Continuum Philosophy News

A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion named an "Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" by Choice

We're delighted to see that A Dictionary of Philosophy of Philosophy of Religion has been named an "Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" (2011) by Choice magazine. Congratulations to the editors, Charles Taliaferro and Elsa Marty and to the many scholars who contributed entries.

In recognizing the contribution of the Dictionary to the field, Choice’s review called the book "essential" and noted that it is "the first significant dictionary of its kind to appear in over 20 years."

Here is the full review, together with two other notable endorsements:

 "This philosophy of religion volume is the first significant dictionary of its kind to appear in over 20 years. While other excellent reference books in this area have been published more recently, such as The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion, edited by W. J. Wainwright and A Companion to Philosophy of Religion, edited by P. L. Quinn and C. Taliaferro, a need has existed for an up-to-date, high-quality dictionary to cover new topics, concepts, and people, along with new developments on established themes. This dictionary has several hundred entries ranging in length from a single sentence to two pages. On average, between three and four entries appear on each page. Dictionary items are well written and interesting; although Taliaferro and Marty wrote the majority of them, other scholars from reputable academic institutions contributed as well. Additionally, this volume has a helpful introductory essay, a six-page chronology of people and events, and a thorough bibliography. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers." -- Choice

"This dictionary is precisely what a student will reach for regularly as the class notes and assigned readings turn cryptic. The entries are very well chosen and the brief definitions—some standing as actual discussions—are presented with clarity and economy. It is a volume that will earn the thanks of untold numbers". -- Daniel N. Robinson, Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, UK, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Georgetown University, USA.

“This dictionary is informative, highly comprehensive, and a valuable research resource for students and scholars alike.” -- Robert Audi, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, USA, and General Editor of The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy.

Free Will: A Guide for the Perplexed by T.J. Mawson

It is perhaps surprising that free will has not been covered in our Guides for the Perplexed series before now, so central is it as a topic for debate at all levels of study, both in philosophy and philosophy of religion. However, that oversight has now been rectified with the publication of T.J. Mawson’s fine contribution to the series. Dr. Mawson, a Fellow and Tutor at St. Peter’s College (University of Oxford), has, in the spirit of the series, attempted to narrow in upon and unravel those aspect of free will that students find especially problematic and difficult (no small undertaking).

"An engagingly-written and thought-provoking introduction to the free will problem, full of innovative examples and arguments; and at the same time an original defense of a distinctive libertarian view of free will." -- Robert Kane, University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Professor of Law at The University of Texas at Austin, and editor of The Oxford Handbook of Free Will.

"Stimulating and engaging: Mawson is a genial guide, drawing the reader into an extended conversation on a perennially perplexing problem of philosophy. The standard ground is covered, but with regular original touches – and, if perplexity is not removed altogether by Mawson’s common sense defence of an agent-causalist libertarianism, at least it will be a perplexity better understood." -- John Bishop, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Auckland, New Zealand

I was also pleased to be notified this morning of a rather nice review of Kerry Walter's Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed in the most recent issue of Religion and Theology:

"It is hard to fault with what is an excellent contribution to Continuum’s generally excellent ‘A Guide for the Perplexed’ series. Walters has achieved what he says he is setting out to achieve, an introduction that moves beyond the pyrotechnics and polemics of the protagonists to even-handedly describe, in plain English, the arguments for and against atheism. [...] With this Guide Walters has provided an introduction that will be either an invaluable textbook for undergraduates navigating their way into new academic territory or an important single read for general readers interested in trying to make sense of what is clearly an important area of contemporary debate that will yet have a long way to run. Walters skillfully directs his readers around the intricacies of what can be (literally) dispiriting debates, and his list of works cited is an invaluable." -- Religion and Theology

 Haaris Naqvi
Acquisitions Editor | Philosophy of Religion

Times Higher Education 'applauds' Derrida: Profanations

A review of Derrida: Profanations has published in today's edition of Times Higher Education - and as THE publish all their reviews online too, you can read it for yourself here.

What I particularly like about this review is that the reviewer appreciates the book because it's an 'important but obscure interpretation of Derrida's work' - it's nice that the book is being recognised and enjoyed for its orginality!

