Akiba J. Lerner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780823267910
- eISBN:
- 9780823272433
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823267910.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This is a book about our need for redemptive narratives to ward off despair and the dangers these same narratives create by raising expectations that are seldom fulfilled. This book also explores the ...
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This is a book about our need for redemptive narratives to ward off despair and the dangers these same narratives create by raising expectations that are seldom fulfilled. This book also explores the dialectical tension between the need and dangers of redemptive hope narratives by bringing together secular liberal democratic thought—as found within the work of late neo-pragmatic philosopher Richard Rorty—with religious liberal thinkers—such as Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch—for the purpose of exploring the contested intellectual history of redemptive hope narratives. This book begins by tracing the history of the tension between thinkers who have taken a theistic approach to hope by linking it to a transcendental signifier—usually God—versus those intellectuals who have striven to link hopes for redemption to our inter-subjective interactions with other human beings. Starting with Richard Rorty’s proposal for a postmetaphysical ideal of social hope, this book brings together modern Jewish thinkers—such as Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch—with debates over religion and liberalism in contemporary democratic culture. In the twenty-first century, secular liberal culture needs elements of religion to survive, and conversely religion cannot thrive without adopting insights from secular thought, particularly from thinkers like Rorty and Habermas. Bringing together these different thinkers and traditions allows us to better appreciate how maintaining rather than seeking to overcome the dialectical tensions between religious and liberal thought can actually provide a new redemptive narrative for the twenty-first century.Less
This is a book about our need for redemptive narratives to ward off despair and the dangers these same narratives create by raising expectations that are seldom fulfilled. This book also explores the dialectical tension between the need and dangers of redemptive hope narratives by bringing together secular liberal democratic thought—as found within the work of late neo-pragmatic philosopher Richard Rorty—with religious liberal thinkers—such as Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch—for the purpose of exploring the contested intellectual history of redemptive hope narratives. This book begins by tracing the history of the tension between thinkers who have taken a theistic approach to hope by linking it to a transcendental signifier—usually God—versus those intellectuals who have striven to link hopes for redemption to our inter-subjective interactions with other human beings. Starting with Richard Rorty’s proposal for a postmetaphysical ideal of social hope, this book brings together modern Jewish thinkers—such as Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch—with debates over religion and liberalism in contemporary democratic culture. In the twenty-first century, secular liberal culture needs elements of religion to survive, and conversely religion cannot thrive without adopting insights from secular thought, particularly from thinkers like Rorty and Habermas. Bringing together these different thinkers and traditions allows us to better appreciate how maintaining rather than seeking to overcome the dialectical tensions between religious and liberal thought can actually provide a new redemptive narrative for the twenty-first century.
Akiba J. Lerner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780823267910
- eISBN:
- 9780823272433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823267910.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This is a book about our need for redemptive narratives to ward off despair and the dangers these same narratives create by raising expectations that are seldom fulfilled. The story of the rise of ...
More
This is a book about our need for redemptive narratives to ward off despair and the dangers these same narratives create by raising expectations that are seldom fulfilled. The story of the rise of secular redemptive hope narratives from the age of Enlightenment to the early part of the twenty-first century has been a story of the struggle between heightened expectations and post-utopian despair. The quasi-messianic expectations produced by the election of President Obama in 2008—followed by the diminution of these expectations—point to the stark reality that redemptive hope is seldom satisfactorily fulfilled. The redemptive narratives surrounding Obama’s elections are a reminder that we are still wrestling with what the neo-pragmatist philosopher Richard Rorty considered to be one of the central intellectual challenges of our post-modern age, namely: Can solidarity with other people serve as a sufficient foundation for our social hopes, or do we need a transcendental force—like God—in order to maintain a grander vision of redemptive hope? This book engages this dilemma by bringing together Rorty’s neo-pragmatic version of social hope with the work of modern Jewish intellectuals, particularly that of Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch.Less
This is a book about our need for redemptive narratives to ward off despair and the dangers these same narratives create by raising expectations that are seldom fulfilled. The story of the rise of secular redemptive hope narratives from the age of Enlightenment to the early part of the twenty-first century has been a story of the struggle between heightened expectations and post-utopian despair. The quasi-messianic expectations produced by the election of President Obama in 2008—followed by the diminution of these expectations—point to the stark reality that redemptive hope is seldom satisfactorily fulfilled. The redemptive narratives surrounding Obama’s elections are a reminder that we are still wrestling with what the neo-pragmatist philosopher Richard Rorty considered to be one of the central intellectual challenges of our post-modern age, namely: Can solidarity with other people serve as a sufficient foundation for our social hopes, or do we need a transcendental force—like God—in order to maintain a grander vision of redemptive hope? This book engages this dilemma by bringing together Rorty’s neo-pragmatic version of social hope with the work of modern Jewish intellectuals, particularly that of Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch.
