Overview

How do sacraments differ from superstition? For Enlightenment philosophers such as Kant, both are merely natural actions claiming a supernatural effect, an accusation that has long been ignored in Catholic theology. In Maurice Blondel on the Supernatural in Human Action: Sacrament and Superstition, however, Cathal Doherty SJ reverses this accusation through a theological appropriation of Blondel's philosophy of action, arguing not only that sacraments have no truck with superstition but that the 'Enlightened' are themselves guilty of that which they most abhor, superstitious action. Doherty then uses Blondel's philosophical insights as a heuristic and corrective to putative sacramental theologies that would reduce the spiritual or supernatural efficacy of sacraments to the mere human effort of perception or symbolic interpretation.

Full Product Details

Author:   Cathal Doherty
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   4
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.640kg
ISBN:  

9789004342422

ISBN 10:   9004342427
Pages:   314
Publication Date:   06 April 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

CONTENTS Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Chapter One: The Enlightenment Critique of the Christian Religion: the 'Scandal' of Particularity & Superstition Chapter Two: Blondel's Rehabilitation of Particularity & Response to Kantian Formalism Chapter Three: From Self-Determination to the Superstition of the Enlightenment Chapter Four: The Supernatural as Hypothetical Necessity Chapter Five: The Philosophical Exigencies of the Supernatural: Revelation, Mediator, Sacramental Practice Chapter Six: Supernatural and Sacramental Realism: Divine Agency as Real Chapter Seven: Superstition in Sacramental Theology: Chauvet's 'Symbol and Sacrament' Chapter Eight: The Philosophy of Action & the Theology of Ecclesial Tradition and Sacrament Conclucions Bibliography Index

Reviews

""(...) Doherty demonstrates the continued relevance of Blondel's work for contemporary theological debates, and helpfully brings Blondel's philosophical rehabilitation of praxis to bear on sacramental theology."" - Nomi Pritz-Benett, University of Edinburgh, in: The Expository Times Volume 129.9 (2018).

(...) Doherty demonstrates the continued relevance of Blondel's work for contemporary theological debates, and helpfully brings Blondel's philosophical rehabilitation of praxis to bear on sacramental theology. - Nomi Pritz-Benett, University of Edinburgh, in: The Expository Times Volume 129.9 (2018).

Author Information

Cathal Doherty SJ is Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco. Specializing in sacraments, he completed doctorates in theoretical linguistics (University of California, 1993) and Catholic theology (Boston College, 2015).

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