Words Fail: Theology, Poetry, and the Challenge of Representation

by Colby Dickinson

Overview

There has been much philosophical speculation on the potential failure of language as well as the search for a presentation of the "thing itself" beyond representation. Words Fail pursues the writings of a trio of philosophers—Jacques Derrida, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Giorgio Agamben—as prime examples of how modern poetry presents us with a profitable vantage point from which to survey the ongoing struggle of living in a highly fragmented world.

Alongside these thinkers, this book looks specifically at the form of spirituality that is given shape by this intersection of poetics and theological-philosophical reflection—all of which offer rich suggestions about our spiritual nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823272846
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	10/03/2016
Series:	Perspectives in Continental Philosophy
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Colby Dickinson is Assistant Professor of Theology at Loyola University Chicago.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. The logic of the 'as if' and the (non)existence of God: An inquiry into the nature of belief
2. Aesthetics among the metaphysical ruins: The poetry of Paul Celan seen through the works of Jacques Derrida and Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe
3. On language and its profanation: Beyond representation in the poetic theory of Giorgio Agamben
Conclusion: The Spiritual and Creative Failures of Representation, or On the Art of Writing

Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Colby Dickinson provides us with a compelling meditation on the complex relationship between poetry, philosophy, and religion. He not only illuminates Derrida and Agamben's engagement with poetry but allows poetry to talk back to philosophy—and invites the reader to reconsider what is at stake every time we sit down to write."-Adam Kotsko, Shimer College

From the Publisher

Colby Dickinson provides us with a compelling meditation on the complex relationship between poetry, philosophy, and religion. He not only illuminates Derrida and Agamben’s engagement with poetry but allows poetry to talk back to philosophy—and invites the reader to reconsider what is at stake every time we sit down to write.

Shimer College - Adam Kotsko