Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines and clarifies the nature, meaning, significance and vitality of the sacred (and the profane), in relation to some of the diverse religions of the world and the rich and multifarious traditions of the sacred in many cultures and times, in the context of ontology (broadly, the philosophical study or investigation of being). It provides incisive critical analyses and evaluations of many important contributions to our understanding of the sacred, and the holy, especially in relation to the world''s religions, religious experience, religious insight or knowledge, metaphysics, mythology and mysticism. A number of important theories and explanations are also critically analyzed and evaluated, including the numinous theory of the sacred and the holy (Otto), the psychodynamic theory (Freud), the sociological theory (Durkheim), empirical theories (Russell and Ayer), the ontological question (Heidegger) and the hierophantic theory (Eliade)among others. The book concludes with a
Table of ContentsChapter 1: On the Meaning, Dimensions and Functions of the Sacred (and the Holy)
Chapter 2: The Varieties of Religious Experience
Chapter 3: The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
Chapter 4: Religious Experience, Language, Truth, and Logic
Chapter 5: Two Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on the Sacred
Chapter 6: “The Future of an Illusion”?
Chapter 7: The Ontological Question
Chapter 8: The Path that Leads to the House of Being
Chapter 9: “A Sacred Mythic Geography”: Eliade, Ontology, and the Sacred
Chapter 10: Ten Short Reflections on the Ontology of the Sacred
Bibliography
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