Akiba J. Lerner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780823267910
- eISBN:
- 9780823272433
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823267910.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Chapter 4 is devoted to the fourth and final stage represented by Rorty’s neo-pragmatic proposal to ground social hopes in human solidarity. Rorty forged a new path toward fulfilling the emancipatory ...
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Chapter 4 is devoted to the fourth and final stage represented by Rorty’s neo-pragmatic proposal to ground social hopes in human solidarity. Rorty forged a new path toward fulfilling the emancipatory legacy of the Enlightenment by proposing provocative redescriptions for interpreting the traditional meanings of both hope and redemption. Rorty’s writings on social hope, however, reveal a tension between a more pragmatic approach that allows for a recovery of religious narratives as a source of hope and his secular utopian ideological position that advocated jettisoning all appeals to transcendental discourses. Rorty’s utopian proposal for overcoming metaphysics by replacing religion and philosophy with literature and dialogue constituted a new secular redemptive narrative that encourages a new thinking of how religious and secular narratives of redemptive hope might interact within the twenty-first century. Rorty's initial desire to rid the public sphere of all remnants of religious transcendence and metaphysics ended up, however, violating his own pragmatic principle. This chapter concludes by engaging Rorty's critics, showing the limits of Rorty’s position and where Rorty felt compelled to adjust his views toward the end of his career.Less
Chapter 4 is devoted to the fourth and final stage represented by Rorty’s neo-pragmatic proposal to ground social hopes in human solidarity. Rorty forged a new path toward fulfilling the emancipatory legacy of the Enlightenment by proposing provocative redescriptions for interpreting the traditional meanings of both hope and redemption. Rorty’s writings on social hope, however, reveal a tension between a more pragmatic approach that allows for a recovery of religious narratives as a source of hope and his secular utopian ideological position that advocated jettisoning all appeals to transcendental discourses. Rorty’s utopian proposal for overcoming metaphysics by replacing religion and philosophy with literature and dialogue constituted a new secular redemptive narrative that encourages a new thinking of how religious and secular narratives of redemptive hope might interact within the twenty-first century. Rorty's initial desire to rid the public sphere of all remnants of religious transcendence and metaphysics ended up, however, violating his own pragmatic principle. This chapter concludes by engaging Rorty's critics, showing the limits of Rorty’s position and where Rorty felt compelled to adjust his views toward the end of his career.
Nicholas Wolterstorff and Terence Cuneo
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199558957
- eISBN:
- 9780191744808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558957.003.0016
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Among the most prominent themes in the publications of Jürgen Habermas over the past decade is that of the inter-relations among religion, postmetaphysical philosophy, and political discourse. The ...
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Among the most prominent themes in the publications of Jürgen Habermas over the past decade is that of the inter-relations among religion, postmetaphysical philosophy, and political discourse. The topic of postmetaphysical philosophy goes back a long way in Habermas’ writings. What is new is Habermas’ preoccupation with the relation of such philosophy to religion and with the relation of both of these to political discourse. This essay is a critical engagement with Habermas on this last point – the role he proposes for religion and postmetaphysical philosophy in political discourse.Less
Among the most prominent themes in the publications of Jürgen Habermas over the past decade is that of the inter-relations among religion, postmetaphysical philosophy, and political discourse. The topic of postmetaphysical philosophy goes back a long way in Habermas’ writings. What is new is Habermas’ preoccupation with the relation of such philosophy to religion and with the relation of both of these to political discourse. This essay is a critical engagement with Habermas on this last point – the role he proposes for religion and postmetaphysical philosophy in political discourse.
Willi Goetschel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823244966
- eISBN:
- 9780823252510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823244966.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines Jewish thought in the context of Margarete Susman's The Book of Job and the Destiny of the Jewish People. It suggests that in this book Susman attempted to advance a ...
More
This chapter examines Jewish thought in the context of Margarete Susman's The Book of Job and the Destiny of the Jewish People. It suggests that in this book Susman attempted to advance a philosophically captivating argument for the return to the biblical legacy of Jewish tradition for the purpose of a postmetaphysical philosophy. She also argued that Jewish tradition offers a philosophically illuminating model to address the modern predicament of the catastrophic loss of all the truths, a loss that seems to have defined our experience of the world and universe.Less
This chapter examines Jewish thought in the context of Margarete Susman's The Book of Job and the Destiny of the Jewish People. It suggests that in this book Susman attempted to advance a philosophically captivating argument for the return to the biblical legacy of Jewish tradition for the purpose of a postmetaphysical philosophy. She also argued that Jewish tradition offers a philosophically illuminating model to address the modern predicament of the catastrophic loss of all the truths, a loss that seems to have defined our experience of the world and universe.
