Have We Need of Invoking Postmodernity? Identity and Difference in Theological Discourse

While the term postmodernity remains vague or equivocal, theologians increasingly concede that it is one which they can not avoid trying to understand and deal with. One definition of the term proceeds by way of sharp contrast with specific features of modernity, thus clearly distinguishing postmodernity from even late modernity. The key to this distinction seems to be a particular conception of difference which is worked out rigorously in Heidegger\u27s, The Principle of Identity. Proceeding from Heidegger\u27s claim to think difference anterior to identity, postmodernity is then presented here as the source of considerable difficulty to a theology which would seem committed to basic identification with Christ. Clarification of these difficulties and the dangers they harbor for a theology which would speak according to the postmodern condition illumines the general contours of a theology which instead speaks about it or in discussion with it. Some implications in the fields of pastoral and speculative theology are highlighted

The life and things of faith : A partial reading of Jean-Yves Lacoste

If faith makes up the living relation with a God who is not knowable as such, then we may find no better approach to the phenomenality of God than in some consideration of what that life proves capable of, and indeed incapable of. Among the essential fields of inquiry must be our engagement with things. Might there be something distinctive about how the believer dwells or works or eats? And might this tell us something about his or her relation with the unknowable God

Justice and mercy : Phenomenological explorations of theological space

To act mercifully is to do more than what is required for justice. The act appears as a positive exception to the rule of law, and thus exhibits an intentionality irreducible to consciousness of a social or political order. In this philosophy of Levinas, occasional references to mercy shed some light on the goodness of the good that is otherwise occluded by overt concentration on social or political justice. However, Levinas’s account of the act itself is not entirely convincing, and attempts to improve upon it lead toward a different conception of being and nature than one finds in his works

Three reflections on the margins of Paul Moyaert, "The Death Drive and the Nucleus of the Ego: An Introduction to Freudian Metaphysics"

Paul Moyaert proposes to resolve persistent difficulties in Freud's theory of drive by appealing to a metaphysics of mutually irreducible forces. His argument is persuasive on many points, but raises questions about others. Three of them are mentioned here: one each pertaining to the implications of his position for the body and sexuality, the analytic relation, and ethics

Interview with Jeffrey Bloechl on Phenomenology in a new key: Between analysis and history, by Jeffrey Bloechl

In this collection of essays, the sophistication and vibrancy of contemporary phenomenological research is documented, including both its engagement with key figures in the history of philosophy, and with critical problems defining future directions of philosophical investigations. It honors the writings of Richard Cobb-Stevens, whose work in phenomenological philosophy, analytic philosophy and the history of philosophy has served as model for generations of philosophers working between these three fields of research. The essays collected in this volume provide a unique window on the contemporary state of the art in phenomenological philosophy by leading scholars of international reputation from North America and Europe. Historical figures such as Aristotle and Hobbes are innovatively brought into dialogue with phenomenological thinking. Phenomenological thinking is brought to bear on a wide variety of problems, from the nature of artworks and photography to questions concerning consciousness and knowledge. Among the topics discussed in these specially commissioned essays: phenomenology and Aristotle; the nature of the primal ego; Hobbes and Husserl; intentionality and reference; Neo-Aristotelian ethics; Husserl and Wittgenstein; photography; the nature of artworks.Title supplied by cataloger

Agape Latte with Catherine Cornille and Jeffrey Bloechl:

Listen to one couples journey on El Camino