Spacious Joy: An Essay in Phenomenology and Literature [Paperback]

In this important volume, French philosopher and poet J.L. Chr?tien boldly and subtly applies his vast experience in phenomenology to poetry and literature  showing indeed how to bridge the boundary with philosophy. His real aim is implicit and brave: to show that spiritual authors from Augustine to Claudel surpass Bergson in their philosophical grasp of intuition and joy. He thus claims new turf for spiritual authors in the context of examining an important human constellation of emotions. The approach is exquisitely multi-disciplinary and makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the phenomenology of religious experience. Available in English for the first time, his work will be of immediate interest to philosophers, theologians, literary critics, psychologists, art historians and sociologists.

J.L. Chretien is a French philosopher and poet. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris, Sorbonne. He has published 30 books in French and received the Prix du Cardinal Lustiger from the Acad?mie fran?aise in 2012 for his philosophical work.

Anne Ashley Davenport is a Lecturer in Philosophy at Boston College.

Anne Davenport has with sensitivity and insight brilliantly translated the nuances of Jean-Louis Chr?tiens masterpiece on the deep nature of joy, which the modern world urgently needs with its overemphasis on rationality and self-centred individuality. Joy and space are explored through an expansion or opening of the heart, which render us more alive and vibrant, implying that we are fellow-breathers of each other and of all living things, which has implications for rebuilding communities and caring for the environment. Eric Ronald Priest, Emeritus Professor, University of St Andrews

The extraordinary Jean-Louis Chretien reminds us once again not only of the richness of overlooked experiences and the importance of the concepts that preserve them, but of their important place in an account of our humanity tló-