Finite transcendence : existential exile and the myth of home / Steven A. Burr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burr, Steven A., 1975- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Existentialism in literature.

Exiles in literature.

Home in literature.

Exile (Punishment) in literature.

Physical Description:

xiii, 196 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, [2014]

Summary:

Absurdity, time, death-each poses a profound threat to Being, compelling us to face our limits and our finitude. Yet what does it mean to fully realize and experience these threats? Finite Transcendence: Existential Exile and the Myth of Home presents a thoughtful and thorough examination of these challenges and questions, arguing the universality of the realization of finitude in the experience of exile. By tracing the historical presence and experience of notions of "faith" and "exile" in Western thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present, Steven A. Burr demonstrates the character of each as fundamental, constitutive components of what it means to be human. This book discusses essential elements of each, culminating in a compelling account of "existential exile" as a definitive name for the human experience of finitude. Burr follows with a comprehensive analysis of the writings of Albert Camus, demonstrating an edifying articulation of, engagement with, and reconciliation of the condition of existential exile. Finally, based on the model suggested in Camus's approach, Burr discusses responses to exile and articulates the meaning of home as the transcendence of exile. Finite Transcendence is a work that will be of great value to anyone working in or studying existentialism, philosophy of religion, hermeneutics, and social theory, as well as to anyone interested in questions of faith and society, religion, or secularity. Book jacket.

Contents:

I The Ontological Situation 1

1 Finitude 3

2 Existential Exile 49

II Betwixt and Between 91

3 Absurdity and Exile 93

4 Revolt and [Re-]Union 123

III Home 159

5 Finitude and Faith, Exile and [Re-]Union 161.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780739187951

0739187953

OCLC:

870098181