The Philosophy of Jonathan Edwards: A Study in Divine Semiotics (Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion) [Hardcover]

Stephen H. Daniel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 22, 1994 | Series: Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion

"In this challenging work, Daniel draws on the semiotics of Foucault, Kristeva, and Peirce to explore Edwards's typology.... elegant and important... " —Library Journal

"A provocative and at times brilliant reinterpretation of Edwards... " —Religious Studies Review

"... a comprehensive analysis and redefinition of the thought of Jonathan Edwards." —Peirce Project Newsletter

"... a new foundation for the study of Edwards's thought and rhetoric." —Wilson H. Kimnach

"... this is a superb and important book, one that deserves to be widely read and vigorously discussed." —Transactions of the Charles S. Pierce Society

"... Daniel's work ought... to be required reading among the Edwards guild, for it provides perhaps the best philosophical introduction in English to Edward's major writings." —Church History

Drawing on the semiotic work of Peirce, Foucault, and Kristeva, Stephen Daniel shows how the Renaissance theory of signatures provides Edwards and his contemporaries with a powerful alternative to the ideas of Descartes and Locke.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Puritan divine, Edwards is difficult to situate in the classical, philosophical episteme. In this challenging work, Daniel (philosophy, Texas A&M Univ.) draws on the semiotics of Foucault, Kristeva, and Peirce to explore Edwards's typology. Where the classical episteme posits a signifying idea beyond the sign, Edwards's develops a Renaissance-Stoic conception of the signifier-signified as a unit. Nature itself exists as a divine text, the Word made manifest, and the sign takes its meaning from the intertextual displacement with other signs. Original sin is the disintegration of the sign from its original unity, and Christ is the mediating sign that reestablishes the link between the language of nature and human language. This is an elegant and important book; recommended for academic libraries.
T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong State Coll., Savannah, Ga.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

STEPHEN H. DANIEL is Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University and author of Myth and Modern Philosophy and John Toland: His Methods, Manners, and Mind.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1St Edition edition (November 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 025331609X
• ISBN-13: 978-0253316097
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,074,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A difficult read, but worth the effort., July 15, 2007

By 

Aidan McDowell (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philosophy of Jonathan Edwards: A Study in Divine Semiotics (Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion) (Hardcover)

Prof. Daniel's work on the philosophy of Jonathan Edwards may well be the most difficult book I've ever tried to read. But having read enough to get the gist of his analysis, I can't imagine being without it. He makes a cogent case that, unless we know Edwards' intellectual background and why he thinks the way he does, we won't really understand Edwards at all. This would be unfortunate, because Edwards is arguably the most important theologian, next to Calvin and Luther, that Reformed Christianity has produced. If Prof. Daniel is right, then Edwards not only was far ahead of his own time, but he was, and is, far ahead of ours. It is painful to read much of Christian apologetics being produced nowadays, with its continuing modern bias. While Edwards surely came under the influence of modernity (especially as we find it in Locke and his contemporaries) he quickly perceived the limits and shortcomings of the modern world view. Nor did he allow his thinking to be uncritically informed by it. It would not, I think, be going too far to suggest parallels between Edwards' thought and postmodernism. I would recommend reading a book like "Who's Afraid of Post-Modernism" by James K.A. Smith, in conjunction with Prof. Daniel's work. Also, a reader well versed in Ramism would bring much to this book that would make the going easier. Some of the best thinking on Peter Ramus may be found in "Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue" by Walter Ong.
The problem is, however, that Edwards draws on many ideas and intellectual trends without saying so explicitly. For example, his views on language and how it works are extremely sophisticated, but nowhere in his works do we find a developed philosophy of language. He also writes extensively on Old Testament typology, but nowhere in his works will the reader find a systematic treatment of the subject by itself. All in all, Edwards makes great demands on the reader, despite his straightforward style of writing (taking into account the archaic expressions and diction which are found in his work). Prof. Daniel's commentary makes no fewer demands than Edwards. But anyone who has the fortitude to work through this book will have no problem reading anything Edwards has written.
Aidan M