The Broken Whole

Philosophical Steps Toward a Theology of Global Solidarity

By Thomas E. Reynolds

Subjects: Religion
Series: SUNY series in Theology and Continental Thought
Paperback : 9780791466124, 258 pages, June 2006
Hardcover : 9780791466117, 258 pages, November 2005

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Plurality and Historical Consciousness: From Heteronomous Belonging to a Traditioned Belonging to History

2. Pluralistic Consciousness: From Historical Belonging to the Challenge of Radical Contingency and Difference

3. Dwelling Together: Identity, Difference, and Relation

4. Dialectical Pluralism: Truth, the Other, and the Praxis of Solidarity

5. The Transcendent Grammar of Presence and the Religious Sensibility

6. Making the Difference: Rethinking Religious Pluralism in Local and Universal Horizons

Notes
Index

Considers the problem of pluralism and offers a vision of human solidarity for the postmodern era.

Description

In an increasingly precarious global situation, and in light of the postmodern emphasis on difference, efforts to grasp the "whole" as something universally shared by all human beings have fallen short, according to Thomas E. Reynolds. In this book, he explores the philosophical and theological significance of the problem of pluralism and asserts that the shared resources of the world's religious traditions can be used to cultivate peace and solidarity across diverse boundaries. He engages a range of philosophical thinkers—such as Gadamer, Marcel, Rorty, Foucault, Levinas, Derrida, and Habermas—and brings them into conversation with contemporary theologians and writers in religious studies. Presenting a vision of solidarity that is both religiously charged and philosophically astute, The Broken Whole outlines an inventive approach toward retrieving the relevance of God-talk, an approach rooted in a philosophy of dialogue and cross-cultural hospitality.

Thomas E. Reynolds is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at St. Norbert College.