The virtue of joy: Spinoza in Jean-luc nancy's deconstruction of christianity

Ashok Collins*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    1 Citation (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In this article, I examine the presence of Spinoza within Jean-Luc Nancy's deconstruction of Christianity project. Although the debt Nancy owes to other philosophers such as Derrida and Heidegger has been recognized, less well known is his reliance on a Spinozist frame of reference throughout his writings on Christianity. Analyzing Nancy's reading of key moments within the deconstruction of Christianity-the doctrines of creation ex nihilo and the incarnation-I explore how the coupling of transcendence and immanence in a Heideggerian ontological mode can be enlightened by Spinoza's philosophy. What takes shape is a profoundly embodied and affective relationality that I argue is the central resource Nancy wishes to expose at the heart of both Christianity and the secular West.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)143-162
    Number of pages20
    JournalResearch in Phenomenology
    Volume49
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

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