In the last month, Continuum has published four books focusing on moral and religious philosophy. Here’s a quick overview of this family of titles, with some praise from prominent readers:
Combating the notion of a “healthy” cynicism, Overcoming Cynicism demonstrates that the cynic engages not in genuine critique, but rather in a denial of the possibility of fruitful change. Megan Mustain brings a historical understanding of cynicism to bear on both the otherworldly outlook of Christian fundamentalism and the materialist doctrine of scientism. She offers an alternative path, confronting the real problems we encounter in our experiences of relations without either explaining those problems away or making them fundamental.
“I welcome Megan Mustain to the newest generation of creative and wise interpreters of our rich intellectual tradition as rooted in Classical American Philosophy.” -- John J. McDermott, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Texas A&M University, USA.
Moral Powers, Fragile Beliefs, edited by Joseph Carlisle, James C. Carter, and Daniel Whistler, suggests new ways of thinking about moral philosophy in its under-explored but potentially very fruitful encounter with philosophy of religion. The contributors to this volume undertake this project through a variety of novel approaches, via literature, psychoanalysis, history of philosophy, continental and feminist thought, as well as by means of analytic philosophy.
Contributors: Pamela Sue Anderson, Joseph Carlisle, James Carter, Beverley Clack, Brian Clack, Raimond Gaita, Anca Gheaus, Christopher Hamilton, Michele Kueter Petersen, Martin Warner, Daniel Whistler and Mark Wynn
"A fertile collection of papers, which supports the hope that current moral philosophy might break out of the specialised confines of narrow intellectual debate and recover its traditional role of coming to terms with the human condition in all its rich ethical and psychological complexity.”-- John Cottingham, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Reading, and Professorial Research Fellow, Heythrop College, University of London, UK.
In Art and Responsibility: A Phenomenology of the Diverging Paths of Rosenzweig and Heidegger, Jules Simon examines these philosophers’ essential work on aesthetics. He argues that their contrasting philosophies of art give rise to significant ethical directives, and that these precepts were decisive in shaping the thought of both philosophers.
“Instead of producing an intellectual history of these thinkers, the author seeks to elicit the ethical repercussions of their philosophies of art through careful philological-textual analysis of their dense writings. The juxtaposition of these two seminal German thinkers has engendered a fascinating study that undoubtedly will provoke lively discussion and debate in the years to come.” -- Elliot R. Wolfson, Abraham Lieberman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University, USA
Arriving a time when violence has many faces and goes by many names, Philosophy and the Return of Violence is proof that philosophy can remain a vital partner in the twin tasks of diagnosis and action. Philosophers such as Peg Birmingham, Robert Bernasconi, and Bernhard Waldenfels not only feel the distinct burden of our age but, with unflagging attention to the philosophical tradition, forge a pronounced counterweight to the violent gyre of today. Nathan Eckstrand and Christopher S. Yates have compiled the work of these thinkers in a stirring critique that looks outward upon the phenomena of injustice, and inward upon the instruments and assumptions of philosophical discourse itself.
Contributors: Peg Birmingham, Robert Bernasconi, Jeffrey Bloechl, Simon Critchley, Peter DeAngelis, James Dodd, Richard Kearney, John McCumber, Ann Murphy, Johanna Oksala, Paul Ricoeur, Dennis Schmidt, Bernhard Waldenfels, Christopher Yates.
“This important collection of papers, some appearing in English for the first time, and others written specially for this occasion, is a welcome, timely effort by a number of philosophers to examine facets of the ever-increasing spiral of violence embedded in the warp and woof of the contemporary world.”-- Tom Rockmore, McAnulty College Distinguished Professor and Professor of Philosophy, Duquesne University, USA
--Pavel Godfrey, Editorial Intern, Continuum New York
