Beyond Heaven and Earth

Gabriel Levy

$110

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

MIT Press
22 February 2022

Philosophy

An approach to understanding religion that draws on both humanities and natural science but rejects approaches that employ simple monisms and radical dualisms.

An approach to understanding religion that draws on both humanities and natural science but rejects approaches that employ simple monisms and radical dualisms.

In Beyond Heaven and Earth, Gabriel Levy argues that collective religious narratives and beliefs are part of nature; they are the basis for the formation of the narratives and beliefs of individuals. Religion grows out of the universe, but to make sense of it we have to recognize the paradox that the universe is both mental and material (or neither). We need both humanities and natural science approaches to study religion and religious meaning, Levy contends, but we must also recognize the limits of these approaches. First, we must make the dominant metaphysics that undergird the various disciplines of science and humanities more explicit, and second, we must reject those versions of metaphysics that maintain simple monisms and radical dualisms.

Bringing Donald Davidson's philosophy-a form of pragmatism known as anomalous monism-to bear on religion, Levy offers a blueprint for one way that the humanities and natural sciences can have a mutually respectful dialogue. Levy argues that in order to understand religions we have to take their semantic content seriously. We need to rethink such basic concepts as narrative fiction, information, agency, creativity, technology, and intimacy. In the course of his argument, Levy considers the relation between two closely related semantics, fiction and religion, and outlines a new approach to information. He then applies his theory to discrete cases- ancient texts, modern media, and intimacy.

By: Gabriel Levy
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262543248
ISBN 10: 0262543249
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 22 February 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments ix Preface xi Introduction: You Can Lead a Horse to Water 1 1 Nondualistic Semantics 25 2 Fiction's Frictions 39 3 Animal Economics of Information 77 4 Stories of Creation 111 5 Bright Light, New Religion 137 6 Intersubjectivity and Intimacy 161 Conclusion: On the Limits of the Unlimited 179 Notes 189 References 195 Index 227

Gabriel Levy is Professor of Religious Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, and the author of Judaic Technologies of the Word.

Reviews for Beyond Heaven and Earth

“A bold attempt to expose the problematic metaphysics underwriting traditional cognitive science of religion . . . Levy’s ability to bring all these subjects to bear on a new cognitive science of religion is impressive. It is an achievement I do not wish to undersell.” —Journal of the American Academy of Religion

SALE ON NOW! PROMOTIONS

Beyond Heaven and Earth

Gabriel Levy

$110

Paperback

Reviews for Beyond Heaven and Earth

See Inside

See Also

Contact Abbeys

Contact Galaxy

Contact Language

Contact Us

About ABBEY'S