The reviewer, Robert Eaglestone (Royal Holloway, UK) also admires us for publishing it - which is always good to hear! I'll leave you with his closing thoughts: 'Continuum should be applauded for publishing it. On the savannah of academic publishing, there are, of course, books that are great beasts, audible to all as they roar; there are herds of textbooks, to be hunted and fed upon; and then there are smaller creatures, often unglamorous and seen only by a few but that are absolutely essential to the ecosystem. Without them the whole savannah becomes stale and lifeless: with them it calls out to life. This book is one of those: less a profanation, perhaps, than a provocation.'

Carly

NDPR review Lost Intimacy in American Thought

We're always pleased to see reviews - so Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews have made our day by putting up a detailed one of Lost Intimacy in American Thought: Recovering Personal Philosophy from Thoreau to Cavell by Edward F. Mooney where reviewer, Tim Gould, praises the book's 'power', calling it 'eloquent and challenging'. Read the full review.

To remind you, this book engages Henry David Thoreau, Stanley Cavell, Hanna Arendt, Henry Bugbee, Henry James, Bruce Wilshire, and others as exemplars of intimate, transformational writing and was out late last year.  Edward Mooney (Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Syracuse University, NY, USA) also wrote a guest post for us talking about the book which can still be viewed here.

Carly

Salomon Maimon online reading group now underway

As I mentioned in a previous post, a summer online reading event was scheduled by the people behind the Perverse Egalitarianism blog for the book Essay on Transcendental Philosophy, by Salomon Maimon.

The discussion is now in full swing since starting a couple of weeks ago and is not only featuring dissections of each chapter, but also additional contributions on related topics such as a post of Maimon's essay 'The Philosophical-Language Confusion' and a post by Mikhail Emelianov on Kant's Transcendental Deduction.  You'll also see one of the book's translators, Nick Midgley, is frequently contributing to the discussion.

You can see a summary page of all of the posts that have already gone up and also of the ones scheduled to follow by clicking here.

Carly

Alan Montefiore reviews Kant's Critique of Aesthetic Judgement: A Reader's Guide

I'm delighted to post an exclusive review by Alan Montefiore on one of the books in our Reader's Guides series.  I'm sure most of you are aware of Alan; currently President of the Forum for European Philosophy, he has in the past taught at Balliol College, Oxford University, London School of Economics and, of course, the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex which we've been hearing so much about lately with its closure.

The Guide in question is the recently published Kant's Critique of Aesthetic Judgement by Fiona Hughes, who is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Essex.  And you can of course preview the book by clicking on the link in the box on the left, as usual.

The review is below and here's a snippet from the end: 'I can only repeat how much I agree with Sebastien Gardner’s assessment of the contribution that her outstandingly careful reading makes to the study of Kant’s aesthetic theory - as indeed to Kantian studies in general.' 

Fiona Hughes: Kant’s Critique of Aesthetic Judgement: A Reader’s Guide

On the back cover of this closely argued book, Sebastien Gardner is quoted as saying that “Hughes’ lucid and insightful commentary allows readers to grasp the importance and abiding interest of Kant’s aesthetic theory, while bringing out the intricacies and subtleties of Kant’s text.” Coming from such a source, this is no casual endorsement, and – I should say straightaway – one that I take to be fully merited. The greater part of the book consists of a close textual reading of the aesthetic part of Kant’s third Critique, the Critique of Judgement, a reading in which she fully admits to having “drawn out a particular direction in Kant’s text and one that is not always evident. In so doing”, she goes on, “I have emphasized aspects which other interpreters – and even, on occasion, Kant himself – have not always brought to the fore, while I have left in the background other issues that would, had we more time, merit examination. But this is the fate of all readings, however long or short.” (p.152)

Great reviews from French Studies journal

The people in charge of French Studies journal have kindly agreed to let us post links to access the full reviews for Alain Badiou: Live Theory and Derrida's Writing and Difference that published in April 2010's edition.

Both in-depth reviews are excellent and if you've ever pondered whether either book would be suitable as a teaching aid or if they could be choice reading for your own interests, they're worth a look.

