We haven’t done a RESOURCE post in quite some time. And since things have been dormant here for a bit now, it seems a good time to point readers to some worthy material for further pondering and perusal. The work of Richard Kearney does not get as much attention as it deserves (at least I don’t think so). I find him particularly fascinating for his work on narrative and imagination, an area that stands at such an interdisciplinary crossroads and is so great for a blog like this one. Narrative is central for Christians, as is imagination. We rehearse and engage both weekly in worship, for instance. But Kearney’s work, as a Continental philosopher, engages these topics in a manner that provokes and inspires Christians and religious practitioners to reflect on them in creative new ways. In fact, Kearney’s work (much like that of Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, or Paul Riceouer [Kearney was Riceouer’s student]) points up just how primal narrative and imagination are for human being as such.
Below is a captivating lecture entitled “Narrative Imagination and Catharsis” Kearney gave at the Institute for Christian Studies in Fall 2012.
NOTE: Kearney’s body of work is expansive. Beyond narrative and imagination, he has also conducted a classic series of interviews with many of the most well known continental philosophers of the last few decades (published across various volumes). Furthermore, he has written on (ana)thesism, the stranger and hospitality, and hermeneutics.