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The Nicene Option: An Incarnational Phenomenology
Christian philosophy and philosophy of religion tend to be dominated by analytic approaches, which have brought a valuable logical rigor to the discussion of matters of belief. However, the perspectives of continental philosophy--in particular, the continental emphasis on embodied forms of knowing--still have much to offer to the conversation and our understanding of what it means to be both rational and faithful in a postmodern world.
The Nicene Option represents the full sweep of James K. A. Smith's work in continental philosophy of religion over the past twenty years. Animated by the conviction that a philosophy of religion needs to be philosophical reflection on the practice of religion, as a form of life (as Wittgenstein would say), this book makes the case for the distinct contribution that phenomenology--as a philosophy of experience--can make to philosophy of religion and Christian philosophy. Engaging a range of philosophers in this tradition, including Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Luc Marion, Richard Rorty, and Charles Taylor, Smith's constructive proposal coheres around what he describes as the logic of incarnation, a Nicene option in contemporary philosophy of religion. By grounding philosophy of religion in the doctrinal heart of Christian confession, Smith gestures toward a uniquely robust Christian philosophy.
Besides issuing a clarion call for the renaissance of continental philosophy of religion, The Nicene Option also offers a glimpse behind the scholarly curtain for a wider audience of readers familiar with Smith's popular works such as Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?, Desiring the Kingdom, Imagining the Kingdom, and You Are What You Love--all of which are tacitly informed by the phenomenological approach articulated in this book. As an extended footnote to those works--which for many readers have been gateways to philosophy-- The Nicene Option presents an invitation to a new depth of reflection.
The Nicene Option represents the full sweep of James K. A. Smith's work in continental philosophy of religion over the past twenty years. Animated by the conviction that a philosophy of religion needs to be philosophical reflection on the practice of religion, as a form of life (as Wittgenstein would say), this book makes the case for the distinct contribution that phenomenology--as a philosophy of experience--can make to philosophy of religion and Christian philosophy. Engaging a range of philosophers in this tradition, including Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Luc Marion, Richard Rorty, and Charles Taylor, Smith's constructive proposal coheres around what he describes as the logic of incarnation, a Nicene option in contemporary philosophy of religion. By grounding philosophy of religion in the doctrinal heart of Christian confession, Smith gestures toward a uniquely robust Christian philosophy.
Besides issuing a clarion call for the renaissance of continental philosophy of religion, The Nicene Option also offers a glimpse behind the scholarly curtain for a wider audience of readers familiar with Smith's popular works such as Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?, Desiring the Kingdom, Imagining the Kingdom, and You Are What You Love--all of which are tacitly informed by the phenomenological approach articulated in this book. As an extended footnote to those works--which for many readers have been gateways to philosophy-- The Nicene Option presents an invitation to a new depth of reflection.
253 pages, Hardcover
Published August 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 8, 2021
If “You Are What You Love” was Smith’s translation of his Cultural Liturgies project to the vernacular, then “The Nicene Option” was a trip behind the veil to see the philosophical fears at work behind the same project.
At times, I feel I had accidentally wandered in to a conference in a hotel to which I was not invited, yet still welcomed. I stood at the back wall and listened to the speakers present their papers, with varying degrees of comprehension. That is to say, this work is a work for the academy and directed to the same. I was a fly on the wall and was enriched greatly by the experience, but I was not the intended audience. All the same, it was a great foray back into the world of academic philosophy for me and, for that reason, was rather nostalgic. I hope Smith continues to extrapolate his project and develop it over the coming years!
At times, I feel I had accidentally wandered in to a conference in a hotel to which I was not invited, yet still welcomed. I stood at the back wall and listened to the speakers present their papers, with varying degrees of comprehension. That is to say, this work is a work for the academy and directed to the same. I was a fly on the wall and was enriched greatly by the experience, but I was not the intended audience. All the same, it was a great foray back into the world of academic philosophy for me and, for that reason, was rather nostalgic. I hope Smith continues to extrapolate his project and develop it over the coming years!
August 26, 2021
I have greatly appreciated Jamie Smith's work, and this new book is definitely his most technical (or at least most technically-written) book that I have read. Overall, I benefited a lot from reading, even the most dense chapters, but found it slightly less cohesive (as a whole) than I would have wished.
On the good side, there are some outstanding chapters here. In particular, I love his reading and interaction with Derrida, and what he calls the "Logic of determination" as compared to the "Logic of the incarnation." There's a superb chapter on the theme of "hope," and a compelling argument as to why modern/postmodern accounts of hope tend to founder. This is all outstanding stuff, and worth doing some work to get through and internalize.
Fans of Smith, though, should note that it does get a bit "inside baseball," especially in the later chapters. He gets really deep into critiques of thinkers like Levinas and Marion, and it can be a bit hard to track with if you aren't super familiar with them. Additionally, some of these chapters don't feel like they cohere with each other so well, and the book seems to lose a sense of a clear overarching argument, especially as you get near the end. In the afterword, Smith admits as much, essentially saying that this is a bunch of first words and ideas, and the implications of his "incarnational phenomenology" should be explored much further in various directions.
Don't get me wrong, this is very much still worth reading, if you are up for some dense philosophical writing. But definitely don't expect anything along the lines of his more popular-level books, or a single, clear through line. It reads more like a loosely-connected collection of good essays (which, I think, is basically what it is, given the publishing story). For big fans of Jamie, though, this is a worthy addition to the bookshelf.
On the good side, there are some outstanding chapters here. In particular, I love his reading and interaction with Derrida, and what he calls the "Logic of determination" as compared to the "Logic of the incarnation." There's a superb chapter on the theme of "hope," and a compelling argument as to why modern/postmodern accounts of hope tend to founder. This is all outstanding stuff, and worth doing some work to get through and internalize.
Fans of Smith, though, should note that it does get a bit "inside baseball," especially in the later chapters. He gets really deep into critiques of thinkers like Levinas and Marion, and it can be a bit hard to track with if you aren't super familiar with them. Additionally, some of these chapters don't feel like they cohere with each other so well, and the book seems to lose a sense of a clear overarching argument, especially as you get near the end. In the afterword, Smith admits as much, essentially saying that this is a bunch of first words and ideas, and the implications of his "incarnational phenomenology" should be explored much further in various directions.
Don't get me wrong, this is very much still worth reading, if you are up for some dense philosophical writing. But definitely don't expect anything along the lines of his more popular-level books, or a single, clear through line. It reads more like a loosely-connected collection of good essays (which, I think, is basically what it is, given the publishing story). For big fans of Jamie, though, this is a worthy addition to the bookshelf.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews