American Philosophers Read Scripture

by Jacob L. Goodson (Contribution by), Ann W. Duncan (Contribution by), Edward F. Mooney (Contribution by), William J. Danaher Jr. (Contribution by), William W. Young III (Contribution by)

Overview

This collection introduces readers to the philosophical interpretation of Scripture, specifically within American Philosophy. The purpose of the collection concerns starting a conversation about the practice and task of the philosophical interpretation of Scripture. Reflections on the philosophical interpretation of Scripture have been treated more as a “conversation-stopper” than a conversation-starter within the American academy. To start such a conversation, this collection offers substantive accounts of the role of Scripture in the philosophical thought of fifteen American philosophers: Jane Addams, Henry Bugbee, Stanley Cavell, John Dewey, Jonathan Edwards, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, William James, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles Sanders Peirce, Josiah Royce, Richard Rorty, George Santayana, Henry David Thoreau, and Cornel West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498537957
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/13/2019
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Jacob L. Goodson is assistant professor of philosophy at Southwestern College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Section 1. Reading Genesis and Job with American Philosophers

1. Ann W. Duncan & Jacob L. Goodson, “Immortal Eve”? Genesis 1-3 in Margaret Fuller’s Woman in the Nineteenth Century

2. Edward F. Mooney, “In Demonstration of the Spirit”: Henry Bugbee’s Meditations on the Book of Job

Section 2. Reading the Prophets with American Philosophers

3. William J. Danaher Jr., “Fire Enfolding Itself”: Jonathan Edwards and the Merkabah

4. Willie Young, Gathering the Wild Fruits of Scripture: Henry David Thoreau’s Philosophical Interpretations of Scripture

5. Lawrence Ware, The Black Prophetic Tradition: Cornel West, Abraham Heschel, and the Biblical Prophets

Section 3. Philosophical Interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels

6. Jacob L. Goodson, “Ye Shall Know Them By Their Fruits”: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Interpretation of Jesus’ Logical Rule

7. John R. Shook, Let the Philosophers Bury Their Own Dead: Matthew 8 and Luke 9 in John Dewey’s Philosophy

Section 4. Moral Interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels

8. Ann W. Duncan, The Impossibility of Complacency: Scripture in the Life and Work of Jane Addams

9. Jacob L. Goodson, Secrecy and Suffering: The Sermon on the Mount in George Santayana’s The Idea of Christ

10. Eric Reitan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Scripture, and the Ethics of Love

Section 5. Reading John’s Gospel and Epistles with American Philosophers

11. David O’Hara, Agapic Love as the Sole Principle of Logic: John’s Gospel, John’s Epistles, and C. S. Peirce’s Philosophy

12. William Elkins, What Is the Problem of Christianity? Echoes of John’s Theology in Josiah Royce’s Absolute Idealism

Section 6. Reading 1 Corinthians with American Philosophers

13. Jacob L. Goodson and Quinlan C. Stein, William James on the Doctrine of Transubstantiation: American Transcendentalism vs. Roman Catholicism

14. Peter Dula, “Putting Away Childish Things”: Six Scenes of Instruction in Stanley Cavell’s Little Did I Know

15. Jacob L. Goodson, “And the Greatest of These Is Love”: Richard Rorty’s Turn to Scripture

Section 7. On the Philosophical Interpretation of Traditionally Sacred Texts

16. Roger Ward, How Jonathan Edwards Reads the Christian Scriptures

17. Isra Yazicioglu, How C. S. Peirce’s Pragmatism Helps for Interpreting the Qur’an

About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Surprising—I am delighted but surprised by the subject of this book. I had agreed to blurb the book because I think so highly of its editor, but I confess I thought the topic to be "one off." But these are wonderful essays that not only through light on largely ignored American philosophers (Bugbee) but just as important we learn how scripture can be read in constructive manner. I cannot recommend this book highly enough because it turns out the subject is not only interesting but significant for how to go on philosophically.

Stanley Hauerwas

This collection of explorations into the manner and purpose of American philosophers’ reading of Scripture pushes back against trends in academic philosophy that seek to block this path of inquiry. The authors investigate the question with acuity, inventiveness, and care, such that the reader wants to learn more about the philosophers, previously known or unknown, whose use of Scripture has gone unnoticed or ignored. The book is a welcome invitation to a rich and longer conversation.

Seth Vannatta

American Philosophers Read Scripture breaks down the old reason versus revelation debate surrounding scriptural interpretation by showing how American philosophers—regardless of theological tradition or religious orientation—used scripture as evidence for arguments or as inspirational starting-points of musement and action. It also highlights the critical role that reading plays in the life of those who write, be it Biblical texts or not. It also works at a meta-level, as astute philosophy and religion scholars read scripture along with those classic American scholars who read scripture. The book reminds us that the philosophical life extends into whatever text we read.

Brad Elliott Stone