually well-integrated volume all address the role played by “skill” across many chapters of the Zhuangzi, drawing both on evocative stories and on more explicit theorizing. Collectively, the chapters establish a new state-of-the-art understanding of this central theme, relevant not just to China scholars but also to all students of performance, embodied knowing, and the cultivation of good lives. -- Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction (Karyn Lai and Wai Wai Chiu) Part I Reflections on Skill 1 Skilful Performances and the Zhuangzi’s Lessons on Orientation (Wai Wai Chiu) 2 Skill and Nourishing Life (Franklin Perkins) 3 Skill and Emotions in the Zhuangzi (David Machek) 4 Zhuangzi’s Politics from the Perspective of Skill (Timothy Connolly) 5 Elusive Masters, Powerless Teachers and Dumb Sages: Exploring Pedagogic Skills in the Zhuangzi (Romain Graziani) 6 Skill and Embodied Knowledge: Zhuangzi and Liezi (Steven Coutinho) 7 The Unskilled Zhuangzi: Big and Useless and Not So Good at Catching Rats (Eric Schwitzgebel) Part II The Stories 8 Cook Ding: A Meditation in Flow (James Sellman) 9 Wheelwright Bian: A Difficult Dao (Lisa Raphals) 10 The Cicada-Catcher: Learning for Life (Karyn Lai) 11 The Ferryman: Forget the Deeps and Row! (Chris Fraser) 12 The Unresponsive Fighting Cocks: Mastery and Human Interaction in the Zhuangzi (Wim De Reu) 13 The Swimmer: (Albert Galvany) 14 Woodworker Qing: Matching Heaven with Heaven (Kim-chong Chong) 15 The Naked Scribe: The Skill of Dissociation in Society (Hans-Georg Moeller) 16 The Forger: The Use of Things (Wai Wai Chiu)

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Book SynopsisThis book aims to put modern continental philosophy, specifically the sub-fields of phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, deconstruction, critical theory and genealogy, into conversation with the field of contemporary theology. Colby Dickinson demonstrates the way in which negative dialectics, or the negation of negation, may help us to grasp the thin (or non-existent) borders between continental philosophy and theology as the leading thinkers of both fields wrestle with their entrance into a new era. With the declining place of "the sacred" in the public sphere, we need to pay more attention than ever to how continental philosophy seems to be returning to distinctly theological roots. Through a genealogical mapping of 20th-century continental philosophers, Dickinson highlights the ever-present Judeo-Christian roots of modern Western philosophical thought. Opposing categories such as immanence/transcendence, finitude/infinitude, universal/particular, subject/object, are at the center of works by thinkers such as Agamben, Marion, Vattimo, Levinas, Latour, Caputo and Adorno. This book argues that utilizing a negative dialectic allows us to move beyond the apparent fixation with dichotomies present within those fields and begin to perform both philosophy and theology anew.Trade ReviewDickinson argues for more fluid fertile borderlands between philosophy and theology. Deploying a dialectics of 'double negation' he critiques the mega-narratives of modernity in order to open a new 'logics' of transfusion between faith and reason. This allows for a positive revisiting of the roots of theological inquiry while embracing the most robust resources of postmodern thinking. A timely, bold and engaging work. -- Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeThis book is more than a masterful mapping of a huge swath of contemporary theology and continental philosophy. Dickinson’s negative dialectic is also a cookbook of risky strategies—so many spiritual exercises on offer to us-- which situate living thought along a precarious fault line of disenchantment and hope that neither philosophy nor theology can successfully manage. -- Ward Blanton, Reader in Biblical Cultures and European Thought, University of KentDickinson is one of our best guides to the leading edges where continental philosophy and theology intersect. In Theology and Contemporary Continental Philosophy, he offers a concise, accessible overview of this interaction. The negative dialectics of philosophy are entangled with negative theology to generate a weakened but transformative discourse that opens up both to other, nondualist ways of thinking. -- Clayton Crockett, Professor and Director of Religious Studies, University of Central ArkansasTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: On the Relationship of Continental Philosophy to Theology Chapter Two: Toward a Negative Dialectic Chapter Three: The Gap within Existence as Theological Motif Chapter Four: The Phenomenological (Re)turn Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis book aims to put modern continental philosophy, specifically the sub-fields of phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, deconstruction, critical theory and genealogy, into conversation with the field of contemporary theology. Colby Dickinson demonstrates the way in which negative dialectics, or the negation of negation, may help us to grasp the thin (or non-existent) borders between continental philosophy and theology as the leading thinkers of both fields wrestle