An excellent academic work that will enlighten readers looking for personal meaning in masterpieces of the existential...
An examination of romantic love and relationships through the lens of existential philosophy.
For those who have and have not studied the philosophers examined here—Stirner, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, and De Beauvoir—Cleary’s analysis plays two roles equally well. It both introduces the central ideas and investigates them for something more specific, namely, what these existentialists thought about romantic love. What romantic advice, for instance, would Nietzsche offer to a contemporary relationship? Cleary smartly breaks down the fundamentals of existentialism into categories that then seem applicable to romantic relationships: creating unions between individuals, looking for meaning, choices, freedom, and authenticity, etc. As she progresses from one philosopher to the next, Cleary covers everything from passion to marriage as an institution to relationships as masochism, finding specific references and drawing from other topics such as the philosophers’ personal romances and their musings on other relationships found in literature. Combining these more relatable elements with traditional analysis and her clear prose results in a serious, well-researched piece of scholarship that also provides enjoyable inroads to a new understanding of these dense philosophies. Although some of her conclusions might feel like a stretch, it’s still exhilarating to see her arrive at certain proclamations: e.g., “the most fulfilling and satisfying existence can be achieved only through leaping into romantic loving because it is enriching and enables individuals to engage more intensely in the world.” Throughout, Cleary writes with the same joyful appreciation for existentialism as the late Dr. Robert Solomon—an expert whom Cleary often cites. For both Solomon and Cleary, the existentialists were far from the gloomy, nihilist figures often presented in pop culture. Instead, they were serious, tremendous thinkers constructing new and progressive ways for others to better grapple with the human condition. As such, Cleary’s illuminating work offers a wealth of new considerations readers can strive to apply to their own lives.
An excellent academic work that will enlighten readers looking for personal meaning in masterpieces of the existential movement.Pub Date: March 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-137-45579-6
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Twenty-two brief and highly personal essays tell of an ongoing search for sexual and religious wholeness by American gay men. Because most religious authorities condemn homosexuality, or at least assume their adherents are heterosexual, the gay world has tended to be bitterly antireligious. Here Bouldrey (author of the novel The Genius of Desire, 1993) provides a forum in which gay writers of various religious backgrounds tell (illustrated with sometimes mildly salacious anecdotes) how they have, or have not, combined religion with an active gay lifestyle. We read how Antonio Feliz, as a Mormon bishop, was tormented at having to excommunicate an avowed homosexual and how a remarkable experience of God's love for him led to his own decision to come out. Gabriel Lampert tells how his Jewishness and homosexuality have both been areas for self- discovery and freedom. Over a third of the accounts are by ex- Catholics. David Plante explains how the Church's dogma at least taught him to value the face and the whole person of his lover, not just a part of his body, while Philip Gambone writes compellingly of his youthful Catholic fervor, his time as an Episcopalian, his pleasant but spiritually inadequate experience as a Unitarian, and his present, very cautious position on the sidelines of Catholicism. The Episcopalian and Reform Jewish authors have the least trouble in uniting their religion with their sex lives. For all the contributors, homosexuality has become the dominant force in their lives, in some cases taking the place of religion, and the experience of embracing the gay lifestyle is described in the born- again rhetoric of conversion. We do not, however, hear from any homosexual believer who finds meaning in the traditional teachings. A timely but far from definitive contribution to the neglected area of gay religious experience. (Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club selections)
Pub Date: May 3, 1995
ISBN: 1-57322-003-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A scholarly work with considerable contemporary relevance that traces the Jewish messianic idea through its many ancient manifestations. In this densely written volume, Collins (Hebrew Bible/Univ. of Chicago) has collected and analyzed scriptural references to the figure of the messiah. In its original meaning, that of ``anointed,'' the term was used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to a number of people—priests, kings, and teachers among them. In the Book of Isaiah, the term described Cyrus, king of Persia, the emperor who enabled the Jews to return from the Babylonian captivity and eventually rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. It is only in the postbiblical (what Christian scholars refer to as the ``intertestamental'') period that a messiah becomes the Messiah, words used to refer to a heroic figure who would redeem Israel and bring peace to humankind. Among the major sources of information on the postbiblical period are the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the late 1940s and early '50s but published in their entirety only in the last few years. Collins ably leads readers through the confusing plethora of scroll texts and interpretations, offering new insights into claims that the scrolls present a view of the messiah that dovetails with early Christian doctrine. Though it focuses on Jewish texts, both biblical and extrabiblical, one of the book's central concerns is the wish to elucidate Christian origins against their Jewish background. This title is part of a new series, the Anchor Bible Reference Library, which—if subsequent volumes are as solid as this one—promises to live up to the standards of its intellectual parents, the Anchor Bible and the Anchor Bible Dictionary. Written in academic prose, somewhat technical but accessible and jargon-free. Students of biblical history and the messianic idea can rest assured that they are in competent hands. (b&w photos, maps, not seen)
Pub Date: April 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-385-47457-1
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Anchor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
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