Description
Book SynopsisBeyond the Problem of Evil tackles the reinventing the philosophy of religion by way of a topic familiar to anyone who has encountered the field. By considering how the problem of evil is historically structured by commitments to theism alongside the recent calls for cross-cultural relevance in the field, the book offers an argument whereby philosophers of religion may globalize the scope of their work. Drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida and critical theorists of religion, the topic is reframed as an investigation of how social actors perceive necessities and grapple with accidents that disrupt them. In this way, the usual commitments to categories structured by theism no longer prevent cross-cultural studies of evil and the stage is set for rethinking the field.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction—Derrida and Anglophone Philosophy of Religion Chapter 1—A Problem of Persuasion Chapter 2—A Discourse on Evil within the Limits of Theism Alone Chapter 3—Orthodoxy and Others: Taking History Seriously Chapter 4—Subjectivity, Sovereignty and Law Chapter 5—Violence and Responsibility Chapter 6—Beyond the Problem of Evil Bibliography