Overview
In this book, Gianni Vattimo explores the theme of faith and religion which underlies much of his work. Written in a personal, conversational style, Vattimo examines such concepts as charity, truth, dogmatism, morality and sin through the lens of his own life and his own return to Christianity." "At the center of the book is the enigma of belief. Freed by modernity from its Platonic subordination to knowledge, belief is recovered as a crucial and inevitable feature of our cultural and personal lives. "Do you believe?" Vattimo is asked. "I believe so," he replies." "Through an analysis of his own responses to the work of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo explores the relationship between the nihilism and his own life as a devout Catholic, leading him to conclude that secularization stems from a Christian impulse, and that nihilism too could only have emerged from a Christian culture." "This original contribution to the contemporary debate on religion will be of interest to scholars and students of theology, religious studies and philosophy.Synopsis
In this highly personal book, one of Europe’s foremost contemporary philosophers confronts the theme of faith and religion. He argues that there is a substantial link between the history of Christian revelation and the history of nihilism, in particular as the latter appears in the work of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo’s philosophical specialty. Tracing the relation between his response to these two thinkers and his own life as a devout Catholic, Vattimo shows how his interpretation of Heidegger’s work and his conceptions of “weak thought” and “weak ontology” can be seen as closely linked to a rediscovery of Christianity.
Vattimo speaks here in the first person—a risk that results in a disarmingly open exploration of the themes of charity, truth, dogmatism, morality, and sin, viewed through the lens of his own life and his own return to Christianity. While deeply critical of institutionalized religion and the Church, Vattimo discovers in the Christian tradition a voice (not a distinct message) whose interpretation is still being played out around us. Shaped by his readings of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Vattimo’s decision to affirm his formation within the Christian tradition provides an original and engaging contribution to the contemporary debate on religion.
At the center of this book is the enigma of belief. Freed by modernity from its Platonic subordination to knowledge, belief is recovered as a crucial and inevitable feature of our cultural and personal lives. “Do you believe?” Vattimo is asked. “I believe so,” he replies.
Booknews
In a personal and conversational style, Vattimo (philosophy, U. of Turin) explores the theme of faith and religion, which underlies much of his work. He approaches such concepts as charity, truth, dogmatism, morality, and sin through the lens of his own life and his return to Christianity. He includes no index and references only to Biblical passages. The original was published by Garzanti Editore in 1996. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)