The Other Bishop Berkeley: An Exercise in Reenchantment [Hardcover]

Costica Bradatan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2007

Costica Bradatan proposes a new way of looking at the influential 18th-century Anglo-Irish empiricist and idealist philosopher. He approaches Berkeley's thought from the standpoint of its roots, rather than from how it has come to be viewed since his time. This book will interest scholars working in a wide variety of fields, from philosophy and the history of ideas to comparative literature, utopian studies, religious and medieval studies, and critical theory.This other Berkeley read and wrote alchemical books, daydreamed of Happy Islandsand the Earthly Paradiseand depicted them carefully, designed utopian projects and spent years trying to put them into practice. Bradatan discovers a thinker deeply rooted in Platonic, mystical, and sometimes esoteric traditions, who saw salvation as philosophy and practiced philosophy as a way of life. This book uncovers a richer Berkeley, a more profound and spectacular one, and, it is hoped, a more truthful one.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a refreshing and welcome book, illuminating aspects of Berkeley's thought that have been relatively neglected in recent scholarship." --Richard Glauser, "Philosophy in Review/Comptes Rendus Philosophiques"

"Costica Bradatan's book... surprises the reader through its uncompromisingly genealogical, comparative, and interdisciplinary approach. [...] Berkeley is permitted to speak for himself." --Thorsten Botz-Bornstein ("The European Legacy")

"Costica Bradatan's book contains several well written accounts of the European history of ideas and he relates them to Berkeley's writings in an interesting and challenging manner." --Timo Airaksinen ("Berkeley Studies")

"A study of the Anglo-Irish Idealist philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753) that examines his interest in alchemy, utopian projects, and other esoteric matters." -- The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 9, 2007

About the Author

Costica Bradatan is Assistant Professor of Honors at Texas Tech University. He has also taught at Cornell University, Miami University, as well as at several universities in Europe (England, Germany, Hungary and Romania) and Asia (India). Bradatan has held research fellowships at, among others, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of California Los Angeles, and the Newberry Library in Chicago. His research interests include Continental philosophy, history of philosophy, East-European philosophy, and philosophy of literature. He has co-edited (with Serguei Alex. Oushakine) In Marx's Shadow. Knowledge, Power and Intellectuals in Eastern Europe and Russia (Lexington Books, 2010) and guest-edited two special journal issues: one on "Philosophy as Literature" for The European Legacy (2009) and another on "Philosophy in Eastern Europe" for Angelaki (2010). 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Fordham University Press; 2 edition (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082322693X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823226931
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,263,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Costica Bradatan is Assistant Professor in the Honors College at Texas Tech University. He has also taught at Cornell University, Miami University, as well as at several universities in Europe (England, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania) and Asia (India, Turkey). Bradatan has held research fellowships at, among others, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of California Los Angeles, and the Newberry Library in Chicago. His research interests include Continental philosophy, history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, East-European philosophy, philosophy of literature and of film.

Bradatan is the author or editor (co-editor) of five books. His most recent authored book is "The Other Bishop Berkeley. An Exercise in Reenchantment" (Fordham University Press, 2006) and his most recent edited volume is "Philosophy, Society and the Cunning of History in Eastern Europe" (Routledge, 2012) Bradatan has also guest-edited a number of volumes as special journal issues. His work has been translated into several languages.

Bradatan often writes book reviews, essays and op-ed pieces for such publications as the New York Times, Times Literary Supplement, Times Higher Education, Christian Science Monitor, The Globe & Mail, The Australian, Dissent magazine, and other similar venues.

Personal webpage: http://www.webpages.ttu.edu/cbradata