Augustine for the Philosophers: The Rhetor of Hippo, the "Confessions," and the Continentals

by Calvin L. Troup (Editor)

Overview

St. Augustine of Hippo, largely considered the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, has long dominated theological conversations. Augustine's legacy as a theologian endures. However, Augustine's contributions to rhetoric and the philosophy of communication remain relatively uncharted. Augustine for the Philosophers recovers these contributions, revisiting Augustine's prominence in the work of continental philosophers who shaped rhetoric and the philosophy of communication in the twentieth century. Hannah Arendt, Albert Camus, Jacques Ellul, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Martin Heidegger, Edmund Husserl, Jean-François Lyotard, and Paul Ricoeur are paired with Augustine in significant conversations close to the center of their work.

Augustine for the Philosophers dares to hold Augustine's rhetoric and philosophy in dynamic tension with his Christianity, provoking serious reconsideration of Augustine, his presence in twentieth-century continental thought, and his influence upon modern rhetoric and communication studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481300872
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2014
Series:	Studies in Rhetoric & Religion , #16
Pages:	255
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Calvin L. Troup is Associate Professor and Director of the Rhetoric Ph.D. program in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

PREFACE

Calvin L. Troup

Chapter 1: The Confessions and the Continentals

Calvin L. Troup

Chapter 2: Augustine and Heidegger on Acknowledging the Importance of Acknowledgment and the Orator’s Art

Michael J. Hyde

Chapter 3: Arendt and Saint Augustine: Identity Otherwise than Convention

Ronald C. Arnett

Chapter 4: Lyotard’s Augustine

David J. Depew

Chapter 5: Love, and Interpret What You Will: A Postsecular Camus-Augustine Encounter

Ramsey Eric Ramsey

Chapter 6: "A Limit that Resides in the Word": Hermeneutic Appropriations of

J ohn Arthos

Chapter 7: Self Identity and Time

Algis Mickūnas

Chapter 8: A Time to Be Born, a Time to Die: St. Augustine’s Confessions and Paul Ricoeur’s Time and Narrative

Andreea Deciu Ritivoi

Chapter 9: Ellul & Augustine on Rhetoric & Philosophy of Communication

C alvin L. Troup and Clifford G. Christians

EPILOGUE

Calvin L. Troup

What People are Saying About This

This splendid collection discovers St. Augustine as a forgotten father of rhetorical studies and philosophy of communication. The classical is charged with new relevance, and the contemporary with deep indebtedness. For both scholar and student, St. Augustine will never be the same.

Helen M. Sterk

Augustine for the Philosophers converses with Heidegger, Husserl, Arendt, and other pivotal continental thinkers in writings by leading rhetorical scholars. Framing the discussion with his own essays, editor Calvin Troup speaks directly to the fresh thought an ancient author brings to contemporary issues.

Paul A. Soukup

These discussions about the interactions of major figures of twentieth-century European philosophy with Augustine’s thought place communication scholars in the midst of a dynamic dialogue that offers new perspectives on communication, rhetoric, time, thought, and human nature.

Amit Pinchevski

This splendid collection discovers St. Augustine as a forgotten father of rhetorical studies and philosophy of communication. The classical is charged with new relevance, and the contemporary with deep indebtedness. For both scholar and student, St. Augustine will never be the same.

Editorial Reviews

The essays in Troup’s volume, in addition to charting relations between Augustine and continental philosophy, point to further avenues of scholarship concerning the relationship between Augustine, rhetoric, and philosophy…

Rhetoric Society Quarterly - Martin Camper

In Augustine for the Philosophers, Calvin L. Troup assembles an elegant collection of inquiries into the various insights a dialogue between the continental philosophical tradition and the works of St. Augustine can afford towards the study of rhetoric…Students of rhetoric and philosophy, regardless of their religious inclinations, will undoubtedly find this work an invaluable resource.

Augustinian Studies - Thomas McNulty

"Augustine for the Philosophers converses with Heidegger, Husserl, Arendt, and other pivotal continental thinkers in writings by leading rhetorical scholars. Framing the discussion with his own essays, editor Calvin Troup speaks directly to the fresh thought an ancient author brings to contemporary issues."
--Helen M. Sterk, Professor and Head, Department of Communication, Western Kentucky University, former editor of the Journal of Communication and Religion

"This splendid collection discovers St. Augustine as a forgotten father of rhetorical studies and philosophy of communication. The classical is charged with new relevance, and the contemporary with deep indebtedness. For both scholar and student, St. Augustine will never be the same."
--Amit Pinchevski, Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication and Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"These discussions about the interactions of major figures of twentieth-century European philosophy with Augustine's thought place communication scholars in the midst of a dynamic dialogue that offers new perspectives on communication, rhetoric, time, thought, and human nature."
--Paul A. Soukup, S.J., Professor and Department Head, Communication Department, Santa Clara University

From the Publisher