by John W. Chapman (1991)
"Began with presentations and commentaries at the meeting of The American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools in New Orleans, 5-8 January 1989"--Preface.
Wil Arts (ed
"The question this book addresses is whether it is possible to get an almost face-to-face intimacy with various forms of cultural tradition and modernity by using our experiences and our powers of imagination, i.e. our expectations, in a more fruitful way." "The contributors to this book try to give answers to this weighty question by taking as a guideline Erasmus's famous motto, i.e. always go to the sources."--Jacket.
K.C. Abraham and Bernadette Mbuy-Beya
The Third General Assembly of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, meeting in Nairobi in 1992, took a fresh look at the changing context of the Third World. Theologians in Nairobi firmly declared that third-world theology should be decisively shaped by the spirituality of the marginalized - indigenous people, women, minjung, dalits, and other minorities. Their creative and life-affirming spirituality is at the very center of their lives and struggles. Spirituality of the Third World explores the meaning of spirituality, its biblical roots, its relation to human existence, how it patterns a vision and enriches faith, and how it celebrates life. This spirituality is formed of faith, struggle, and hope - the cry for life from the poor of all continents. Part I describes the changing context of the Third World, with a special focus on North-South relationships. Part II elaborates different forms of Third World spiritualities with origins in South and North America, Africa, and Asia. Part III roots these spiritualities biblically and explores how they enrich theological understanding and sustain Christian life.
David E. Klemm and William Schweiker
"What does it mean that understanding is the primary mode of human being in the world? How can new symbols refigure human temporal possibilities and narrative understandings? How do we interpret life, and what can be claimed as "truth"? These and related questions are explored by a collection of distinguished scholars from a variety of disciplines in Meanings in Texts and Actions. These essays constitute a critical encounter with the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur, who - along with Hans-Georg Gadamer - was largely responsible for the postwar emergence of a new hermeneutics. Having engaged in critical debates with thinkers in virtually every humanistic discipline, Ricoeur has managed to create a conversation among them, as this collection attests." "Volume contributors - representatives of a range of disciplines including literary theory, theology and religious studies, comparative literature, film studies, history, political philosophy, ethics, and global studies - take up Ricoeur's questions and pose questions of their own in return. In so doing, they work toward new formulations in our thinking that address the contemporary challenges of deconstruction and postmodernism and pay particular attention to theology and its relation to humanistic culture."--BOOK JACKET.
Alan Brudner
"Alan Brudner suggests a conception of fundamental justice that liberals of competing philosophic schools may accept as fulfilling their own basic commitments. Employing this conception, he distils the essentials of liberal constitutionalism from the jurisprudence and practice of contemporary liberal-democratic states. Brudner argues that the model liberal-democratic constitution is best understood as a unity of three constitutional frameworks: libertarian, egalitarian, and communitarian. Each is based on a particular conception of public reason. Brudner criticizes these frameworks insofar as their organizing conceptions claim to be fundamental and moves forward to suggest a Hegelian conception of public reason within which each framework is contained as a constituent element of a whole." "When viewed in the light of this conception, the liberal constitution embodies a surprising synthesis. It reconciles a commitment to individual liberty and freedom of conscience with the perfectionist idea that the state ought to cultivate a type of personality whose fundamental ends are the goods essential to dignity. Such a reconciliation, the author suggests, may attract competing liberalisms to a consensus on an inclusive conception of public reason under which political authority is validated for those who share a confidence in the individual's inviolable worth."--BOOK JACKET.