The Image in Mind Theism, Naturalism, and the Imagination

This timely and remarkable book, the collaborative work of a leading philosopher of religion and a distinguished contemporary artist, explores and defends the aboriginal bond between aesthetics and theology with great power, verve and ingenuity. -- Douglas Hedley, Reader in the Philosophy of Religion and Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge, UK Were it not for the inflationary use of the word, I would describe this contribution as 'inspirational'; but inspirational in more than the usual sense. The authors liberate the reader's imagination by arguing for its centrality. The balance in these pages between poetry and philosophy, art and science, faith and reason is exemplary. -- Daniel N. Robinson, Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, UK, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Georgetown University, USA Charles Taliaferro and Jil Evans see the age old battle between theism and naturalism as a battle between contrasting images, of nature, of freedom, of the self, of good and evil, of beauty, and of reality itself. Drawing on a host of thinkers, ancient and modern, and with a wealth of illustrative detail, including some evocative images of their own, they track the course of the battle fairly and comprehensively right up to the present day; at the same time they develop their own persuasive account of the world as a book written by the finger of God, open to minds attuned to its meanings. -- Anthony O'Hear, Garfield Weston Professor of Philosophy, University of Buckingham, Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, UK, and Editor of Philosophy. This book argues that worldviews are answerable to aesthetic criteria, and it admirably displays the intellectual virtues that are implied in this stance: it brings into constructive synthesis the perspectives of a philosopher and of an artist, it is sensitive to the felt quality of human experience, and throughout it is accessibly and engagingly written. -- Mark Wynn, Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Religion, University of Exeter, UK. This volume is well written and technically argued... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty. CHOICE