Transcendence in Philosophy and Religion Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion Merold Westphal, general editor Transcendence in Philosophy and Religion Edited by James E. Faulconer Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu/≈iupress Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail
[email protected] ∫ 2003 by Indiana University Press All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Transcendence in philosophy and religion / edited by James E. Faulconer. p. cm. — (Indiana series in the philosophy of religion) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-34199-X (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-253-21575-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy and religion. 2. Transcendence (Philosophy) 3. Hermeneutics. I. Faulconer, James E. II. Series. B56 .T73 2003 111%.6—dc21 2002012401 1 2 3 4 5 08 07 06 05 04 03 Contents acknowledgments / vii Introduction: Thinking Transcendence James E. Faulconer / 1 PART I. HERMENEUTICS AND PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION 1. Whose Philosophy? Which Religion? Reflections on Reason as Faith Merold Westphal / 13 2. The Question into Meaning and the Question of God: A Hermeneutic Approach Ben Vedder / 35 3. The Sense of Symbols as the Core of Religion: A Philosophical Approach to a Theological Debate Paul Moyaert / 53 4. Philosophy and Transcendence: Religion and the Possibility of Justice James E. Faulconer / 70 PART II. RETHINKING PHENOMENOLOGY FROM RELIGION 5. The Event, the Phenomenon, and the Revealed Jean-Luc Marion / 87 6. Phenomenality and Transcendence Marlène Zarader / 106 7. Transcendence and the Hermeneutic Circle: Some Thoughts on Marion and Heidegger Béatrice Han / 120 contributors / 145 index / 147 v acknowledgments My thanks to Brigham Young University for the leave during which I compiled these essays and to the many people, past and present, who have helped me with advice and criticism. I am especially grateful to my wife, Janice K. Faulconer, for her support and encouragement. Transcendence in Philosophy and Religion Introduction Thin