Levinas and Theology

Purcell outlines the basic themes of Levinas' thought and their usefulness to fundamental and practical theology.

Michael Purcell (Author)

9780521813259, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 January 2006

210 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.48 kg

'Purcell's contribution to the study of Levinas has already been widely recognized and Levinas and Theology is an academic book which is a joy to read … it is written in an engaging style which draws the reader to the text, making it compulsive reading. Levinas and Theology is a book to be recommended for teaching.' Expository Times

Emmanuel Levinas was a significant contributor to the field of philosophy, phenomenology and religion. A key interpreter of Husserl, he stressed the importance of attitudes to other people in any philosophical system. For Levinas, to be a subject is to take responsibility for others as well as yourself and therefore responsibility for the one leads to justice for the many. He regarded ethics as the foundation for all other philosophy, but later admitted it could also be the foundation for theology. Michael Purcell outlines the basic themes of Levinas' thought and the ways in which they might be deployed in fundamental and practical theology, and the study of the phenomenon of religion. This book will be useful for undergraduate and graduate students in philosophy, theology and religious studies, as well as those with a theological background who are approaching Levinas for the first time.

Introduction
1. Levinas, phenomenology and theology
2. Ethics, theology, the question of God
3. Incarnate existence
4. Existence as transcendence, or, the call of the infinite: towards a theology of grace
5. The economy and language of grace: grace, desire, and the awakening of the subject
6. The liturgical orientation of the subject
7. Eucharistic responsibility and working for justice.

Subject Areas: Christian theology [HRCM], Philosophy [HP]