Is There a Sabbath for Thought?: Between Religion and Philosophy (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy) [Paperback]

William Desmond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005 | Series: Perspectives in Continental Philosophy

Seeking to renew an ancient companionship between the philosophical andthe religious, this book's meditative chapters dwell on certain elementalexperiences or happenings that keep the soul alive to the enigma of the divine.William Desmond engages the philosophical work of Pascal, Kant, Hegel,Nietzsche, Shestov, and Soloviev, among others, and pursues with a philosophicalmindfulness what is most intimate in us, yet most universal: sleep, poverty,imagination, courage and witness, reverence, hatred and love, peace and war.Being religious has to do with that intimate universal, beyond arbitrarysubjectivism and reductionist objectivism.In this book, he attempts to look at religion with a fresh and open mind,asking how philosophy might itself stand up to some of the questions posed toit by religion, not just how religion might stand up to the questions posed to it byphilosophy. Desmond tries to pursue a new and different policy, one faithfulto the light of this dialogue.

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About the Author

William Desmond teaches at the Center for Metaphysics at the Higher Institute, the University of Leuven. He is the author of Desire, Dialectic, and Otherness: An Essay on Origins and Bein and the Between.

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Fordham University Press; 2 edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823223736
• ISBN-13: 978-0823223732
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 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: #2,129,620 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 valuable and approachable text on the relation of philosophy and theology, August 18, 2006

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D. Larson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Is There a Sabbath for Thought?: Between Religion and Philosophy (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy) (Paperback)

In many cases the articles contained in this volume are more polished versions of earlier journal articles and guest lectures by Desmond. As a result, they are often free of the overwhelming amount of terminology on which other of Desmond's works rely. Thus, this text offers the reader a chance to become aqcuainted with Desmond's thought and goals without becoming pre-maturely mired in a protracted study.

In addition to being a good introduction to Desmond's thought, this collection of related reflections on philosophy and religion is valuable for a number of reasons. The discussion of what Desmond labels 'The Sleep of Finitude' is a fitting critique of modern assumptions which offers suprising conections between major modern philosophers. The chapter devoted to Nietzsche again offers insightful criticisms, but in a manner which allows Nietzsche's detractors to appreciate his thought even as they attack it. Finally, there are many points where Desmond offers a reminder of the inexact nature of philosophy and the necessity to avoid betraying the wonder and reverance that give birth to philosophy, science, and religion.