with their entrance into a new era. With the declining place of "the sacred" in the public sphere, we need to pay more attention than ever to how continental philosophy seems to be returning to distinctly theological roots. Through a genealogical mapping of 20th-century continental philosophers, Dickinson highlights the ever-present Judeo-Christian roots of modern Western philosophical thought. Opposing categories such as immanence/transcendence, finitude/infinitude, universal/particular, subject/object, are at the center of works by thinkers such as Agamben, Marion, Vattimo, Levinas, Latour, Caputo and Adorno. This book argues that utilizing a negative dialectic allows us to move beyond the apparent fixation with dichotomies present within those fields and begin to perform both philosophy and theology anew.Trade ReviewDickinson argues for more fluid fertile borderlands between philosophy and theology. Deploying a dialectics of 'double negation' he critiques the mega-narratives of modernity in order to open a new 'logics' of transfusion between faith and reason. This allows for a positive revisiting of the roots of theological inquiry while embracing the most robust resources of postmodern thinking. A timely, bold and engaging work. -- Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeThis book is more than a masterful mapping of a huge swath of contemporary theology and continental philosophy. Dickinson’s negative dialectic is also a cookbook of risky strategies—so many spiritual exercises on offer to us-- which situate living thought along a precarious fault line of disenchantment and hope that neither philosophy nor theology can successfully manage. -- Ward Blanton, Reader in Biblical Cultures and European Thought, University of KentDickinson is one of our best guides to the leading edges where continental philosophy and theology intersect. In Theology and Contemporary Continental Philosophy, he offers a concise, accessible overview of this interaction. The negative dialectics of philosophy are entangled with negative theology to generate a weakened but transformative discourse that opens up both to other, nondualist ways of thinking. -- Clayton Crockett, Professor and Director of Religious Studies, University of Central ArkansasTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: On the Relationship of Continental Philosophy to Theology Chapter Two: Toward a Negative Dialectic Chapter Three: The Gap within Existence as Theological Motif Chapter Four: The Phenomenological (Re)turn Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisSince Heidegger, it has become something of an unquestioned presupposition to analyse the structure and essence of selfhood from the perspective of being-in-the-world. However, in this original work, Steven DeLay, using a wide breadth of philosophical sources, articulates a view of selfhood which emphasizes humanity’s ineluctable experience before-God. The work presents an original view of the relationship between philosophy and theology, namely that there is no distinction between the two.Table of Contents1. Divine Things and the Fluidity of Thought / 2. The Interlacement of Self and God / 3.What is the Problem of Intersubjectivity? / 4. Forgiveness / 5. Making Peace/ 6. A Sketch of Silence and Evil / 7. Suffering and Salvation: A Note on Art / 8. The Light that Lights Every Man

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Book SynopsisContemporary philosophy is interested in questions of luck and moral responsibility. Christian theology is largely unconcerned with luck because of its understanding of the creatureliness of the will. This understanding is rooted in story of the primal sin the narrative about how the first good creature chose wrongly. When considered philosophically, this story produces a problem for describing how a good creature can sin in ideal circumstances. The tradition has appealed to a voluntarist account of the devil's sin as a satisfying response to this problem. But some have worried that this kind of free choice succumbs to a responsibility denying kind of luck. This volume describes how this underlying story undermines worries about luck for Christian moral reasoning by reflecting on how any luck the devil has is his own.Table of ContentsChapter 1: The Story of the Primal SinChapter 2: Primal Sin in Augustine and AnselmChapter 3: Explanation, Primal Sin, and LuckChapter 4: Creatures Are Not LuckyChapter 5: God, the Devil, and Luck

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Book SynopsisIn Animal Choice and Human Freedom: On the Genealogy of Self-Determined Action, Michael Yudanin argues that describing freedom conceptually is impossible without explaining how it can exist in the world. Yudanin develops an account of freedom’s instantiation in biological agents and provides several prerequisites that are necessary for its exercise. He demonstrates that freedom is linked to the form of life and distinguishes between choice in non-verbal animals and human freedom, where the latter is enabled by the development of language and thus possesses a distinct character. Following this descriptive account, Yudanin explores freedom’s evolutionary history, explaining how it developed in the course of the evolution of species.Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Question of FreedomPart I: Freedom and its FormsChapter 1: Basic Characterization of FreedomChapter 2: Differential Characterization of FreedomPart II: The Evolution of FreedomChapter 3: The Philosophy of EvolutionChapter 4: Biological EvolutionChapter 5: Evolution as the Unfolding of FreedomConclusion and the Road AheadReferencesEndnotes

