Richard Kearney

Carnal Hermeneutics - Perspectives in Continental Philosophy Richard Kearney

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; Building on a hermeneutic tradition in which accounts of carnal embodiment are overlooked, misunderstood, or underdeveloped, this work initiates a new field of study and concern. Carnal Hermeneutics provides a philosophical approach to the body as interpretation. Transcending the traditional dualism of rational understanding and embodied sensibility, the volume argues that our most carnal sensations are already interpretations. Because interpretation truly goes all the way down, carnal hermeneutics rejects the opposition of language to sensibility, word to flesh, text to body. In this volume, an impressive array of today's preeminent philosophers seek to interpret the surplus of meaning that arises from our carnal embodiment, its role in our experience and understanding, and its engagement with the wider world--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes:"In response to the apparent 'non-relevance' of traditional phenomenological hermeneutics, must those scholars who continue to cling to a more 'conservative' perspective capitulate to the various nihilisms, to the critiques of correlationalism, or to the solid reductionism of speculative realism? Richard Kearney and Brian Treanor answer with an insistent 'No!' Indeed, they seek to infuse the debate with a dialogical energy that will keep the process moving and flesh renewed. That would not be a bad embodiment of a carnal hermeneutics."--B. Keith Putt, Samford University"Carnal Hermeneutics brings together essays from some of the most prominent philosophers writing today. These excellent essays challenge us to think through the body in every sense. This collection makes an important contribution to philosophy of embodiment. The very idea of carnal hermeneutics is breath-taking."--Kelly Oliver, Vanderbilt University"Certain dualities, spirit vs. body, idea vs. sensation, self vs. the world, etc., have long dominated, often injuriously, much Western thinking. In this remarkable volume, the editors, along with some of the most important voices in the Continental tradition, allow hermeneutics to go 'all the way down' and in so doing move beyond these dualities by taking more seriously the 'surplus of meaning arising from our carnal embodiment.' What emerges is a reenergized and radically embodied or 'incarnational' hermeneutics that opens new vistas for religious, environmental, and artistic thinking. This is an important and consequential collection."--Jason M. Wirth, Seattle University"Richard Kearney and Brian Treanor have assembled a remarkable collection of essays by important recent philosophers devoted to the surprising intersection of 'carnal' and 'hermeneutics'--the body as interpreter as well as interpreted. The British, French and American authors explore the existential, environmental and religious implications of a philosophy of the body."--David Carr, Emory UniversityBiographical Note: RICHARD KEARNEY is Charles B. Seelig Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. Brian Treanor is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Environmental Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Table of Contents: ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: From Head to FootRichard Kearney and Brian Treanor Why Carnal Hermeneutics?What Is Carnal Hermeneutics?Richard Kearney Mind the Gap: The Challenge of MatterBrian Treanor Rethinking the FleshRethinking CorpusJean-Luc Nancy From the Limbs of the Heart to the Soul's OrgansJean-Louis Chretien A Tragedy and a Dream: Disability RevisitedJulia Kristeva Incarnation and the Problem of TouchMichel Henry On the Phenomenon of SufferingJean-Luc Marion Memory, History, OblivionPaul Ricoeur Matters of TouchSkin Deep: Bodies Edging into PlaceEd Casey Touched by TouchingDavid Wood Umbilicus: Toward a Hermeneutics of Generational DifferenceAnne O'Byrne Getting in Touch: Aristotelian DiagnosticsEmmanuel Alloa Between Vision and Touch: From Husserl to Merleau-PontyDermot Moran Biodiversity and the Diacritics of LifeTed Toadvine Divine BodiesThe Passion According to Teresa of AvilaJulia Kristeva"Publisher Marketing: Building on a hermeneutic tradition in which accounts of carnal embodiment are overlooked, misunderstood, or underdeveloped, this work initiates a new field of study and concern. Carnal Hermeneutics provides a philosophical approach to the body as interpretation. Transcending the traditional dualism of rational understanding and embodied sensibility, the volume argues that our most carnal sensations are already interpretations. Because interpretation truly goes "all the way down," carnal hermeneutics rejects the opposition of language to sensibility, word to flesh, text to body. In this volume, an impressive array of today's preeminent philosophers seek to interpret the surplus of meaning that arises from our carnal embodiment, its role in our experience and understanding, and its engagement with the wider world.

Contributor Bio:  Kearney, Richard Richard Kearneyis a professor of philosophy at University College Dublin and Visiting European Professor at Boston College. Contributor Bio:  Treanor, Brian Brian Treanor is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University. He is the author of "Aspects of Alterity: Levinas, Marcel, and the Contemporary Debate" (Fordham).