Difficult Atheism - (Crosscurrents) by Christopher Watkin (Paperback)

About the Book

Drawing primarily on the work of Alain Badiou and Jean-Luc Nancy, plus Quentin Meillassoux and Slavoj Zizek, Watkin explores the theme of atheism through the ideas of the death of God and nihilism in contemporary French philosophy.

Book Synopsis

Drawing primarily on the work of Alain Badiou and Jean-Luc Nancy, plus Quentin Meillassoux and Slavoj Zizek, Watkin explores the theme of atheism through the ideas of the death of God and nihilism, and probes the limits of any 'atheistic politics'. He argues that rigorous atheism is elusive, and that Continental thought, even in its most stridently atheistic guises, has yet fully come to terms with the death of God.

From the Back Cover

This book is a brilliant presentation of debates between key figures in the recent turn to religion (even in the shape of an insistent atheism or a-theism) in continental philosophy. Chris Watkin positions his work very precisely between philosophies of the finite (Nancy) and of the infinite (Badiou). The author could not have his finger more firmly on the pulse of contemporary discussion of these matters. I cannot think of a book on such difficult material written with more sparkle or clarity.

David Wood, Centennial Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University

Difficult Atheism shows how contemporary French philosophy is rethinking the legacy of the death of God in ways that take the debate beyond the narrow confines of atheism into the much broader domain of post-theological thinking. Christopher Watkin argues that Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy and Quentin Meillassoux each elaborate a distinctive approach to the post-theological, but that each approach still struggles to do justice to the death of God.

Christopher Watkin is Senior Lecturer in French Studies at Monash University. He is the author of Phenomenology or Deconstruction?: The Question of Ontology in Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Paul Ricoeur and Jean-Luc Nancy (2009) and From Plato to Postmodernism: The Story of Western Culture through Philosophy, Literature and Art (2011).

Review Quotes

The book is filled with subtle and complex commentaries to which no review can do justice. Difficult Atheism represents a sophisticated contribution to the debates that have arisen in the wake of the 'theological turn', and it merits careful study by anyone interested in these issues.--John D. Caputo, Syracuse University and Villanova University "Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"

This book is a brilliant presentation of debates between key figures in the recent turn to religion (even in the shape of an insistent atheism or a-theism) in continental philosophy. Chris Watkins positions his work very precisely between philosophies of the finite (Nancy) and of the infinite (Badiou). The author could not have his finger more firmly on the pulse of contemporary discussion of these matters. I cannot think of a book on such difficult material written with more sparkle or clarity.--David Wood, Centennial Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University

Watkin accomplishes a daunting task in this book, managing to summarize and explain some of the most complicated, complicating works we have from these thinkers while at the same time issuing forth his own provocative thesis, thus finding points of commonality in unlikely places. He has raised the bar on post-theological philosophy, demanding more than a mere emptying of God's place, more than a weak imitation of religion, but rather a full-throated and unapologetic philosophy that provides us with all God used to, without the cost.--Christina Smerick, Greenville College "Derrida Today"

Watkin takes readers on a fascinating journey into contemporary post-theological philosophy. He shows with admirable clarity how each writer articulates a new position beyond the innate problems of parasitism and asceticism. He sharpens focus on post-theological integration, whether in the form of Badiou's axiomatic atheism, Nancy's deconstructive antheology, or Meillassoux's argument that philosophy believes in God because God does not exist. As Watkin proves quite brilliantly, atheism is not as easy as it seems. Summing up: Recommended.--C. B. Kerr, Vassar College "Choice"

About the Author

Christopher Watkin is Senior Lecturer in French Studies at the Monash University