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Book SynopsisExcavating Stephen King: A Darwinist Hermeneutic Study of the Fiction combines approaches from science and literary theory to examine the canon of Stephen King’s fiction work in a single critical study. James Arthur Anderson has devised the concept of Darwinist Hermeneutics as a critical tool to combine evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, biology, and literary Darwinism with other more conventional critical theory, including structuralism, narratology, semiotics, and linguistic analysis. Using this theory, Anderson examines King’s works in terms of archetypes and mythology, human universals, affective emotions, and the organization of story to create maximum suspense. This method brings new insights into King’s stories and broader implications for storytelling as a whole. Trade ReviewJames Anderson’s Excavating Stephen King is a welcomed addition to the ever-growing field of studies devoted to the work of the Master of the Macabre. Anderson is, above all else, a knowledgeable and refreshingly humble voice within the field (the conclusion to this text is worth the price of the entire book), and his genuinely unique approach to King’s creations allows us to see, with clear, specific, and exceptionally well-reasoned analyses, that being a Constant Reader is hardly an exercise in the “dumbing down of American culture,” as some snobbish critics have suggested. Indeed, with Anderson’s help, we are able to see King in a new light, and ourselves as well, which is to say that the spotlight Anderson provides here ultimately reveals a keen and critical understanding of the self. To put it another way, Anderson’s examination confirms King’s sentiments that “Life isn’t a support-system for art. It’s the other way around. -- Patrick McAleer, Inver Hills Community College, author of Inside the Dark Tower Series and co-editor of Stephen King’s Modern Macabre (with Michael Perry) and The Modern Stephen King Canon (with Phil Simpson)In the forty-six years since Carrie was published, Stephen King has had a prolific career, producing scores of novels and short stories. Critical books assessing his works started appearing in the early 1980s, and his stories started entering school and college curricula not long thereafter. Doctoral theses have been written about aspects of his work. Few books, though, have done as thorough a deep dive into literary criticism of King's novels as James Arthur Anderson has achieved in Excavating Stephen King. Although The Stand appears frequently in his analysis, Anderson covers the full range of King's works up to The Institute, including a thorough evaluation of the recent short story "Cookie Jar." He combines methods from the humanities and scientific fields such as neurology, evolutionary psychology, sociology and anthropology into a critical tool he calls Darwinist Hermeneutics. Even longtime fans of King's work may find themselves looking at his work in a different light after reading Excavating Stephen King. -- Bev VincentTable of ContentsIntroduction: Stephen King, Fast Food or Five Star?Part 1: Archetypes: Structuralism Meets DarwinChapter 1: The Hero’s Quest Chapter 2: The Trickster: King’s Tricks and TreatsChapter 3: In the Beginning… The Creation of the MultiverseChapter 4: Silenced by Science: the Anthropocene Apocalypse in CellPart 2: Human UniversalsChapter 5 : The Stand: Survival of the Ethical FittestChapter 6: Religion: King as the “Dark Theologian" Chapter 7: Free Will: Robots or WildcardsChapter 8: Time and 11/22/63 Chapter 9: Nostalgia and Things PastPart 3: Affective EmotionsChapter 10: The Battle of the SexesChapter 11: What’s Love Got to Do with It?Chapter 12: Family and ChildrenChapter 13: Rage and Sweet RevengeChapter 14 : Fear: Why We Like Scary StoriesPart 4: Darwinism and the ArtsChapter 15: The Symbolic Animal: Imagination and CreativityChapter 16: The Arts: Soothing the Savage BeastChapter 17: The Addiction of Language and StoryChapter 18: The Thematic KingChapter 19: The Literary KingConclusion: Darwinist Hermeneutics and Stephen KingWorks CitedAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisIn Evil and Many Worlds: A Free-Will Theodicy, William Hunt presents a unique approach to explaining how God and evil can coexist despite the abundance of moral and natural evils blighting our world, which imply that an omnibenevolent God is unlikely to exist. This theodicy is based upon Huw Everett III's many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, whereby reality is not what it intuitively seems; instead, it is a multiverse comprising a vast number of universes, and we simultaneously exist in many of them. This multiplicity of existence results in a balance of moral good and evil across the multiverse, and through this, the expression of free will—an attribute valued by both persons and God— flourishes. The theodicy explains the coexistence of God and natural evil through the necessity of an evolutionary process that ensures the emergence of free-willed persons. Notwithstanding this universal perspective of Creation, a resurrection possibility would mitigate individual suffering resulting from this divine holistic strategy. Hunt examines this possibility in light of the many-worlds interpretation.Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgements Introduction PART I: The Composition of Reality: Hidden WorldsChapter 1: Quantum Mechanics Chapter 2: The Many-Worlds Interpretation Chapter 3: The Quantum Multiverse PART 2: The Problem of Evil: DefenseChapter 4: Deductive Arguments Chapter 5: Inductive and Abductive Arguments Chapter 6: Bayesian Arguments PART 3: A Free Will Theodicy: An Exordium Chapter 7: Alternative Theodicies Chapter 8: The Ethical Perspective Chapter 9: Free Will PART 4: A Free-Will Theodicy: Evil and Many WorldsChapter 10: Moral Evil and the Quantum Multiverse Chapter 11: Natural Evil and the Quantum Multiverse Chapter 12: Resurrection and the Quantum MultiverseConclusion Appendix 1 : Probability Theory Appendix 2 : Is God a Rule-consequentialist?: Bayesian and Total Probability ArgumentsAppendix 3: Propositional Logic: Notation and RulesBibliography

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Book SynopsisA Hermeneutics of Contemplative Silence: Paul Ricoeur, Edith Stein, and the Heart of Meaning brings together the work of Paul Ricoeur and Edith Stein and locates the role of silence in the creation of meaning. Michele Kueter Petersen argues that human being is language and silence. Contemplative silence manifests a mode of capable human being whereby a shared world of meaning is constituted and created. The analysis culminates with the claim that a hermeneutics of contemplative silence manifests a deeper level of awareness as a poetics of presencing a shared humanity. The term “awareness” refers to five crucial levels of meaning-creating consciousness that are ingredients in the practice of contemplative silence. Contemplative awareness includes both the experience and the understanding of the proper ordering of relational realities. The practice of contemplative silence is a spiritual and ethical activity that aims at transforming reflexive consciousness. Inasmuch as it leads to openness to new motivation and intention for acting in relation to others, contemplative awareness elicits movement through the ongoing exercise of rethinking those relational realities in and for the world. The texts of Ricoeur and Stein reveal a contemplative discourse of praise and beauty for capable human beings whose actions and suffering respond to word and silence.Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPrelude: A Poetic PresenceChapter 1: Fallible HumanChapter 2: Fallibility Gives Rise to Hermeneutics Chapter 3: Capable Human and the Role of Silence in the Creation of MeaningChapter 4: The Practice of Contemplative Silence as a Historical PhenomenonChapter 5: Edith Stein and the Carmelite Tradition: Blazing a Prophetic Path in the Light of LoveChapter 6: The Practice of Contemplative Silence as a Transformative Spiritual and Ethical ActivityChapter 7: The Meaning of Capable HumanChapter 8: A Song of Hermeneutical ExistencePostlude: Towards a Third NaivetéBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisA Hermeneutics of Contemplative Silence: Paul Ricoeur, Edith Stein, and the Heart of Meaning brings together the work of Paul Ricoeur and Edith Stein and locates the role of silence in the creation of meaning. Michele Kueter Petersen argues that human being is language and silence. Contemplative silence manifests a mode of capable human being whereby a shared world of meaning is constituted and created. The analysis culminates with the claim that a hermeneutics of contemplative silence manifests a deeper level of awareness as a poetics of presencing a shared humanity. The term “awareness” refers to five crucial levels of meaning-creating consciousness that are ingredients in the practice of contemplative silence. Contemplative awareness includes self-critique as integral to the experience and the understanding of the virtuous ordering of relational realities. The practice of contemplative silence is a spiritual and ethical activity that aims at transforming reflexive consciousness. Inasmuch as it leads to openness to new motivation and intention for acting in relation to others, contemplative awareness elicits movement through the ongoing exercise of rethinking those relational realities in and for the world. The texts of Ricoeur and Stein reveal a contemplative discourse of praise and beauty for capable human beings whose actions and suffering respond to word and silence.Trade Review“In an age marked by increasing hostility to 'the other,' Prof. Michele Kueter Petersen offers a timely and engaging thought experiment concerning the importance of 'contemplative silence' in terms of thinking reflectively about being while also thinking