Description
Book SynopsisThis collection introduces readers to the philosophical interpretation of Scripture, specifically within American Philosophy. The purpose of the collection concerns starting a conversation about the practice and task of the philosophical interpretation of Scripture. Reflections on the philosophical interpretation of Scripture have been treated more as a conversation-stopper than a conversation-starter within the American academy. To start such a conversation, this collection offers substantive accounts of the role of Scripture in the philosophical thought of fifteen American philosophers: Jane Addams, Henry Bugbee, Stanley Cavell, John Dewey, Jonathan Edwards, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, William James, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles Sanders Peirce, Josiah Royce, Richard Rorty, George Santayana, Henry David Thoreau, and Cornel West.
Trade ReviewAmerican Philosophers Read Scripture breaks down the old reason versus revelation debate surrounding scriptural interpretation by showing how American philosophers—regardless of theological tradition or religious orientation—used scripture as evidence for arguments or as inspirational starting-points of musement and action. It also highlights the critical role that reading plays in the life of those who write, be it Biblical texts or not. It also works at a meta-level, as astute philosophy and religion scholars read scripture along with those classic American scholars who read scripture. The book reminds us that the philosophical life extends into whatever text we read. -- Brad Elliott Stone, Loyola Marymount University
Surprising—I am delighted but surprised by the subject of this book. I had agreed to blurb the book because I think so highly of its editor, but I confess I thought the topic to be "one off." But these are wonderful essays that not only through light on largely ignored American philosophers (Bugbee) but just as important we learn how scripture can be read in constructive manner. I cannot recommend this book highly enough because it turns out the subject is not only interesting but significant for how to go on philosophically. -- Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University Divinity School
This collection of explorations into the manner and purpose of American philosophers’ reading of Scripture pushes back against trends in academic philosophy that seek to block this path of inquiry. The authors investigate the question with acuity, inventiveness, and care, such that the reader wants to learn more about the philosophers, previously known or unknown, whose use of Scripture has gone unnoticed or ignored. The book is a welcome invitation to a rich and longer conversation. -- Seth Vannatta, professor and chair, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Morgan State University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Section 1. Reading Genesis and Job with American Philosophers 1. Ann W. Duncan & Jacob L. Goodson, “Immortal Eve”? Genesis 1-3 in Margaret Fuller’s Woman in the Nineteenth Century 2. Edward Mooney, “In Demonstration of the Spirit”: Henry Bugbee’s Meditations on the Book of Job Section 2. Reading the Prophets with American Philosophers 3. William Danaher, “Fire Enfolding Itself”: Jonathan Edwards and the Merkabah 4. Willie Young, Gathering the Wild Fruits of Scripture: Henry David Thoreau’s Philosophical Interpretations of Scripture 5. Lawrence Ware, The Black Prophetic Tradition: Cornel West, Abraham Heschel, and the Biblical Prophets Section 3. Philosophical Interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels 6. Jacob L. Goodson, “Ye Shall Know Them By Their Fruits”: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Interpretation of Jesus’ Logical Rule 7. John R. Shook, Let the Philosophers Bury Their Own Dead: Matthew 8 and Luke 9 in John Dewey’s Philosophy Section 4. Moral Interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels 8. Ann W. Duncan, The Impossibility of Complacency: Scripture in the Life and Work of Jane Addams 9. Jacob L. Goodson, Secrecy and Suffering: The Sermon on the Mount in George Santayana’s The Idea of Christ 10. Eric Reitan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Scripture, and the Ethics of Love Section 5. Reading John’s Gospel and Epistles with American Philosophers 11. David O’Hara, Agapic Love as the Sole Principle of Logic: John’s Gospel, John’s Epistles, and C. S. Peirce’s Philosophy 12. William Elkins, What Is the Problem of Christianity? Echoes of John’s Theology in Josiah Royce’s Absolute Idealism Section 6. Reading 1 Corinthians with American Philosophers 13. Jacob L. Goodson and Quinlan C. Stein, William James on the Doctrine of Transubstantiation: American Transcendentalism vs. Roman Catholicism 14. Peter Dula, “Putting Away Childish Things”: Six Scenes of Instruction in Stanley Cavell’s Little Did I Know 15. Jacob L. Goodson, “And the Greatest of These Is Love”: 1 Corinthians 13 in Richard Rorty’s Neo-pragmatism Section 7. On the Philosophical Interpretation of Traditionally Sacred Texts 16. Roger Ward, How Jonathan Edwards Reads the Christian Scriptures 17. Isra Yazicioglu, How C. S. Peirce’s Pragmatism Helps for Interpreting the Qur’an About the Contributors
