The Humane Perspective Philosophical Reflections on Human Nature, the Search for Meaning, and the Role of Religion

John Cottingham, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Reading

John Cottingham is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Reading University, where he was Head of Department and Chair of Graduate Studies. He has served as Chairman of the British Society for the History of Philosophy, as President of the British Society for Philosophy of Religion, and as editor of the journal Ratio. He has published fifteen books as sole author, plus seventeen editions, translations, and edited collections, and over 150 articles. His research in moral philosophy and philosophy of religion focuses on the meaning of life and the relation between religious belief and practice. He is a leading authority on the philosophy of Descartes.

Preface and AcknowledgementsPart One: Manifesto and Method1. The Humane PerspectiveAppendix to Chapter 1: Conspectus of the Volume2. What is Humane Philosophy and Why it is At Risk?Part Two: Morality and Meaning3. Integrity and Fragmentation4. Happiness, Temporality, and Meaning5. Philosophy, the Good Life, and Spirituality6. Conversion, Self-discovery, and Moral ChangePart Three: Science and its Limits7. Confronting the Cosmos: Scientific Rationality and Human Understanding8. Transcending Science: Humane Models of Religious Understanding9. Brain Laterality and Religious Awareness10. Which Naturalism?Part Four: Reaching for the Transcendent11. Religion and the Mystery of Existence12. From Desire to Encounter: the Human Quest for the Infinite13. The Meaning of Life and Transcendence14. Engagement, Immersion, and Enactment: the Role of Spiritual Praxis in Religious BeliefBibliographyIndex