
Effing the Ineffable
Existential Mumblings at the Limits of Language
Wesley J. Wildman(Author)
State University of New York Press
Published on 1. October 2018
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-4384-7123-5 (ISBN)
Description
A meditation on how religious language tries to limn the liminal, conceive the inconceivable, speak the unspeakable, and say the unsayable.
In Effing the Ineffable, Wesley J. Wildman confronts the human obsession with ultimate reality and our desire to conceive and speak of this reality through religious language, despite the seeming impossibility of doing so. Each chapter is a meditative essay on an aspect of life that, for most people, is fraught with special spiritual significance: dreaming, suffering, creating, slipping, balancing, eclipsing, loneliness, intensity, and bliss. These moments can inspire religious questioning and commitment, and, in extreme situations, drive us in search of ways to express what matters most to us. Drawing upon American pragmatist, Anglo-American analytic, and Continental traditions of philosophical theology, Wildman shows how, through direct description, religious symbolism, and phenomenological experience, the language games of religion become a means to attempt, and, in some sense, to accomplish this task.
In Effing the Ineffable, Wesley J. Wildman confronts the human obsession with ultimate reality and our desire to conceive and speak of this reality through religious language, despite the seeming impossibility of doing so. Each chapter is a meditative essay on an aspect of life that, for most people, is fraught with special spiritual significance: dreaming, suffering, creating, slipping, balancing, eclipsing, loneliness, intensity, and bliss. These moments can inspire religious questioning and commitment, and, in extreme situations, drive us in search of ways to express what matters most to us. Drawing upon American pragmatist, Anglo-American analytic, and Continental traditions of philosophical theology, Wildman shows how, through direct description, religious symbolism, and phenomenological experience, the language games of religion become a means to attempt, and, in some sense, to accomplish this task.
Reviews / Votes
"...Effing the Ineffable will be valuable for those working in the philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, and theological method, all of whom will benefit from engaging with and learning from Wildman's distinct brand of religious philosophy." - Reading Religion"This is a fine example of Wildman's way of doing philosophy of religion. It demonstrates the importance, if not necessity, of religious philosophers working comparatively and also the benefits of multidisciplinary inquiry." - Stephen Dawson, Lynchburg College
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Illustrations
1 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
526 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4384-7123-5 (9781438471235)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2018
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€84.99
Available for download
Person
Wesley J. Wildman is Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics at Boston University. His many books include Religious Philosophy as Multidisciplinary Comparative Inquiry: Envisioning a Future for the Philosophy of Religion and Fidelity with Plausibility: Modest Christologies in the Twentieth Century, both also published by SUNY Press.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I. Ultimacy Talk
1. Dreaming
2. Suffering
3. Creating
Part II. Ultimacy Systems
4. Slipping
5. Balancing
6. Eclipsing
Part III. Ultimacy Manifestations
7. Loneliness
8. Intensity
9. Bliss
The Treachery of Words (This Is Not a Conclusion)
Works Cited
Index
Acknowledgments
Part I. Ultimacy Talk
1. Dreaming
2. Suffering
3. Creating
Part II. Ultimacy Systems
4. Slipping
5. Balancing
6. Eclipsing
Part III. Ultimacy Manifestations
7. Loneliness
8. Intensity
9. Bliss
The Treachery of Words (This Is Not a Conclusion)
Works Cited
Index