The Postmodern Saints of France Refiguring 'the Holy' in Contemporary French Philosophy

by Dickinson, Colby

• ISBN13: 9780567296535
• ISBN10: 0567296539
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780567432483
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-07-25
• Publisher: Bloomsbury T&T Clark

Summary

From the mid to the late 20th century various French thinkers have at times toyed with the label of 'the saint', applying it to friends, colleagues, the revered and even the worshipped such as Genet, Sartre, Camus or Foucault. Despite this profaning of the term, however, there are many subtle truths which emerge from its usage among such writers. This volume is devoted to exploring certain varied notions of 'the saint' in recent French philosophical and literary thought from within a theological context, offering insights and valuable contributions toward how we understand sainthood in cultural, philosophical and religious terms. Each essay focuses on the convergence of a particular author's work and their various (re)formulations of 'saintliness' in their writings, whether this concept is directly expressed in their writings or not. In general, the aim of the volume is to develop a critical engagement between each authors' philosophical worldview and historical notions of sainthood, such that we are capable of providing new understandings of what a 'saint' could be said to be in our world today.

Author Biography

Colby Dickinson is Assistant Professor of Theology at Loyola University Chicago, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction\Jean Genet versus Saint Genet: Seeking redemption on the edges\Holy Mary, Holy Desire: Luce Irigaray and Saintly Daughters\Jean-Luc the Great? The Academic Reception of a Marion Spirituality\Saint Lyotard\Ricoeur and the Symbolism of Sainthood\Saint Levinas\St. Maurice du Dehors\ Saint Girard\ Of Foucault, "Who Could Have Been Saint Paul"\La nouvelle philosophie: Sanctity and the Philosophy of Sainthood in Jean-Yves Lacoste\Saint Derrida\Albert Camus on the Rebel as Saint and the Saint as Rebel\Saint Badiou, Saint Pascal