creatively about one’s self and one’s relationship to others and to the larger world. Paul Ricoeur and Edith Stein, two brilliant phenomenologists of the twentieth century whose lives were indelibly marked by the suffering of two world wars, help Prof. Petersen guide the reader through an analysis of various contemporary philosophical issues impacted by dialectic and hermeneutics, empathy and difference, institutional conflicts and personal–social transformation.” -- Michael F. Andrews, Loyola University ChicagoStein’s profound intellectual and spiritual integrity are gifts shaped by her Jewish heritage, her contemplative heart, her dynamic intellect, her newfound Christian faith lived as Carmelite nun known as Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Finally, this Carmelite martyred at Auschwitz was shaped by her understanding and practice of contemplative silence. * Keith J. Egan, Adjunct Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame *Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPrelude: A Poetic PresenceChapter 1: Fallible HumanChapter 2: Fallibility Gives Rise to Hermeneutics Chapter 3: Capable Human and the Role of Silence in the Creation of MeaningChapter 4: The Practice of Contemplative Silence as a Historical PhenomenonChapter 5: Edith Stein and the Carmelite Tradition: Blazing a Prophetic Path in the Light of LoveChapter 6: The Practice of Contemplative Silence as a Transformative Spiritual and Ethical ActivityChapter 7: The Meaning of Capable HumanChapter 8: A Song of Hermeneutical ExistencePostlude: Towards a Third NaivetéBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisJulia Tanney’s Meaning, Mind, and Action challenges widely held presuppositions within philosophy in its classical ‘analytic’, ‘naturalist’, and ‘cognitivist’ forms. Beginning with canonical views in the philosophy of language and logic, the arguments are then applied to discussions of knowledge, action, causation, the nature of the mental, consciousness, and thinking. Responding to a tradition that harks back to Plato and was resurrected by Mill, Frege, Russell, Moore, and the early Wittgenstein, Meaning, Mind, and Action challenges today’s orthodoxy on its own terms, beginning with canonical views in the philosophy of language and philosophical logic. The arguments of these early chapters are then applied to the theory of knowledge, action, and causation, followed by those on the nature of the mental, consciousness, and thinking. The final section, on the logic of the mental, widens the arguments to include the subject of animal minds, the postulation of mental representations in cultural anthropology, the author’s intention in literary theory, and the philosophical problem of irrationality in psychiatry.Trade Review“Julia Tanney has brought together fourteen of her essays, mostly written in the last decade. They display her usual lucidity and thoughtfulness, as well as her characteristic and admirable determination to swim against the current of the times. Her essays are both provocative and convincing, as well as enjoyable to read.” —Peter Hacker, St John's College Oxford, UK.“Tanney uses Wittgenstein, Ryle and Austin’s tools to counter strong currents in contemporary analytic philosophy and in a way that should engage those not already in the Wittgenstein camp. Her work takes us where Wittgenstein could have traveled if he were inclined to be more systematic. Penetrating and impressive.” —Professor James C. Klagge, Department of Philosophy, Virginia Tech, USA. “Julia Tanney brilliantly demonstrates the continued relevance of ordinary language philosophy. Drawing on the fundamental insight that words must be understood in the many contexts of their use, she challenges orthodoxy in, and sheds new light on, such diverse areas as epistemology, the philosophy of action, and the philosophy of mind. This book deserves a wide audience.” —Michael Kremer, Mary R. Morton Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Chicago, USA.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I Meaning and Philosophical Logic; Chapter One, Explaining What We Mean; Chapter Two Rule Following, Intellectualism, and Logical Reasoning: On the Importance of a Type Distinction between Performances and “Propositional Knowledge” of the Norms that Govern Them; Chapter Three, Wittgenstein on Rule Following and Interpretation; Part II Knowing, Action, and Causation, Chapter Four What Knowledge Is Not: Reflections on Some Uses of the Verb “To Know”; Chapter Five, Remarks on the “Thickness” of Action Description; Chapter Six, Prolegomena to a Cartographical Investigation of Cause and Reason; Part III Mind, Consciousness, and Thinking, Chapter Seven, The Location of the Mind; Chapter Eight, Some Absurdities in the Notion of “Conscious Experience”; Chapter Nine, “Ordinary” Consciousness; Chapter Ten, A Peg for Some Thoughts; Part IV The Logic of the Mental, Chapter Eleven, Rational Animals; Chapter Twelve, Investigating Cultures: A Critique of Cognitive Anthropology; Chapter Thirteen “The Colour Flows Back”: Intention and Interpretation in Literature and Everyday Action; Chapter Fourteen Trauma and Belief; Acknowledgments; Provenance of Essays; Index.

