Description
Book SynopsisThomas Berry had a gentle yet mesmerizing and luminescent presence that was evident to anyone who spent time with him. His intellectual scope and erudite manner were compelling, and the breadth, depth, clarity, and elegance of his vision was breathtaking. Berry was an intellectual giant and cultural visionary of extraordinary stature. Thomas Berry's vast knowledge of history, religions, and cultural histories is a unique blend revealing a genuine, original thinker. The ecological crisis, in all its manifestations, came to dominate Berry's concerns. He perceived that the greatest need was to offer the possibility of a viable future for an Earth community. Many know of his proposal for a functional cosmology, the need for a new story, and a vital Earth sensitive spirituality. Few know of his rich and varied intellectual journey. The Intellectual Journey of Thomas Berry: Imagining the Earth Community is about the roots and insights hidden within his ecological, spiritual proposal. The
Trade ReviewIt [this book] functions as an appreciative explication of some of the themes and backgrounds in Berry's work. * ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment *
This book, edited by Canadian theologian Heather Eaton, is clearly to be the definitive work on Thomas Berry. Berry was an immensely learned man. His lifetime of study led him across many groups of religion, philosophies, cultures, and science. His vision of a new universe story synthesized these many fields of thought. This book of fourteen essays elucidates these many areas of knowledge that went into his planetary vision. -- Rosemary Radford Ruether, Claremont School of Theology
Thomas Berry is one of the powerful and original thinkers of the last century; it's very good to see his crucial work set in context. -- Bill McKibben, author of "Radio Free Vermont"
This book makes clear that Berry’s insight that "the universe is a communion of subjects" has an importance comparable to that of the evolutionary origins of human beings, the unconscious dimension of experience, and the relativity of space and time. Perhaps now, in the twenty-first century, this book will enable far more people to appreciate his vision and to appropriate it, critically but humbly. -- John Cobb, Claremont Lincoln University
Table of ContentsForeword Brian Swimme Introduction Heather Eaton Chapter 1: Thomas Berry and the New Story: An Introduction to the Work of Thomas Berry Mary Evelyn Tucker Chapter 2: Exploring Thomas Berry’s Historical Vision John Grim Part I. Thomas Berry and Traditional Religions Chapter 3: Thomas Berry on Yoga, Buddhism and Carl Jung Christopher Key Chapple Chapter 4: The Influence of Confucianism on Thomas Berry’s Thought Mary Evelyn Tucker Chapter 5: Thomas Berry’s Understanding of the Psychic-Spiritual Dimension of Creation: Some Sources Dennis O’Hara Chapter 6: Understanding the Universe as Sacred: The Challenge for Contemporary Christianity Cristina Vanin Chapter 7: Thomas Berry and Indigenous Thought: First Nations and Communion with the Natural World John Grim Chapter 8: Metamorphosis: A Cosmology of Religions in an Ecological Age Heather Eaton Part II. Expanding Horizons Chapter 9: The Great Work in a Sacred Universe: The Role of Science in Berry’s Visionary Proposal Anne Marie Dalton Chapter 10: The Earth Jurisprudence of Thomas Berry and the Tradition of Revolutionary Law Brian Brown Chapter 11: From the Daily and Local to the Communion of Subjects Paul Waldau Afterword: Postmodern Suggestions Stephen Dunn
