Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Priority of Questions in Religions: Bringing the Discourse of Gods and Buddhas Down to Earth

Dickman, Nathan Eric/ Simmons, J. Aaron (Editor)/ Schilbrack, Kevin (Editor)

ISBN 10: 1350202142 / ISBN 13: 9781350202146

Published by Bloomsbury USA Academic, 2022

About this Item

256 pages. 8.50x5.43x1.00 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1350202142

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Priority of Questions in Religions: Bringing the Discourse of Gods and Buddhas Down to Earth
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Academic
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350202142
• ISBN 13: 9781350202146
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.3 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

Buddhas, gods, prophets and oracles are often depicted as asking questions. But what are we to understand when Jesus asks “Who do you say that I am?”, or Mazu, the Classical Zen master asks, “Why do you seek outside?" Is their questioning a power or weakness? Is it something human beings are only capable of due to our finitude? Is there any kind of question that is a power?

Focusing on three case studies of questions in divine discourse on the level of story - the god depicted in the Jewish Bible, the master Mazu in his recorded sayings literature, and Jesus as he is depicted in canonized Christian Gospels - Nathan Eric Dickman meditates on human responses to divine questions. He considers the purpose of interreligious dialogue and the provocative kind of questions that seem to purposefully decenter us, drawing on methods from confessionally-oriented hermeneutics and skills from critical thinking.

He allows us to see alternative ways of interpreting religious texts through approaches that look beyond reading a text for the improvement of our own religion or for access to some metaphysically transcendent reality. This is the first step in a phenomenology of religions that is inclusive, diverse, relevant and grounded in the world we live in.

About the Authors

Nathan Eric Dickman (PhD, The University of Iowa) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of the Ozarks, USA. He researches in hermeneutic phenomenology, philosophy of language, and comparative questions in philosophies of religions, with particular concerns about global social justice issues in ethics and religions. He has taught a breadth of courses, from Critical Thinking to Zen, and Existentialism to Greek & Arabic philosophy. Using Questions to Think (Bloomsbury, 2021) examines the roles questions play in critical thinking and reasoning, and Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Priority of Questions in Religions (Bloomsbury, 2022) examines the roles questions play in religious discourse.

J. Aaron Simmons is Professor of Philosophy at Furman University, USA.

Kevin Schilbrack is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Appalachian State University, USA.