Dante and Derrida : face to face / Francis J. Ambrosio.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ambrosio, Francis J.

Series:

SUNY series in theology and continental thought.

SUNY series in theology and continental thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321--Influence.

Dante Alighieri.

Derrida, Jacques.

Italian literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (258 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Reading Dante's Commedia alongside Jacques Derrida's later religious writings, Francis J. Ambrosio explores what these works reveal about religion as a fundamental dynamic of human existence, about freedom and responsibility, and about the significance of writing itself. Ambrosio argues that both the many telling differences between them and the powerful bonds that unite them across centuries show that Dante and Derrida share an identity as religious writers that arises from the human experiences of faith, hope, and love in response to the divine mystery of being human. For both Dante and Derrida, Ambrosio contends, "scriptural religion" reveals that the paradoxical tension of freedom and absolute responsibility must lead to the mystery of forgiveness, a secret that these two share and faithfully keep by surrendering to its necessity to die so as always to begin again anew.

Contents:

Introduction

Vita nuova : the promise of writing

Inferno : the aporia of forgiveness

Purgatorio : re-turning to the scene of forgiveness

Paradiso : turning tears into smiles

Conclusion: In memoriam : a smile in passing

.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-237) and index.

ISBN:

9780791480410

0791480410

9781429465731

1429465735

OCLC:

123415359