Rethinking Philosophy and Theology with Deleuze: A New Cartography

Description

The debate between faith and reason has been a dominant feature of Western thought for more than two millennia. This book takes up the problem of the relation between philosophy and theology and proposes that this relation can be reconceived if both philosophy and theology are seen as different ways of organising affects. Brent Adkins and Paul R. Hinlicky break new ground in this timely debate in two ways. Firstly, they lay bare the contemporary dependence on Kant and propose that our Kantian inheritance leaves us with an insuperable dualism. Secondly, the authors argue that the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze provides a way of resolving the debate between faith and reason that does justice to philosophy and theology by reconceiving of both as assemblages. Deleuze's philosophy differentiates domains of thought in terms of what they create. This seems like a particularly fruitful way to pursue the problem of the relations among philosophy and theology because it allows their distinction without at the same time placing them in opposition to one another.

Brent Adkins is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Roanoke College, USA. Paul R. Hinlicky is Tise Professor of Lutheran Studies at Roanoke College, USA.

[A] stimulating read. Adkins and Hinlicky succeed in opening up new directions, for both philosophy and theology, beyond deism, theism, and atheism. This Deleuze-inspired critical dogmatic of positive dialectics could be a timely gift for theology, providing it with just what it needs, while at the same time giving philosophy more to think about in offering it more than just 'repeated questions'. -- Bo Kristian Holm, Aarhus University, Denmark