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Book SynopsisReading as a Philosophical Practice asks why reading—everyday reading for pleasure—matters so profoundly to so many people. Its answer is that reading is an implicitly philosophical activity. To passionate readers, it is a way of working through, and taking a stand on, certain fundamental questions about who and what we are, how we should live, and how we relate to other things. The book examines the lessons that the activity of reading seems to teach about selfhood, morality and ontology, and it tries to clarify the sometimes paradoxical claims that serious readers have made about it. To do so, it proposes an original theoretical framework based on Virginia Woolf’s notion of the common reader and Alasdair MacIntyre’s conception of practice. It also asks whether reading can continue to play this role as paper is replaced by electronic screens.Trade Review“Robert Piercey has written an important, engaging, and accessible book about books – specifically, about why we should all read more books. He argues that reading is a philosophical practice as conceived by Alasdair MacIntyre and that we should think about the benefits of the practice in terms of this conception rather than in the narrower frames of reference currently employed by the disciplines of literary aesthetics and literary criticism. Piercey has the enviable ability to both make an original contribution to academic scholarship across several disciplines and provide an intelligent and lively read for those that care about books outside the academy. To use his own term, this is a book for everyone who has a reading life, whether or not they are aware of it.” — Rafe McGregor, Senior Lecturer, Edge Hill University, UK“Drawing on rich historical and academic sources, Rob Piercey presents a clear and convincing case as to how reading can be philosophical. At a time when many of us have been brought back to our reading roots, Reading as a Philosophical Practice is the perfect companion in a time of COVID.” — Todd Mei, Associate Professor, Philosophy, University of Kent, UKRobert Piercey’s Reading as a Philosophical Practice is a humane and generous book—that rare work that doubles as a rewarding scholarly inquiry and an accessible guide for the general reader. Sailing resolutely against the prevailing sentiment that books are an anachronism, Piercey believes that the practice of reading and the reading life offer a precious space of reflection for the cultivation of what is meaningful, and an indispensable element in the constitution of one’s own self. A work clearly written by someone who loves his theme, Piercey elevates the existential claim that books—as a kind of being—have upon us. — John Arthos, Associate Professor of English, Indiana UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; 1. Philosophizing about Reading: The Very Idea; 2. The Reading Self; 3. The Reading Life; 4. Ethics from Reading?; 5. Ethics of Reading?; 6. Reading Things; 7. The Future of the Common Reader; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book is devoted to investigating the relationships and correspondences that hold between the poetry of Wallace Stevens and philosophy. Stevens used the aesthetically enhanced language of his poems to create inquiries into the nature of reality that parallel those conducted by philosophers. He also maintained poetry’s independence from philosophy. The first part of the book contains contributions that pursue various aspects of these parallels. Here, the authors explore the relations between Stevens’ poems and specific philosophical concepts or the thought of individual philosophers. The contributions in the second part narrow down the scope to the issues within the philosophy of language. This section concentrates on the role of metaphor and figurativeness in Stevens’ poetry.Table of ContentsWallace Stevens - Philosophy - Poetry - Figurative language - Metaphor - Reality - Imagination - Resemblance - Seeing as

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Book SynopsisThe social and technological developments, social movements, scientific discoveries, economic growth or diseconomies give rise to many problems for human beings. Many disciplines such as economics, political science, architecture, sociology and psychology discuss these problems and offer solutions from different perspectives. Philosophy has its own way of dealing with these problems. As opposed to the common belief, philosophy does not only deal with ideals independently of what is going on in real life. The problems of the contemporary philosophy are also the problems of the contemporary world. For this reason, this book aims to present and discuss certain philosophical problems in the contemporary world and to suggest solutions to them.Table of ContentsPoverty – Urbanism – Democracy – Politics and lying – Heuristics – Euthanasia – Narrative self – Perspectivism – Relativism – Multiculturalism – Ethical subjectivism – Normativity – Scepticism

