Transcendence and Beyond: A Postmodern Inquiry

Transcendence and Beyond poses the classical questions of transcendence in a postmodern setting. Do we need a transcendence that is ever more beyond or should we put transcendence behind us altogether? Is it the case that, when seen in a postmodern light, transcendence must be itself transcended? In this thought-provoking volume, Jean-Luc Marion, Gianni Vattimo, and a distinguished group of international philosophers and theologians interrogate transcendence for today’s philosophy of religion. The essays gathered here examine notions of transcendence to assess its relevance and meaning in a postmodern context as well as to determine how it might be usefully refitted. Various subthemes, such as creation, love, religious language, the question of the impossible and that of becoming, emerge with a new definition of transcendence. Poised at the intersection of philosophy and religion, these reflections provide a benchmark for renewed consideration of this classic philosophical and religious theme.

John D. Caputo is the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Humanities at Syracuse University. He is also David R. Cook Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Villanova University. His many books include The Weakness of God (IUP, 2006).

Michael J. Scanlon, O.S.A., holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University.