Beyond Individualism bookcover

Beyond Individualism

Toward a Retrieval of Moral Discourse in America
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Description

The seven provocative essays that comprise Beyond Individualism reflect on the American religious tradition in order to discover in it an ethical alternative to the ideology of individualism.

The contributors include Donald L. Gelpi, Stephen C. Rowntree, Drew Christiansen, Frank M. Oppenheim, John M. Staudenmaier, Carl F. Starkloff, and John R. Stacer. They provide an interdisciplinary approach to their criticism of individualism and suggest unique strategies for counteracting the moral and social fragmentation that such an ethos motivates. The first essay argues that a contemporary theology of conversion points the way beyond the moral impasses of individualism, including those encountered in family life. It is followed by a piece that ponders romantic and marital love from a philosophical standpoint. The next section argues that recent papal teaching about the common good provides an alternative to an individualistic politics of self-interest. The fourth essay addresses many of the issues raised in the first three from the standpoint of Josiah Royce's philosophy of community. The next article examines technology's capacity to create and impose values that both undermine community and foster individualism. And the last two essays explore some of the moral consequences of commitment to the human community's common good by examining the treatment of Native Americans in the United States and, in the latter essay, William Ernest Hocking's reflections on global political responsibility.

Throughout, these accessible essays exhibit thematic unity and consistency. They can be read by all inquisitive readers as a discussion on our national character or can be used as a companion volume for courses on American culture along with Habits of the Heart.

Product Details

PublisherUniversity of Notre Dame Press
Publish DateFebruary 28, 1990
Pages244
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconPaperback / softback
EAN/UPC9780268006815
Dimensions9.0 X 6.0 X 0.6 inches | 0.8 pounds

About the Author

Donald Louis Gelpi, S.J. (1934-2011) was Emeritus Professor at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, teaching historical and systematic theology since 1973. He is the author of many books including The Firstborn of Many: A Christology for Converting Christians, The Turn to Experience in Contemporary Theology, and Committed Worship: A Sacramental Theology for Converting Christians.

Reviews

"I speak for all five of the authors of Habits of the Heart in welcoming with pleasure the appearance of Beyond Individualism. The John Courtney Murray group has done much more than respond to issues raised by Habits of the Heart. They have in some cases amplified our themes, in other cases helped to make up for our deficiencies, but above all they have significantly advanced the discussion of public philosophy and public theology ... " -Robert N. Bellah from the afterword.


"In Habits of the Heart, Robert Bellah and four coauthors blasted the isolating effects of American individualism and called for a renewal of republican and religious traditions. The seven ... essays collected in this [book] take up that challenge largely from a Christian theological perspective." --Publishers Weekly

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