Culture and the Death of God - Hardcover

Eagleton, Terry

3.85

383 ratings by Goodreads

9780300203998: Culture and the Death of God

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300203993 ISBN 13: 9780300203998

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2014

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New observations on the persistence of God in modern times and why “authentic” atheism is so very hard to come by

How to live in a supposedly faithless world threatened by religious fundamentalism? Terry Eagleton, formidable thinker and renowned cultural critic, investigates in this thought-provoking book the contradictions, difficulties, and significance of the modern search for a replacement for God. Engaging with a phenomenally wide range of ideas, issues, and thinkers from the Enlightenment to today, Eagleton discusses the state of religion before and after 9/11, the ironies surrounding Western capitalism’s part in spawning not only secularism but also fundamentalism, and the unsatisfactory surrogates for the Almighty invented in the post-Enlightenment era.

The author reflects on the unique capacities of religion, the possibilities of culture and art as modern paths to salvation, the so-called war on terror’s impact on atheism, and a host of other topics of concern to those who envision a future in which just and compassionate communities thrive. Lucid, stylish, and entertaining in his usual manner, Eagleton presents a brilliant survey of modern thought that also serves as a timely, urgently needed intervention into our perilous political present.

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About the Author:

Terry Eagleton is Distinguished Professor of Literature, University of Lancaster, and Excellence in English Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Notre Dame. He lives in Northern Ireland, UK.

Review:

"A tour-de-force survey of the changing relation of culture and religion."—Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly)

"In this rich, complex work. . . Eagleton deftly explores the shifting relationships among reason, religion, culture, myth, art, tragedy and the modern sensibility of the absurd, all expressed with a dry wit and provocative epigrams. . . . Now that the West is colliding with a resurgent Islam for which God is very much alive, Eagleton’s insights are particularly timely."—Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Reviews)

“Eagleton produces an account of the continuing power of religion that is rich and compelling. Open this book at random, and you will find on a single page more thought-stirring argument than can be gleaned from a dozen ponderous treatises on philosophy of sociology. Most of the critical turning points in modern thought are examined illuminatingly.”—John Gray, New Statesman (John Gray New Statesman 2014-03-07)

‘Wide-ranging and intellectually impassioned.’—Sarah Bakewell, The Financial Times (Sarah Bakewell The Financial Times 2014-04-12)

“Getting rid of God has been a long slog, Eagleton’s concise, absorbing overview of the philosophical and cultural trends of the past three centuries explains.”—Marcus Tanner, The Independent (Marcus Tanner The Indenpendent 2014-02-22)

‘Terry Eagleton brings all his forensic insights and acerbic wit, to the search for a replacement for God in critical thinking since the Enlightenment. . .Eagleton’s thoughts – “one can kill for all sorts of motives, but killing on a spectacular scale is almost always the consequence of ideas” – are a joy to ponder. That and his depth of knowledge make for fascinating reading.’—Scarlett MacGwire, Tribune Magazine (Scarlett MacGuire Tribune Magazine 2014-05-16)

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