William Desmond Reader

Christopher Ben Simpson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Lincoln Christian University. He is the author of Religion, Metaphysics, and the Postmodern: William Desmond and John D. Caputo and The Truth is the Way: Kierkegaard's Theologia Viatorum.

"...Simpson keeps a finessed editorial (di)stance, with which he lets the other speak for himself; such deference suggests Simpson's knowledge that the compilation of the excerpts are never exhaustible of the philosopher. This book, therefore, is an excellent introductory reader for those who have never read the works of Desmond, while those who are familiar with his writings should also find it to be an excellent addition to their intellectual repertoire." — Bibliographia"The William Desmond Reader is a welcome resource for those who are not yet acquainted with his work, as well as for those already familiar with it … [an] excellent volume." — Ethical Perspectives"The contributions in this book are of a high quality and definitely to be recommended to the veteran and novel scholar of Desmond's philosophy." — Philosophischer Literaturanzeiger

• Foreword by John CaputoAcknowledgmentsIntroductionList of William Desmond’s WorksPart I. Metaphysics and Philosophy The Fourfold WayTranscendencesThe Truth of MetaphysicsWhat Is Metaphysical Thinking?Metaphysics and DialecticThe MetaxologicalThe Idiocy of BeingAgapeic MindPart II. Ethics and EthosAutonomy and FreedomThe Potencies of the EthicalMetaxological EthicsPart III. Religion and the Philosophy of God Agapeic OriginBreaking the SilenceGodlessnessBeyond GodlessnessHegel’s Counterfeit DoubleGod and the Metaxological WayGod and HyperboleGod beyond the WholeGod Being Over-Being: A Metaphysical CantoPart IV. Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art Being AestheticBeing at a Loss: On Philosophy and the TragicArt and TranscendencePart V. Retrospections and Reflections Wording the Between"Two Thinks at a Distance": An Interview with William Desmond by Richard Kearney on 9 January 2011Index