Strangers, Gods and Monsters: Interpreting Otherness
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Review
"In this brilliant book Richard Kearney sets his sights on the hyperbolic inflation of otherness. The refusal to acknowledge 'oneself-as-another, ' as Ricoeur puts it, generates visions of otherness that call for a critical hermeneutics. Like Baudrillard, Benjamin, and Zizek before him, Kearney has a finely tuned ear for the often hysterical workings of the media and popular culture, and in this respect his chapter reflecting on 9/11 is exemplary. He argues convincingly for the need for judgment when we 'welcome strangers, respect gods, and acknowledge monsters'. In this endeavor, Kearney is the ideal companion, and he proves again to be one of the liveliest philosophical minds in America."
-David Wood, Vanderbilt University
""Strangers, Gods, and Monsters along with the other two volumes in the trilogy, stands as an important contribution to the fields of religious theory and Continental philosophy. Moreover, Kearney's trilogy offers a thorough and insightful analysis of major issues and debates across disciplinary fields."
-Victor E. Taylor, York College of Pennsylvania, "Journal of the American Academy of Religion
-David Wood, Vanderbilt University
""Strangers, Gods, and Monsters along with the other two volumes in the trilogy, stands as an important contribution to the fields of religious theory and Continental philosophy. Moreover, Kearney's trilogy offers a thorough and insightful analysis of major issues and debates across disciplinary fields."
-Victor E. Taylor, York College of Pennsylvania, "Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Product Description
Strangers, Gods and Monsters is a fascinating look at how human identity is shaped by three powerful but enigmatic forces. Often overlooked in accounts of how we think about ourselves and others, Richard Kearney skilfully shows, with the help of vivid examples and illustrations, how the human outlook on the world is formed by the mysterious triumvirate of strangers, gods and monsters.
Throughout, Richard Kearney shows how Strangers, Gods and Monsters do not merely reside in myths or fantasies but constitute a central part of our cultural unconscious. Above all, he argues that until we understand better that the Other resides deep within ourselves, we can have little hope of understanding how our most basic fears and desires manifest themselves in the external world and how we can learn to live with them.
Throughout, Richard Kearney shows how Strangers, Gods and Monsters do not merely reside in myths or fantasies but constitute a central part of our cultural unconscious. Above all, he argues that until we understand better that the Other resides deep within ourselves, we can have little hope of understanding how our most basic fears and desires manifest themselves in the external world and how we can learn to live with them.
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First Sentence
Detail from the Chapel of St Lorenzo, Florence. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Detail from the Chapel of St Lorenzo, Florence. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Kearney's treatment is readable, illuminating, and his critiques of deconstructive ethics are apt, particularly in his view that a radical alterity precludes the ability to make finer judgments of right and wrong. Yet problems arise. First, his critique depends on a belief in a higher power of some form, so in a sense he does not deal with the issue of ethics in a world where not everyone shares his belief and the eternal problem of how a common ethical ground can be established in a world full of differences without recourse to a higher adjudicating body, i.e., "God." Second, he relies heavily on the notions of "good" and "evil" without really defining what he means by them. Third, he is obviously uncomfortable with anything but the notion of a benevolent godhead and is very resistant to the notion of a god as both terrible and wonderful at once; this begs more questions than it answers, and his critiques of people like Eliade or Campbell seem to ring more hollow than his problems with the deconstructionists. Of course, this puts him up against many of the world's other relgions: what could he do with Kali, or Zeus or Coyote? Clearly these sorts of gods cannot be entered into his system.
So, if you share his views of a benevolent Judeo-Christian God, you may end up agreeing with him. Otherwise, a lot of salt is in order.
So, if you share his views of a benevolent Judeo-Christian God, you may end up agreeing with him. Otherwise, a lot of salt is in order.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wonderful, not for the light hearted but a worth while read. I am impressed
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
No Other
12 Jan 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
No other book I have read has addressed the heart of so many of humanities problems so simply. I don't mean that this is necessarily an easy read, there is wrestling to be done when reading this, but by using art and pop culture Kearney puts some of the biggest human and existential questions in relatable terms.
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