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Beyond Universal Reason

The Relation between Religion and Ethics in the Work of Stanley Hauerwas

Emmanuel Katongole author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Notre Dame Press

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Beyond Universal Reason cover

In The Peaceable Kingdom Stanley Hauerwas claims that “to begin by asking what is the relation between theology and ethics is to have already made a mistake.” Hauerwas’s claim, and his contribution toward a socially constituted and historically embodied account of the moral life and moral reason, are often charged with sectarianism, relativism, and tribalism. Emmanuel Katongole defends Hauerwas’s dismissal of the traditional philosophical “problem” of the relation between ethics and religion. It is, he argues, part of Hauerwas’s wider attempt to set aside the dominant Kantian moral tradition. Standard fare in moral philosophy, inspired by that tradition, fosters a highly formal, ahistorical view of ethics that does not do justice to our experience of ourselves as moral agents.

“Katongole’s well-written book is a significant contribution. ...[A] historical conception of the moral life that is among the most coherent and comprehensive to date. ...[T]his fine work deserves to be read widely.” —Theological Studies


“Katongole gives us the best critical analysis of Hauerwas’ work currently available.”—Pro Ecclesia


“[A] comprehensive and perceptive understanding of Hauerwas’s work.... [L]ucid and authoritative....” —Studies in Christian Ethics

ISBN: 9780268021597

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 19mm

Weight: 485g

368 pages