Description
Book SynopsisBeyond Secular Order is the first of a two-volume work that expands upon renowned theologian John Milbank s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in his previously published classic text Theology and Social Theory.
Trade Review“Readers familiar with Milbank’s work will appreciate his focused prose while extensive footnotes referencing his previous work provide background information for others.” (Religious Studies Review, 7 December 2015)
“...Interesting, creative, suggestive, and beguiling… [Milbank] is fearless in his cross-examination of modern secularist assumptions about the autonomy of philosophy and its much-heralded liberation from theology’s apron strings.” (Church Times, 24 August 2015)
“Such a vision is partial and imperfect, but it’s a signpost that, as we continue to watch modern metaphysics and politics develop, will be an important critical and constructive dialogue partner for a long time to come.” (
Mockingbird, 14 February 2014)
"Here, in Beyond Secular Order, he offers a more concise systematic analysis focusing on the ontological and political dimensions of modernity. He lays bare the deep connections between metaphysical assumptions, on the one hand, and political and social implications, on the other." (SOPHIA 2015)
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ix
Preface: The Hidden Dimension of Humanity 1
Sequence on Modern Ontology 19
1 From Theology to Philosophy 19
2 The Four Pillars of Modern Philosophy 28
3 Modern Philosophy: A Theological Critique 49
4 Analogy versus Univocity 50
5 Identity versus Representation 57
6 Intentionality and Embodiment 66
7 Intentionality and Self hood 72
8 Reason and the Incarnation of the Logos 77
9 The Passivity of Modern Reason 81
10 The Baroque Simulation of Cosmic Order 86
11 Deconstructed Representation and Beyond 88
12 Passivity and Concursus 99
13 Representation in Philosophy 106
14 Actualism versus Possibilism 108
15 Influence versus Concurrence 112
16 Transition 113
Sequence on Political Ontology 114
1 Cosmos, Law and Morality 114
2 Metaphysics and Modern Politics 128
3 The Fate of the Rational Animal 137
4 The Irony of Representation 142
5 On Legal Concurrence 152
6 The Fate of the Social Animal 154
7 Representation and Mixed Government 170
8 Bureaucracy and the Formal Distinction 176
9 Form, Matter and Contract 177
10 The Antiquity of Historicism 184
11 The Sovereignty of the Artist 189
12 Eucharistic Creativity and Political Power 195
13 The Conundrum of Kingship 198
14 The Truth of Political Fiction 206
15 The Two Rival Constructions 208
16 Creativity and Mixed Government 211
17 Christological Constitutionalism 214
18 The Fate of the Fabricating Animal 218
19 The Fate of the Beast-Angel 220
20 The Death of Charity 225
21 Augustine’s Three Cities 228
22 Church as Cosmopolis 236
23 Aquinas and Kingship 240
24 The Theology of Ruling 247
25 The Ecumenico-Political Problem 254
26 Supernatural Charity and Global Order 257
27 Socialism Beyond the Left 261
28 Critique of All Materialisms 264
Index 271
