Heidegger and Philosophical Atheology: A Neo-Scholastic Critique

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Heidegger and Philosophical Atheology offers an important new reading of Heidegger's middle and later thought. Beginning with Heidegger's early dissertation on the doctrine of categories in Duns Scotus, Peter S. Dillard shows how Heidegger's middle and later works develop a philosophical anti-theology or atheology' that poses a serious threat to traditional metaphysics, natural theology and philosophy of religion. Drawing on the insights of Scholastic thinkers such as St Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, the book reveals the problematic assumptions of Heideggerian atheology' and shows why they should be rejected. Dillard's critique paves the way for a rejuvenation of Scholastic metaphysics and reveals its relevance to some contemporary philosophical disputes. In addition to clarifying the question of being and explaining the role of phenomenology in metaphysics, Dillard sheds light on the nature of nothingness, necessity and contingency. Ultimately the book offers a revolutionary reorientation of our understanding, both of the later Heidegger and of the legacy of Scholasticism.

Reviews

In Heidegger and Theology, Judith Wolfe carefully traces the theological origins of Martin Heideggers philosophy and then extends this analysis to consider the role these origins play throughout his thought. Through a very productive use of the category of eschatology, Wolfe maps the development of Heideggers philosophy as well as the complex and changing engagements between his philosophy and theology. The result is a book of excellent scholarship that offers much to a wide variety of readers. -- Rose Ellen Dunn, Princeton Theological Seminary, USA * Horizons *
... provocative... Dillard's analysis of Heidegger's work is very cogently and lucidly presented... challenge[s] scholars to engage in research along the paths so deftly cleared by the author. -- The European Legacy, Vol. 15, No. 7

Author Bio

Peter S. Dillard has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania andVillanova University, USA andhis novel, Hohokam Bones, was published by Aydy Press in 2004.