The End of Philosophy of Religion

by Nick Trakakis

Publisher:

Continuum

, 2011

The End of Philosophy of Religion explores the hitherto unchartered waters of the 'meta-philosophy of religion', that is, the methods and assumptions underlying the divergent ways of writing and studying the philosophy of religion that have emerged over the last century. It is also a first-class study of the weaknesses of the analytic approach in philosophy, particularly when it is applied to religious and aesthetic experience. Nick Trakakis' main line of argument is twofold.
 

Firstly, the Anglo-American analytic tradition of philosophy, by virtue of its attachment to scientific norms of rationality and truth, inevitably struggles to come to terms with the mysterious and transcendent reality that is disclosed in religious practice.

 Secondly, and more positively, alternatives to analytic philosophy of religion are available, not only within the various schools of so-called Continental philosophy, but also in explicitly narrative and literary approaches.

Features

Argues against the limitations of the analytic approach to philosophy of religion in favour of the Continental approach
Offers a diagnosis of the serious problems currently affecting the philosophy of religion, and goes further to relate them to the wider issues within academic philosophy and academia as a whole
The first in-depth study of the analytic-Continental divide as it has been played out in the philosophy of religion

Contents

1. Introduction: The Beginning of the End
2. Theodicy: The Solution to the Problem of Evil, or Part of the Problem?
What is a Theodicy?
Sketch of a Theodicy
The Anti-Theodical Critique
Suffering the Consequences
The Teleology of Suffering
The Challenge of Ivan Karamazov
Theoretical and Practical Problems of Evil
3. Meta-Philosophy of Religion: The Analytic-Continental Divide in Philosophy of Religion
The Great Divide Preliminary Matters
A Question of Style
Entering Deeper into Metaphilosophy: Analytical and Continental Approaches
Analytic Philosophy
Continental Philosophy
4. Continental Philosophy of Religion and Objections from the Analytic Camp
Continental Philosophy of Religion
The God of the Philosophers and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Objections from the Analytic Camp
Poor Form: the Language and Style of Continental Philosophy Lack of content: the underlying commitments of Continental Philosophy
Perspectivism
Non-realism
5. Kazantzakis' Poor Man of God: Philosophy without Philosophy
6. After the End of Philosophy of Religion

Praise for The End of Philosophy of Religion

'This is an insightful, sensitive and judicious book, full of careful distinctions, and it avoid tirades or over the top criticisms of either side. The book will be of interest to students and faculty working in the areas of analytic and continental philosophy of religion. There is a niche for this because there is very little sensible material out there, discussions of real worth, on the analytic/continental divide.' -- John D. Caputo, The Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Syracuse University, NY, USA

'Analytic philosophers tend to think of Continental philosophy as loose and literary, while Continental philosophers usually see analytic philosophy as narrow, pseudo-scientific, and abstracted from history. The best place for a conversation between them to begin is the philosophy of religion, and in his bold new work Nick Trakkakis does just that. The result: a meta-philosophy of religion, one that will perhaps retire some old debates and rejuvenate the field by redirecting many of its concerns about substance and style.' -- Kevin J. Hart, University of Virginia, USA

"Trakakis offers an important and bracing account of Philosophy of Religion and its End, and calls for us to think and imagine it anew. [...] This new broadened wisdom is supple enough to conceive religion and God in different and powerful ways, attentive to the incredible suffering of the world and the stakes of what it would mean to instantiate love in it. Philosophers of religion of all sorts should be grateful to Trakakis for his work of love."-- The International Journal of Philosophy of Religion

"The bulk of the book is one of the first comprehensive studies within the meta-philosophy of religion and it evidences all of the qualities of careful and perspicuous scholarship that have characterized Trakakis's earlier work." -- Religious Studies

Product Details

• Title: The End of Philosophy of Religion
• Author: Nick Trakakis
• Publisher: Continuum
• Print Publication Date: 2011
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781441127723, 9781441149701, 1441149708, 1441127720
• Resource ID: LLS:9781441127723
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-15T16:08:12Z

About Nick Trakakis

Nick Trakakis is a philosopher at Monash University in Australia, and during 2006-2007 was postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame. He works mainly at the intersections of philosophy, religion, and theology.