God and the Liberation of Reason in French Philosophy

Reconsidering the significance of the question of God in contemporary French philosophy, the essays in this volume open new pathways for thinking foreclosed by the metaphysical frameworks of our age.

How better to unfurl our long-restricted powers of reason than to engage with the possibility of the limitless and infinite? What better way to measure our progress beyond metaphysical captivity than to discuss the question of God?

With twelve contributions from leading experts in French philosophy of religion, the essays in this volume use the question of God to deconstruct the metaphysical patterns still carved into our thought, and reconstruct new paths that might be open to philosophy after we abandon them. Discussing the work of Augustine, Heidegger, Husserl, Nietzsche, Leibniz, and others, the contributions range across topics including the influence of neo-platonic philosophy on theology, phenomenologyâs interest in Christianity, truth in the era of fake news and conspiracy theories, and Buddhist wisdom.

Asserting that French phenomenologyâs engagement with the question of God marks a deep awareness of its place in the history of thought, the work collected here answers Dominique Janicaud's critique of the âTheological Turnâ which argued that theological orientations exceeded the remit and methodological competence of phenomenology. Making available in English the work of major philosophers and historians, and building connections with the critical perspectives of lesser-known thinkers, the volume promises to deepen the Anglophone reception and understanding of contemporary French philosophy.