Here's tasters - click on the book's titles to go straight to the review:

Alain Badiou: Live Theory

'One of a number of important works published in recent years which explore Badiou's thinking and interrogate its significance within the field of contemporary European philosophy ... There is much here for critical debate amongst experienced readers of Badiou ... a valuable and welcome contribution to the reception of this important contemporary philosopher.'

Derrida's Writing and Difference

'Does a good job of introducing Derrida in a fresh and immediate way ... [Wood] is sensitive to Derrida's style of writing without letting it (for the most part) take over her own approachable idiom ... This book has many features that will be attractive to the undergraduate readership the series seeks ... [leaves] the reader wanting to reach for Writing and Difference itself - which, after all, is the point.'

Carly

'A German Idealism Summer' - two online book events

Hi All

I would like to bring to your attention two imminent book reading events happening on (other) blogs that will make this, as Mikhail Emelianov puts it on one blog, 'a German Idealism Summer'!  The brilliant thing about both events being that as they are happening in the online blogosphere, potentially anyone can participate and join in with the discussions.

Listed in chronological order:

#1 - starts May 10th @ An und für sich

Book discussion of Mythology, Madness and Laughter: Subjectivity in German Idealism, by Markus Gabriel and Slavoj Žižek

The folks at An und für sich, who we've mentioned here on the blog before, are about to begin their reading event for Mythology, Madness and Laughter, which published last year.  Once it kicks off, this event will involve frequent posts (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) that discuss the book in great detail (examining the arguments in each chapter), inviting comments from those also reading along.  You can see other examples of similar events here and here, to see what to expect! 

#2 - starts June 15th (tentative) @ Perverse Egalitarianism

Book discussion of Essay on Transcendental Philosophy, by Salomon Maimon

This reading group event, starting about a month after the one above, is for the Maimon translation that published earlier this year, Essay on Trascendental Philosophy.  From looking at the reading group posts for last year's book (coindidentally by our author, Lee Braver), you can again expect an incredibly in-depth discussion that invites anyone with a copy and the will to join in!

Carly

Aesthetics and Painting - high praise from British Journal of Aesthetics

We do often hear of reviews of our books appearing in journals (I don't have time to mention them all!), but it's not every day that such lengthy and glowing reviews come to our attention as appeared in the British Journal of Aesthetics recently for Aesthetics and Painting, by Jason Gaiger (Lecturer in Art History, Open University).  At approximately 3 A4 pages long, the reviewer, John Armstrong (University of Melbourne), has provided an incredibly detailed look at both the book and its area of concern, noting 'We need the analytic tradition of aesthetics to speak to the discipline of art history.  And it is this task that Aesthetics and Painting addresses.  It does so not in a spirit of polemic, but through a search for a genuinely adequate account of painting that will integrate both the philosophical and the historical approaches.'

In fact, John Armstrong has provided me with my favourite compliment for any book that I've seen when he says it is: 'a book with beautiful manners.'  By this he means 'manners that are unenforced, that have become second nature. Every point is made with perfect poise; without haste but with precisely the right degree of development needed to serve the larger argument.'

And if you thought this was praise enough, John concludes by delivering another wonderful compliment, this time directly to the author: 'It is the achievement of a classic mind - there is no trace of modishness, quibbling or pedantry. It radiates Palladian calm.'

I hope any of you that read the journal will enjoy the full review (which I can't get away with publishing here!)

And of course, Aesthetics and Painting is the most recent book published as part of the Continuum Aesthetics series, with other books illuminating topics such as Film, Music and Nature.

Carly

The Philosopher's Magazine reviews The Last Chance

Issue 49, 2nd quarter 2010 edition of The Philosopher's Magazine, features a lengthy review of the newly translated unfinished fourth volume in Jean-Paul Sartre's Roads of Freedom cycle; The Last Chance.  TPM have kindly agreed to let us post this to our blog, so here it is for your reading pleasure! 

Download The Last Chance review in TPM

Gary Cox reviews the work and concludes it is 'of huge importance to Sartre scholars for the moral, political and philosophical ideas it contains and for what it reveals about Sartre's post-war intellectual dilemmas ... [a] revealing and powerful fourth instalment.'

Don't forget, you can see a preview of the book itself here (via our website).