A Semiotic Theory of Theology and Philosophy [Hardcover]

Robert S. Corrington (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521782716 | ISBN-13: 978-0521782715 | Publication Date: December 11, 2000

The concern of this work is with developing an alternative to standard categories in theology and philosophy, especially in terms of how they deal with nature. Avoiding the polemics of much contemporary reflection on nature, it shows how we are connected to nature through the unconscious and its unique way of reading and processing signs. Suggestions are made for a post-Christian way of understanding religion. Finally, our connection with the infinite is described in detail, especially as it relates to the use of sign systems.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book's argument is worth the reader's effort." Journal of Religion

"Robert Corrington's recent book is a stunningly original and imaginatively developed work of metaphysics...Persons unfamiliar with Corrington's earlier work should brace themselves for an extraordinary reading experience with this text. Only a handful of brave souls really do metaphysics anymore; and absolutely no one does it in quite the way that Corrington does it." --Michael L. Raposa, Modern Theology

"This is speculative philosophy that is challenging and refreshing." Philosophy in Review

Book Description

The concern of this work is with developing an alternative to standard categories in theology and philosophy, especially in terms of how they deal with nature. Avoiding the polemics of much contemporary reflection on nature, it shows how we are connected to nature through the unconscious and its unique way of reading and processing signs. Suggestions are made for a post-Christian way of understanding religion. Finally, our connection with the infinite is described in detail, especially as it relates to the use of sign systems.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 313 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (December 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521782716
• ISBN-13: 978-0521782715
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,278,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Highest Recommendation, April 14, 2001

By 

Elena Vishnevskaya (Madison, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Semiotic Theory of Theology and Philosophy (Hardcover)

In this beautifully written and concise book, Professor Corrington presents to the reader the capstone of his six previous books as they have developed his unique perspective of ecstatic naturalism. This form of naturalism, while rooted in classical Euro-American forms of naturalism (think of Dewey and Buchler here), makes a decisive break with the past by arguing for the primacy of the unconscious dimension of nature and for the reality of the potencies that enter into the world often when they are least expected. In order to frame his general philosophy, he engages in an ongoing respectful dialogue with psychoanalysis (especially that of Jung, Reich, and Kristeva), semiotic theory in the Peircean tradition, and a universalistic religiosity apparently shaped by his encounters with Hinduism and American Unitarianism. One of the key distinctions in the book is that between nature naturing (which he calls the underconscious dimension of nature) and nature natured (what he calls the world and all that it contains). Nature is not split into two halves, but exhibits two dimensions, the first of which is rarely probed by philosophy. He has an almost mystical sense of the presemiotic ground of nature and sees it as the birthing ground of the potencies (taking this word from Schelling). The other dimension of nature natured is explored in terms of an evolutionary semiotics that is bold enough to see sign usage in all of the prehuman order of the world. His phenomenological descriptions of these processes are often quite powerful. In this condensed but readable text he deals with the specific issues of what he calls the four infinities, the archetypes, the nature of time, the structure of the sign itself, the traits of natural verses interpretive communities, and concludes with a description of four types of sacred folds (a concept that he developed in his previous book Nature's Religion). Corrington already has a small but growing community of sympathetic interlocutors, and with the publication of this book from the distinguished Cambridge University Press, this community is sure to grow further. I can give this book my highest recommendation and I see it as an important milestone in the development of Corrington's ecstatic naturalism.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nature Deep and Strange, April 16, 2001

By 

Gudmarsdottir, Sigridur (Madison, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Semiotic Theory of Theology and Philosophy (Hardcover)

"A Semiotic Theory of Theology and Philosophy" deals with the concept of nature from an unusually broad perspective, viewing nature as encompassing every order of the world. It is innovative in method, weaving together different disciplines, methods and attunements, but at the same time rich and imaginative in its poetical style and metaphors. It opens up a new understanding of the depths and vastness of nature, worlds strange, scary but also fascinating. It reflects on the mystery of the sacred in nature and the meaning humans can make of their lives.

In this book Robert Corrington has managed to hold together the vital threads of his earlier books and add new insights as well to his thought of ecstatic naturalism.

Corrington's criticism of ecofeminist theology and philosophy struck me as unfair. It is my guess that ecofeminism and ecstatic naturalism will have an interesting, lively and productive discussion in the future.

I would recommend this important book to anyone interested in the connection between nature and the meaning of life, from a philosophical or a religious standpoint- ecofeminists too.