On time, change, history, and conversion / Sean Hannan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hannan, Sean, author.

Series:

Reading Augustine

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Augustine, of Hippo, Saint, 354-430.

Augustine.

Time.

Time--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

viii, 166 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Summary:

Sean Hannan offers a new interpretation of Augustine of Hippo's approach to temporality by contrasting it with contemporary accounts of time drawn from philosophy, political theology, and popular science. Hannan argues that, rather than offering us a deceptively simple roadmap forward, Augustine asks us to face up to the question of time itself before we take on tasks like transforming ourselves and our world. Augustine discovered that the disorientation we feel in the face of change is a symptom of a deeper problem: namely, that we cannot truly comprehend time, even while it conditions every facet of our lives. This book puts Augustine into creative conversation with contemporary thinkers, from Pierre Hadot and Giorgio Agamben to Steven Pinker and Stephen Hawking, on questions such as the definition of time, the metaphysics of transformation, and the shape of history. The goal is to learn what Augustine can teach us about the nature of temporality and the possibility of change in this temporal world of ours.

Contents:

The reality of time: between idealism and materialism

A brief theology of time: from creation to the eschaton

Enlightenment never: eschatology without progress

Do not live in the now: a critique of mindfulness

The instant of indecision: possibility of personal change

The time is not now: activism despite quietism

Conclusion: This life's future.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 158-163) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Hannan, Sean. On time, change, history, and conversion.

ISBN:

150135647X

9781501356476

1501356461

9781501356469

OCLC:

1103689201