Conversion in American Philosophy: Exploring the Practice of Transformation

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Fordham Univ Press, 2004 - Philosophy - 235 pages

In this fresh, provocative account of the American philosophical tradition, Roger Ward explores the work of key thinkers through an innovative and counterintuitive lens: religious conversion. From Jonathan Edwards to Cornel West, Ward threads the history of American thought into an extended, multivalent encounter with the religious experience. Looking at Dewey, James, Peirce, Rorty, Corrington, and other thinkers, Ward demonstrates that religious themes have deeply influenced the development of American philosophy.

This innovative reading of the American philosophical tradition will be welcomed not only by philosophers, but also by historians and other students of America's religious, intellectual, and cultural legacy.

Conversion in American Philosophy: Exploring the Practice of Transformation is available from the publisher on an open-access basis.

 

Contents

I
xi
II
xxv
III
1
V
29
VI
62
VII
89
VIII
120
IX
151
X
180
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Page xxviii - It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it ? neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? but the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
Page xxvii - The capacity of the strenuous mood lies so deep down among our natural human possibilities that even if there were no metaphysical or traditional grounds for believing in a God, men would postulate one simply as a pretext for living hard, and getting out of the game of existence its keenest possibilities of zest.

About the author (2004)

Roger Ward is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown College, Kentucky.

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