The Religious Existentialists And The Redemption Of Feeling

Traditional philosophizing has generally depended upon reason as its primary access to truth. Subjective experiences such as feelings, the passions, and emotions have typically been viewed as secondary to reason, untrustworthy, or both. The Religious Existentialists and the Redemption of Feeling revisits how the movement of existentialism, via the religious existentialists, has contributed to a rethinking of the role of subjective experience, in contrast to the rationalist and idealist traditions, thus reframing the importance of feelings in general for the philosophical enterprise as a whole. Through the considerations of a variety of thinkers, this collection provides a fresh look at the contributions of twentieth-century existentialists, thereby re-contextualizing the very notion of existentialism, offering a powerful and genuine re-evaluation of the significance of subjectivity, and underscoring the continued relevance of the religious existentialists.

This book seeks to examine the mutual interplay between existentialism and Christian belief as seen through the work of three existentialist thinkers who were also committed Christians - a Spaniard (Miguel de Unamuno), a Russian (Nikolai Berdyaev), and a Frenchman (Gabriel Marcel). They are compared with each other and with leading non-religious existentialists. The major themes studied include reason, freedom, the self, belief, hope, love, suffering, and immortality.

Existentialism, as a philosophy, gained prominence after World War II. Instead of focusing upon a particular aspect of human existence, existentialists argued that our focus must be upon the whole being as he/she exists in the world. Rebelling against the rationalism of such philosophers as Descartes and Hegel, existentialists reject the emphasis placed on man as primarily a thinking being. Freedom is central to human existence, and human relations and encounters cannot be reduced simply to "thinking." This Dictionary provides--through alphabetically arranged entries--overviews of the various tenets, philosophers, and writers of existentialism, and of those writers/philosophers who, in retrospect, seem to existentialists to espouse their philosophy: Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoyevski, et al.

“Kierkegaard’s complex legacy has been claimed by two often strikingly disjunctive traditions: the Christian and the existential. Leone, however, argues that a sensitive reading of the Danish philosopher reveals that the two strains are inseparable, producing an inclusive view of the self that is aware of its worldly manifestations as well as its spiritual relation to the absolute...Along the way, Leone astutely tackles some of the central topics in Kierkegaard’s esoteric body of work, including his unconventional view of God, his radical interpretation of faith, and his groundbreaking view of ethics, which turn out to be demanding but unencumbered by normative standards. What emerges from this analysis is a lively portrait of a philosopher who understood better than any philosopher before him the basic paradox of the self. Leone’s prose is refreshingly lucid...Still, the scholarly aims require a close read...A welcome, rigorous contribution to Kierkegaard-ian scholarship.” From a Kirkus Review

Explore the work of three great existential philosophers together in this collection. Hasidism: Zionist philosopher Martin Buber shares the results of forty years of study and introduces the philosophies of Hasidism to a Western audience. In this modern masterpiece, Buber interprets the ideas and motives that underlie the great Jewish religious movement of Hasidism and its creator, Baal Shem. Essays in Metaphysics: German philosopher Martin Heidegger presents two lectures in which he explores the nature of identity in the history of metaphysics. He offers illuminating insights on vital issues like technology, religion, language, history, and more. The Emotions: French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre attempts to understand the role emotions play in the human psyche. Sartre analyzes fear, lust, anguish, and melancholy while asserting that human beings begin to develop emotional capabilities from a very early age, which helps them identify and understand the emotions’ names and qualities later in life.

Existentialism was one of the most important influences on twentieth-century thought, especially in the period between the 1920s and early 1960s. Best known in its atheistic representatives such as Sartre, it also numbered many significant religious thinkers. Anxious Angels is a critical introduction to these religious existentialists, who are treated as a coherent group in their own right and not merely derivative of secular existentialism. The book argues that they constitute a distinctive religious voice that continues to merit attention in an era of postmodernity.