The Courage to Be / Edition 3

by Paul Tillich, Harvey Cox

Overview

Selected as one of the Books of the Century by the New York Public Library
 
“The brilliance, the wealth of illustration, and the aptness of personal application . . . make the reading of these chapters an exciting experience.”—W. Norman Pittenger, New York Times Book Review
 
“The Courage to Be changed my life. It also profoundly impacted the lives of many others from my generation. Now Harvey Cox’s fresh introduction helps to open up this powerful reading experience to the current generation.”—Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley
 
Originally published in 1952, The Courage to Be has become a classic of twentieth-century religious and philosophical thought. The great Christian existentialist thinker Paul Tillich describes the dilemma of modern humankind and points a way to the conquest of the problem of anxiety. This edition includes a new introduction by Harvey Cox that situates the book within the theological conversation into which it first appeared and conveys its continued relevance in the current century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300188790
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	07/08/2014
Series:	Terry Lectures Series
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	55,762
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Paul Tillich (1886–1965) was a world-renowned philosopher and theologian.


Harvey Cox is Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

	Introduction to the Second Edition	xi
1.	Being and Courage	1
	Courage and Fortitude: From Plato to Thomas Aquinas	2
	Courage and Wisdom: The Stoics	9
	Courage and Self-affirmation: Spinoza	18
	Courage and Life: Nietzsche	24
2.	Being, Nonbeing, and Anxiety	32
	An Ontology of Anxiety	32
	The meaning of nonbeing	32
	The interdependence of fear and anxiety	36
	Types of Anxiety	40
	The three types of anxiety and the nature of man	40
	The anxiety of fate and death	42
	The anxiety of emptiness and meaninglessness	46
	The anxiety of guilt and condemnation	51
	The meaning of despair	54
	Periods of Anxiety	57
3.	Pathological Anxiety, Vitality, and Courage	64
	The Nature of Pathological Anxiety	64
	Anxiety, Religion, and Medicine	70
	Vitality and Courage	78
4.	Courage and Participation (The Courage to Be as a Part)	86
	Being, Individualization, and Participation	86
	Collectivist and Semicollectivist Manifestations of the Courage to Be as a Part	90
	Neocollectivist Manifestations of the Courage to Be as a Part	96
	The Courage to Be as a Part in Democratic Conformism	103
5.	Courage and Individualization (The Courage to Be as Oneself)	113
	The Rise of Modern Individualism and the Courage to Be as Oneself	113
	The Romantic and Naturalistic Forms of the Courage to Be as Oneself	116
	Existentialist Forms of the Courage to Be as Oneself	123
	The existential attitude and Existentialism	123
	The existentialist point of view	126
	The loss of the existentialist point of view	131
	Existentialism as revolt	135
	Existentialism Today and the Courage of Despair	139
	Courage and despair	139
	The courage of despair in contemporary art and literature	142
	The courage of despair in contemporary philosophy	148
	The courage of despair in the noncreative Existentialist attitude	150
	The limits of the courage to be as oneself	151
6.	Courage and Transcendence (The Courage to Accept Acceptance)	155
	The Power of Being as Source of the Courage to Be	156
	The mystical experience and the courage to be	156
	The divine-human encounter and the courage to be	160
	Guilt and the courage to accept acceptance	163
	Fate and the courage to accept acceptance	167
	Absolute faith and the courage to be	171
	The Courage to Be as the Key to Being-itself	178
	Nonbeing opening up being	178
	Theism transcended	182
	The God above God and the courage to be	186
	Index	191

What People are Saying About This

Peter J. Gomes

Were I to choose the most significant book in religion published in the second half of the twentieth century, my choice would fall easily upon Paul Tillich's The Courage to Be.

Editorial Reviews

The brilliance, the wealth of illustration, and the aptness of personal application . . . make the reading of these chapters an exciting experience.”—W. Norman Pittenger, New York Times Book Review

“A lucid and arresting book.”—Frances Witherspoon, New York Herald Tribune

“Clear, uncluttered thinking and lucid writing mark Mr. Tillich’s study as a distinguished and readable one.”—American Scholar

“Paul Tillich is the most profound theologian of post-fundamentalist religion. As Harvey Cox makes clear in his new introduction, this book is a classic awaiting re-discovery by a new generation.”—Tom F. Driver, Paul J. Tillich Professor of Theology and Culture Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary in New York

“The Courage to Be changed my life. It also profoundly impacted the lives of many others from my generation. Now Harvey Cox’s fresh introduction helps to open up this powerful reading experience to the current generation.”—Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley

“The essential character of courage, for Tillich, is ‘in spite of.’ We must go on striving for freedom, justice, and our faith in spite of oppositions. In this age of late capitalism, globalization, and terrorism, we all need the virtue of courage, as Harvey Cox admirably argues in the foreword.”—Nimi Wariboko, Andover Newton Theological School

“Tillich struggled with the existential question how we may overcome the demoralizing effects, on the individual and society, of our Age of Anxiety. In this, his most popular book, Tillich gives us his deeply thought answers, and Harvey Cox provides a helpful new introduction.”—Gerald Holton, Harvard University

From the Publisher

The brilliance, the wealth of illustration, and the aptness of personal application . . . make the reading of these chapters an exciting experience.”—W. Norman Pittenger, New York Times Book Review

W. Norman Pittenger

"Tillich struggled with the existential question how we may overcome the demoralizing effects, on the individual and society, of our Age of Anxiety. In this, his most popular book, Tillich gives us his deeply thought answers, and Harvey Cox provides a helpful new introduction.  "—Gerald Holton, Harvard University

Gerald Holton

"The essential character of courage, for Tillich, is “in spite of.” We must go on striving for freedom, justice, and our faith in spite of oppositions. In this age of late capitalism, globalization, and terrorism, we all need the virtue of courage as Harvey Cox admirably argues in the foreword."—Nimi Wariboko, Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, MA

Nimi Wariboko

“The Courage to Be changed my life. It also profoundly impacted the lives of many others from my generation. Now Harvey Cox's fresh introduction helps to open up this powerful reading experience to the current generation.”—Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley

Robert N. Bellah

Paul Tillich is the most profound theologian of post-fundamentalist religion.  As Harvey Cox makes clear in his new introduction, this book is a classic awaiting re-discovery by a new generation."—Tom F. Driver, The Paul J. Tillich Professor of Theology and Culture Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary in New York

Tom F. Driver

The brilliance, the wealth of illustration, and the aptness of personal application . . . make the reading of these chapters an exciting experience.
— (New York Times Book Review)

W Norman Pittenger

A lucid and arresting book.
— (New York Herald Tribune)

Witherspoon

Clear, uncluttered thinking and lucid writing mark Mr. Tillich's study as a distinguished and readable one.

American Scholar