Description
Book SynopsisSuitable for scholars and students of modern philosophy, Christian theology, psychoanalytic theory, and literary criticism, this title presents a genealogy and critique of the ideal of conscience in modern philosophical theology, particularly in the writings of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Kant.
Trade Review"Pacini's book is, at one level, a critique of modernity, and it deserves an honored place among some of the best recent critiques. More fundamentally, his book illuminates an idea whose inner workings call for a rare ability to think theologically in the context of a modern philosophical narrative. The 'religion' in a religion of conscience defies the usual distinctions between religion and science, faith and reason, autonomy and dependence. Pacini deftly illuminates the depths of that brave new religion." -- -James Wetzel Villanova University "Focuses on writings by Hobbes, Rousseau, and Kant in a study of the concept of conscience in modern philosophical theology." -The Chronicle of Higher Education "Pacini's book provides a very original, lively, and well-informed account of difficulties in the modern notion of conscience, which came to dominate philosophical perspectives on Christianity in the period from Hobbes through Rousseau and Kant. The volume is an excellent general study of a key topic in the development of modernity, and it provides insightful criticisms of Kant's philosophy of religion in particular." -- -Karl Ameriks University of Notre Dame "An original and important contribution to current discussion in philosophy of religion, theology, and literary theory." -- -Mark C. Taylor Columbia University "An historico-critical tour de force...Pacini is a master of 'close-readings'." -- -Carl Raschke University of Denver "This book is an important, fascinating set of essays that delineate the notion of the "religion of conscience" in Hobbes, Rousseau, and Kant. Pacini (Emory Univ.) uses this narrative to engage Wittgenstein, Freud, and Karl Barth. His history demonstrates the loss of an understanding of God as "wholly other" in the wake of Enlightenment beliefs that an autonomous subject could determine what was good and moral on the basis of rationality alone. This shift led to the loss of an understanding of God as being outside the human subject. The celebration of autonomy and the self-legislating subject made certain issues in ethics, self-understanding, and moral formation problematic. Pacini's conclusion introduces Freud and Barth to provide psychological and theological critiques of the Enlightenment conscience. The author's ability to make philosophical and psychoanalytic debates integral to a theological narrative is a rare achievement. This is a remarkable piece of scholarship. However, those not fully versed in philosophy and theology will find its technical and complex arguments difficult to follow. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and faculty/researchers." -Choice
