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Though coming from different and distinct intellectual traditions, Richard Rorty and Gianni Vattimo are united in their criticism of the metaphysical tradition. The challenges they put forward extend beyond philosophy and entail a reconsideration of the foundations of belief in God and the religious life. They urge that the rejection of metaphysical truth does not necessitate the death of religion; instead it opens new ways of imagining what it is to be religious -- ways that emphasize charity, solidarity, and irony. This unique collaboration, which includes a dialogue between the two philosophers, is notable not only for its fusion of pragmatism (Rorty) and hermeneutics (Vattimo) but also for its recognition of the limits of both traditional religious belief and modern secularism. In "Anticlericalism and Atheism" Rorty discusses Vattimo's work Belief and argues that the end of metaphysics paves the way for an anti-essentialist religion. Rorty's conception of religion, determined by private motives, is designed to produce the gospel's promise that henceforth God will not consider humanity as a servant but as a friend. In "The Age of Interpretation," Vattimo, who is both a devout Catholic and a frequent critic of the church, explores the surprising congruence between Christianity and hermeneutics in light of the dissolution of metaphysical truth. As in hermeneutics, interpretation is central to Christianity, which introduced the world to the principle of interiority, dissolving the experience of objective reality into "listening to and interpreting messages." The lively dialogue that concludes this volume, moderated and edited by Santiago Zabala, analyzes the future of religion together with the political, social, and historical aspects that characterize our contemporary postmodern, postmetaphysical, and post-Christian world.
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The Future of Religion O The Future of Religion Richard Rorty and Gianni Vattimo Edited by Santiago Zabala columbia university press new york Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Published in Italy as Il futuro della Religione. Solidarietà, carità, ironia. Copyright © Garzanti Libri, 2004 Translation copyright © 2005 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rorty, Richard. [Futuro della religione. English] The future of religion / Richard Rorty and Gianni Vattimo ; edited by Santiago Zabala. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–231–13494–0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0–231–50910–3 (electronic) 1. Religion. I. Vattimo, Gianni, 1936– Santiago, 1975– II. Zabala, III. Title. BL48.R54 2004 200—dc22 2004051913 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America Designed by Katie Chan c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Aldo Giorgio Gargani O Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction A Religion Without Theists or Atheists Santiago Zabala 1 1 Anticlericalism and Atheism Richard Rorty 29 2 The Age of Interpretation Gianni Vattimo 43 Dialogue What Is Religion’s Future After Metaphysics? Richard Rorty, Gianni Vattimo, and Santiago Zabala List of Contributors Index 85 83 55 O Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to Richard Rorty and Gianni Vattimo, who accepted the idea of this book from the first, for taking a whole morning in Paris to answer my questions for the dialogue. Also, I must kindly thank the editorial staff at Columbia University Press, especially Wendy Lochner, Michael Haskell, and Jennifer Crewe, for their colle