Description
Book SynopsisDemonstrates the originality and coherence of Jonathan Edwards' philosophical theology using his dynamic reconception of reality as the interpretive key. This book also explicates the way in which Edwards' dynamic reconception of reality informs his theories of imagination, aesthetic perception, the knowledge of God, and the meaning of history.
Trade Review"[An] enduring contribution to our understanding of the essential features of Edwards's thought. His is a bold and daring work in a way appropriate to the boldness of Edwards himself."--Roland A. Delattre, Religious Studies Review "Lee's book establishes [its author] at the pinnacle of scholarship on Edwards. He significantly advances the dynamic element in Edwards's theology that has eluded so many others."--John Stuart Erwin, American Historical Review "[The author's] is no small achievement ... to present Edwards's rich thought coherently while making it intensely relevant to contemporary intellectual concerns. Sang Lee's book is a central contribution to our increasing appreciation for this magisterial figure from the American past."--John F. Wilson, Theology Today
Table of ContentsPreface to the Expanded Edition ix Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xv I. Introduction: The Idea of Habit and Edwards' Dynamic Vision of Reality 3 II. The Idea of Habit 15 The Aristotelian-Thomistic Tradition 17 Ideas of Habit in Edwards' Background 22 Edwards'Idea of Habit 34 III. Being as Habit 47 Edwards' Dispositional Ontology 48 Habits and Laws as the Permanence of the Created World 51 IV. Being as Relational and Dynamic 76 Habits and Laws as the Structure of Being 76 Habits and Laws as the Dynamic Principles of Being 95 V. Imagination as the Habit of Mind 115 Locke and the Cambridge Platonists 117 The Imagination of the Habit of Mind 125 VI. Imagination as Aesthetic Sense 147 The Habit of Mind and the Sensation of Beauty 148 The Ontological Function of the Imagination 165 VII. The Increasing Fullness of the Divine Being 170 God as Disposition and Actuality 175 The Fullness of God 185 God's Self-Enlargement ad Extra 196 VIII. God and the Becoming of the World 211 The Temporality of the Self-Enlarging God and the Meaning and Destiny of History 214 The Rhythm of the Becoming of the World 223 Appendix Jonathan Edwards on Nature 243 Index 269
