The American philosopher Stanley Cavell (b. 1926) is a secular Jew who by his own admission is obsessed with Christ, yet his outlook on religion in general is ambiguous. Probing the secular and the sacred in Cavell's thought, Espen Dahl explains that Cavell, while often parting ways with Christianity, cannot dismiss it either. Focusing on Cavell's work as a whole, but especially on his recent engagement with Continental philosophy, Dahl brings out important themes in Cavell's philosophy and his conversation with theology.

Cavell's philosophy of religion in a Continental vein

About the Author

Espen Dahl is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the UiT The Arctic University of Norway. He is author of Phenomenology and the Holy: Religious Experience after Husserl and In Between: The Holy Beyond Modern Dichotomies.

Reviews

It is undoubtedly tricky business writing a book about Stanley Cavell and any book enterprising enough to bring him into conversation with Christian theology should be additionally commended, especially one as likable as Espen Dahl's Stanley Cavell, Religion, and Continental Philosophy.

* Modern Theology *

Dahl has a comprehensive grasp on Cavell's thought, is clearly a gifted theologian, and manages to place Cavell in conversation with continental thought as productively as anyone before him. Moreover, he does so in prose that is a model of clarity and brevity.

* Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *

Although short, Espen Dahl has written a book that truly delivers on its title: it clearly, concisely, and powerfully shows Cavell's frequent and deep links to and engagements with religion and religious themes and with (so-called) Continental philosophy. While both of these strands have been explored piecemeal by scholars, Dahl's innovation consists in the detail with which he can engage these themes and the position he is able to carve out. . . . Dahl has also written a highly accessible book on Cavell, and yet one which in no way 'waters down' or dilutes Cavell's thinking. There ought to be more books of this kind on Cavell.

* Intl Journal for the Philosophy of Religion *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253012029
Author Espen Dahl
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press