The concern of this work is with developing an alternative to standard categories in theology and philosophy, especially in terms of how they deal with nature. Avoiding the polemics of much contemporary reflection on nature, it shows how we are connected to nature through the unconscious and its unique way of reading and processing signs. Spinoza's key distinction between natura naturans and natura naturata serves as the governing framework for the treatise. Suggestions are made for a post-Christian way of understanding religion. Robert S. Corrington's work represents the first sustained attempt to bring together the fields of semiotics, depth-psychology, pragmaticism, and a post-Monotheistic theology of nature. Its focus is on how signification functions in human and non-human orders of infinite nature. Our connection with the infinite is described in detail, especially as it relates to the use of sign systems.

Kierkegaard has long been known as a philosopher and theologian, but his contributions to psychology, anthropology and sociology have also made an important impact on these fields. The articles featured in the present volume explore the reception of Kierkegaard's thought in the social sciences. Of these fields Kierkegaard is perhaps best known in psychology, where The Concept of Anxiety and The Sickness unto Death have been the two most influential texts. With regard to the field of sociology, social criticism, or social theory, Kierkegaard's Literary Review of Two Ages has also been regarded as offering valuable insights about some important dynamics of modern society.

A leading literary critic and psychoanalyst, Julia Kristeva is one of the most significant French thinkers writing today. In this up-to-date survey of her work, John Lechte outlines fully and systematically her intellectual development. He traces it from her work on Bakhtin and the logic of poetic language in the 1960s, through her influential theories of the ‘symbolic’ and the ‘semiotic’ in the 1970s, to her analyses of horror, love, melancholy and cosmopolitanism in the 1980s. He provides an insight into the intellectual and historical context which gave rise to Kristeva’s thought, showing how thinkers such as Roland Barthes, Emile Benviste and Georges Bataille have been important in stimulating her own reflections. He concludes with an overall assessment of Kristeva’s work, looking in particular at her importance for feminism and postmodern thought in general. Essential reading for all those who wish to extend their understanding of this important thinker, this first full-length study of Kristeva’s work will be of interest to students of literature, sociology, critical theory, feminist theory, French studies and psychoanalysis.

One Hundred Twentieth-Century Philosophers offers biographical information and critical analysis of the life, work and impact of some of the most significant figures in philosophy this century. Taken from the acclaimed Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers, the 100 entries are alphabetically organised, from Adorno to Zhang Binglin, and cover individuals from both continental and analytic philosophy. The entries have an identical four-part structure making it easy to compare and contrast information, comprising: * biographical details * a bibliography of major works * a listing of relevant secondary and critical literature * an appraisal of the philosopher's thoughts and achievements. A separate glossary provides an introduction to the origins, development and main features of major philosophical schools and movements and offers select bibliographies to guide the reader to further research.

This Biographical Dictionary provides detailed accounts of the lives, works, influence and reception of thinkers from all the major philosophical schools and traditions of the twentieth-century. This unique volume covers the lives and careers of thinkers from all areas of philosophy - from analytic philosophy to Zen and from formal logic to aesthetics. All the major figures of philosophy, such as Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Russell are examined and analysed. The scope of the work is not merely restricted to the major figures in western philosophy but also covers in depth a significant number of thinkers from the near and far east and from the non-European Hispanic-language communities. The Biographical Dictionary also includes a number of general entries dealing with important schools of philosophy, such as the Vienna Circle, or currents of thought, such as vitalism. These allow the reader to set the individual biographies in the context of the philosophical history of the period. With entries written by over 100 leading philosophy scholars, the Biographical Dictionary is the most comprehensive survey of twentieth-century thinkers to date. Structure The book is structured alphabetically by philosopher. Each entry is identically structured for ease of access and covers: * nationality * dates and places of birth and death * philosophical style or school * areas of interest * higher education * significant influences * main appointments * main publications * secondary literature * account of intellectual development and main ideas * critical reception and impact At the end of the book a glossary gives accounts of the schools, movements and traditions to which these philosophers belonged, and thorough indexes enable the reader to access the information in several ways: * by nationality * by major areas of contribution to philosophy e.g. aesthetics * by major influences on the thinker concerned e.g. Plato, Kant, Wittgenstein

Semiotic theory, which has restricted its focus largely to human forms of significations, is transformed by Robert S. Corrington into a semiotics of nature itself. Corrington situates the divide between "nature naturing" and "nature natured" within the contest of classical American pragmaticism and postmodern psychoanalysis. At the heart of this new metaphysics is an insistence that all signs participate in larger orders of meaning that are natural and religious. Meanings embodied in nature point beyond nature to the mystery inherent in positioned codes and signs.

Routledge Library Editions: Feminist Theory brings together as one set, or individual volumes, a series of previously out-of-print classics from a variety of academic imprints. With titles ranging from The Liberation of Women to Feminists and State Welfare, from Married to the Job to Julia Kristeva, this set provides in one place a wealth of important reference sources from the diverse field of gender studies.

A clear introduction to Kristeva examining her work on language and textuality, subjectivity, feminism and sexuality, politics, identity and nationality.

This collection gathers together the writings on religion of the major voices of French feminism. Also included are introductory essays by the editors which provide a context and demonstrate the importance of these works.

This study provides a history of the concept of form in the twentieth century CE, focusing on the rise and character of relational theory. To some extent drawing on older traditions, relational theory accepts some aspects of modern particularism but moves beyond it by holding that relations simultaneously separate and connect. Particularity and generality are seen as aspects of relationality, and forms are viewed as complexes of relations. Prominent features of a relational view include: an avoidance of rigid structures through an orientation toward probability; multiperspectivity; possibility, not just particular actuality; continuity between the human and the nonhuman; and a valuational rather than a neutral view of reality. Socially, relational theory has supported a combination of freedoms. It joins internal freedom, which values both body and mind, with both negative and positive external freedom, including "freedom from" external controls and "freedom for" the fulfillment of possibilities in cooperation with others. Politically, this ideal favors economic solidarity, respectful recognition of different "racial" or ethnic groups, women's liberation, increased sexual freedom, and ecological consciousness. Relational theory was not the only notable view of form in the twentieth century, however. More-or-less individualistic particularism was radicalized in nihilist and skeptical philosophies, and powerful versions of group particularism arose in fascism, Stalinism, and continuing imperialism. Caucasian male thinkers varied considerably in the degree to which they supported relational conceptions of form, but, not surprisingly in view of the connection between a relational view of form and interactive freedom, most women and non-Caucasian males advocated relational views. Some of the tension described can be viewed positively from the relational side, however, for according to information theory uncertainty provides an opportunity for communication.