Conversion in American Philosophy Exploring the Practice of Transformation

by Ward, Roger A.

• ISBN13: 9780823223138
• ISBN10: 0823223132
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Fordham University Press

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	xi
Introduction: Conversion and the Practice of Transformation	xxv
1. The Philosophical Structure of Jonathan Edwards's Religious Affections	1	(28)
2. Habit, Habit Change, and Conversion in C.S. Peirce	29	(33)
3. Reconstructing Faith: Religious Overcoming in Dewey's Pragmatism	62	(27)
4. Transforming Obligation in William James	89	(31)
5. Dwelling in Absence: The Reflective Origin of Conversion	120	(31)
6. Creative Transformation: The Work of Conversion	151	(29)
7. The Evasion of Conversion in Recent American Philosophy	180	(41)
Bibliography	221	(10)
Index	231