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Book SynopsisThe primary objective of An Inquiry into the Nature of Aesthetic Theory in Its Relation to Theory of Knowledge in Kant’s Critical Philosophy is to investigate Kant’s aesthetic theory and its problematic relation to theory of knowledge in his transcendental philosophy. In the Critique of Judgment, Kant constructs his aesthetic theory by arguing that the aesthetic experience is based on a certain type of feeling, namely, the feeling of pleasure, rather than a concept. He grounds such a feeling on the aesthetic judgment of reflection. In spite of its nonconceptual and subjective characteristic, an aesthetic reflective judgment still has a claim to be universally valid. Here, the feeling of pleasure in beautiful is produced by the free harmonious relation between the imagination and the understanding. Judgment, in its reflective employment, does not determine its object but determines the feeling of pleasure in the judging subject. On the other hand, the categories, as pure concepts of the understanding, carry nearly all the weight in his theory of knowledge presented in the Critique of Pure Reason. The imagination, in this case, is strictly bound up by the rules that are imposed by the concepts of the understanding. By this way, judgment, as a cognitive faculty, determines its object and gains its objective validity. In this context, this book discusses the nature of Kant’s aesthetic theory and the components that constitute a pure aesthetic judgment of reflection and attempts to clarify its proper place in critical philosophy regarding his theory of knowledge.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ............................................................................................. 11 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 13 2 Kant’s Theory of Reflective Judgment .................................................. 19 2.1. General Description of Reflective Judgment ........................................... 19 2.2. The Problematic Relation between Reflective and Determinative Judgments ..................................................................................................... 22 2.2.1. Further Remarks on the Issue .......................................................... 28 2.3. The Structure of Kant’s Exposition of the Introductions ....................... 32 2.4. The Principle of Purposiveness, the Principle of Systematicity and Nature: The Need for Reflective Judgment ....................................... 33 2.5. The Supplementary Notions: Technic of Nature, the Specification of Nature, Analogy and Symbol ................................................................ 46 2.6. Kant’s Problematic Transition from the Principle of Purposiveness and the Principle of Systematicity to the Aesthetic Theory ........................................................................................................... 57 2.7. The Arguments on the Problematic Relation between the Theory of Reflective Judgment and the Aesthetic Judgment of Reflection ....... 60 3 Kant’s Theory of Aesthetic Judgment of Reflection ....................... 75 3.1. General Description of Aesthetic Judgment of Reflection .................... 75 3.2. Disinterested Nature of Aesthetic Judgment of Reflection .................... 78 3.3. Subjective Universality: The Universal Voice .......................................... 81 3.3.1. “The Key to the Critique of Taste”: The First Rupture .................. 87 3.3.1.1. The Two-Acts View or the Double Process of Reflection ......................................................................... 913.3.1.2. The Counter-Arguments to the Two-Acts View and Alternative Explanations ........................................... 100 3.4. Kant’s Aesthetic Formalism: The Subjective Formal Purposiveness as the Purposiveness without a Purpose ...................... 106 3.4.1. Definitions and the Problem of Causal Relation: The Second Rupture ............................................................................... 107 3.4.2. Transcendental Aesthetic and the Matter of “Aesthetic Form” . 114 3.5. Exemplary Necessity and Sensus Communis ........................................ 124 3.6. The Harmony of the Cognitive Faculties as the Great Narrative without a Narrative: The Third Rupture ................................................. 129 3.6.1. Deduction and Kant’s Expositions ................................................ 130 3.6.2. Exemplary Arguments for the Harmony of the Cognitive Faculties ............................................................................................ 137 4 Stage I: Re-Considering the Faculties: Imagination (and Understanding) ............................................................................................ 