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Feb 04, 2014 | ISBN 9781781681688 Buy
Feb 01, 2012 | ISBN 9781844677375 Buy
Feb 01, 2012 | ISBN 9781781680704 Buy
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Available from:
Feb 04, 2014 | ISBN 9781781681688
Feb 01, 2012 | ISBN 9781844677375
Feb 01, 2012 | ISBN 9781781680704
The return to religion has arguably become the dominant theme of contemporary culture. Somehow, the secular age seems to have been replaced by a new era where political action flows directly from theological, indeed cosmic, conflict. The Faith of the Faithless lays out the philosophical and political framework of this idea and seeks to find a way beyond it. Should we defend a version of secularism or quietly accept the slide into theism? Or is there another way?
The return to religion has perhaps become the dominant cliché of contemporary theory, which rarely offers anything more than an exaggerated echo of a political reality dominated by religious war. Somehow, the secular age seems to have been replaced by a new era, where political action flows directly from metaphysical conflict. The Faith of the Faithless asks how we might respond. Following Critchley’s Infinitely Demanding, this new book builds on its philosophical and political framework, also venturing into the questions of faith, love, religion and violence. Should we defend a version of secularism and quietly accept the slide into a form of theism—or is there another way?From Rousseau’s politics and religion to the return to St. Paul in Taubes, Agamben and Badiou, via explorations of politics and original sin in the work of Schmitt and John Gray, Critchley examines whether there can be a faith of the faithless, a belief for unbelievers. Expanding on his debate with Slavoj Žižek, Critchley concludes with a meditation on the question of violence, and the limits of non-violence.
“A thoughtful, illuminating exploration … erudite and measured.” —Publishers Weekly “A rich, audacious attempt to plumb the meaning of faith … an exacting and indispensable reflection on the nature of political commitment.” Books and Culture“A movingly optimistic work … Critchley, poetically and persuasively, suggests ways in which this might be accomplished.”—Stuart Kelly, Guardian“A sustained and fascinating reflection on the place of religion in political discourse.”—Giles Fraser, New Statesman“The book displays Critchley’s skill as one of the very best close readers of philosophical texts we have … this fascinating and important book traces, as it were, a trajectory of his thought and is not an end in itself.”—Robert Eaglestone, Times Higher Education Supplement“Provides a powerful vision of what our politics ought to look like.”—David Winters, Los Angeles Review of Books
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