Words Fail - Theology, Poetry, and the Challenge of Representation

There has been much philosophical speculation on the potential failure of language as well as the search for a presentation of the "thing itself" beyond representation. Words Fail pursues the writings of a trio of philosophers-Jacques Derrida, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Giorgio Agamben-as prime examples of how modern poetry presents us with a profitable vantage point from which to survey the ongoing struggle of living in a highly fragmented world.

Alongside these thinkers, this book looks specifically at the form of spirituality that is given shape by this intersection of poetics and theological-philosophical reflection-all of which offer rich suggestions about our spiritual nature.

About the author

Colby Dickinson is Associate Professor of Theology at Loyola University, Chicago. He is the author of Agamben and Theology (T&T Clark, 2011), Between the Canon and the Messiah (Bloomsbury, 2013) and Words Fail: Theology, Poetry, and the Challenge of Representation (Fordham University Press, 2016, as well as numerous articles on contemporary continental philosophy and theology. He is editor of The Postmodern 'Saints' of France (2013) and The Shaping of Tradition: Context and Normativity (2013).

Summary

This book investigates the form of spirituality given shape in the intersection of poetics and theological-philosophical reflection, concerned especially with matters of representation and failure.

Product details

• Authors: Assistant Professor of Theology Colby ( Dickinson, Colby Dickinson
• Publisher: Fordham University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.10.2016
• EAN: 9780823272846
• ISBN: 978-0-8232-7284-6
• No. of pages: 136
• Series: Perspectives in Continental Philosophy; Perspectives in Continental Ph; Perspectives in Continental Ph; Perspectives in Continental Philosophy
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day