149 4.1. General Descriptions ................................................................................ 149 4.2. The Position of Imagination in “A” Deduction ...................................... 151 4.3. The Position of Imagination in “B” Deduction ..................................... 155 4.3.1. Figurative Synthesis and Intellectual Synthesis ........................... 160 4.4. Schematism and the Implications of the Synthesis of Imagination .... 164 4.4.1. The Difference between the Apprehension of an Event and the Apprehension of an Object ...................................................... 168 4.5. Re-Examination of the Free Harmony of the Cognitive Faculties: The Last Attempt ...................................................................... 172 4.6. Concluding Remarks ................................................................................ 194 5 Stage II: Re-Considering the Faculties: Reason (and Understanding) ............................................................................................ 197 5.1. Reason and Its Relation to Understanding in the System of Transcendental Dialectic .......................................................................... 197 5.2. Transcendental Ideas as the Pure Concepts of Reason ........................ 2025.3. Cosmological Ideas and the Synthesis of Conditions .......................... 205 5.3.1. The Distinction between Mathematical Synthesis and Dynamical Synthesis ....................................................................... 207 5.4. Reason as a Higher Faculty: Regulative Employment of the Ideas ..... 212 5.5. Re-Examination of the Principles and the Nature as the Ground for the Reflective Judgment ..................................................................... 220 5.6. Concluding Remarks ................................................................................ 224 6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 227 Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 235

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Book SynopsisIn diesem Band werden beide Seiten von Medien diskutiert, die philosophische und die ästhetische. Historische Erörterungen zu Schriftlichkeit, Fotografie, Propaganda, Kulturindustrie, Interface, Algorithmen sowie Reflexionen zu den Ursprüngen der Kulturtechniken ergänzen die Auslotung der Medienmoderne. Denn: Medien schaffen neue Erfahrungsräume. Medientechnik hat nicht nur die Kommunikationsverhältnisse verändert, sondern auch das Denken und die Sinnesorganisation, wie insgesamt die Zuwendung zur Welt. Table of ContentsEinleitung.- Mediensphären.- Organprojektion.- Fotografie.- Propaganda.- Spektakel.- Interface.- Mediologie.- Algorithmizität.- Literatur.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisIn seven essays, this book offers a tour de force through those seven disciplines in the humanities that lately underwent a fundamental transformation. In order to apply “exact” scientific methods, these disciplines turned away from their very subjects— the understanding of the relationship or a dialogue that underlies the phenomena they are supposed to investigate. The revisionist approach in this book, based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s work, traces the search for common and specific grounds of the humanities, beginning with psychologism through hermeneutics and semiotics up to the present state of self-annihilation. As an alternative, the book seeks to define humanities as the examination of relationships, which offers an array of refreshing perspectives on each field discussed.Trade Review“This engaging volume offers seven chapters with different perspectives on the ‘dialogic’ in the humanities, taking Mikhail Bakhtin’s formulation and testing it from the perspective of seven different disciplines within the humanities. … This is a thought-provoking read for anyone working in the humanities now, although it does expect a reasonable degree of familiarity with Bakhtin, and it creates a strong argument for defining the humanities in terms of the relational and the dialogic.” —Forum for Modern Language Studies, Vol. 55, No. 2 * Forum for Modern Language Studies *Table of ContentsIntroductionMatthias Freise Internal Dialogism of Russian Postmodern Literature – Polyphony or Schizophrenia?Maria AndrianovaBetween Socrates and the Stranger: How Dialogic Are Plato’s Dialogues?Kryštof BoháčekDialogic Method in Literary HistoryMatthias FreiseTowards a Dialogical SociologyMichał KaczmarczykDiscourses in the Design of Cultural ArtifactsKlaus KrippendorffAttachment Patterns in the Bi-personal FieldReinhard PlassmannVoices in Image. A Methodological and Theoretical Approach to the Dialogic Image of the Other with the European Image of China as an ExampleXiaojing WangList of Contributors

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