Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern

This thesis is a systematic presentation of William Desmond's philosophical system and an argument for its viability and superiority relative to dominant alternate visions, here represented by that of John D. Caputo. Desmond, I argue, provides a viable and preferable alternative to - and an al...

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Main Author: Simpson, Christopher Ben
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10510/
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author Simpson, Christopher Ben
author_facet Simpson, Christopher Ben
author_sort Simpson, Christopher Ben
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This thesis is a systematic presentation of William Desmond's philosophical system and an argument for its viability and superiority relative to dominant alternate visions, here represented by that of John D. Caputo. Desmond, I argue, provides a viable and preferable alternative to - and an alternative narrating of - the kind of late twentieth century "postmodern" anti-metaphysical frame represented by Caputo. Desmond's vision is viable in that it answers Caputo's critiques - showing that they need not be the case. Here Desmond shows how metaphysics (and ethics and religion informed by metaphysics) escapes Caputo's narration/location. Desmond defeats Caputo's defeaters in order to make Desmond's vision a possible position. On a deeper level, Desmond's vision is arguably preferable inasmuch it can be used to critique Caputo's vision - largely in that it (Desmond's vision) as it can be seen to fulfill Caputo's motivating concerns in a more satisfying manner than Caputo's own vision. It does this in two ways. First, from Desmond's vision one can see how such a "LeviNietzschean" vision tends to betray its own motivating concerns. Second, Desmond's position shows how a metaphysical vision/stance/picture (like Desmond's) is, in fact, necessary for one to fulfill these concerns (... or simply necessary, as such). In this manner, Desmond out-narrates the "postmodern" "LeviNietzschean" position, showing Desmond's as a preferable position - as possessing a broader and greater explanatory reach.
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spelling nottingham-105102025-02-28T11:08:35Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10510/ Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern Simpson, Christopher Ben This thesis is a systematic presentation of William Desmond's philosophical system and an argument for its viability and superiority relative to dominant alternate visions, here represented by that of John D. Caputo. Desmond, I argue, provides a viable and preferable alternative to - and an alternative narrating of - the kind of late twentieth century "postmodern" anti-metaphysical frame represented by Caputo. Desmond's vision is viable in that it answers Caputo's critiques - showing that they need not be the case. Here Desmond shows how metaphysics (and ethics and religion informed by metaphysics) escapes Caputo's narration/location. Desmond defeats Caputo's defeaters in order to make Desmond's vision a possible position. On a deeper level, Desmond's vision is arguably preferable inasmuch it can be used to critique Caputo's vision - largely in that it (Desmond's vision) as it can be seen to fulfill Caputo's motivating concerns in a more satisfying manner than Caputo's own vision. It does this in two ways. First, from Desmond's vision one can see how such a "LeviNietzschean" vision tends to betray its own motivating concerns. Second, Desmond's position shows how a metaphysical vision/stance/picture (like Desmond's) is, in fact, necessary for one to fulfill these concerns (... or simply necessary, as such). In this manner, Desmond out-narrates the "postmodern" "LeviNietzschean" position, showing Desmond's as a preferable position - as possessing a broader and greater explanatory reach. 2008 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10510/1/CS_Thesis_A4_FINAL.pdf Simpson, Christopher Ben (2008) Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. William Desmond Desmond Caputo Metaphysics Hyperbolics Postmodern Theology Religion
spellingShingle William Desmond
Desmond
Caputo
Metaphysics
Hyperbolics
Postmodern
Theology
Religion
Simpson, Christopher Ben
Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
title Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
title_full Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
title_fullStr Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
title_full_unstemmed Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
title_short Divine hyperbolics: Desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
title_sort divine hyperbolics: desmond, religion, metaphysics and the postmodern
topic William Desmond
Desmond
Caputo
Metaphysics
Hyperbolics
Postmodern
Theology
Religion
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10510/