[PT 13.2 (2012) 167-182] doi:10.1558/poth.v13i2.167
Political Theology (print) ISSN 1462-317X Political Theology (online) ISSN 1473-1719
PhilosoPhy of Religion in an age of austeRity: towaRds a socially engaged PhilosoPhy foR the well-lived life Beverley Clack1 Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus Oxford OX2 9AT, UK bclack@brookes.ac.uk
ABStrACt This paper explores the shape that a socially-engaged philosophy of religion might take. Against the backdrop of the so-called “Age of Austerity,” questions are being asked about the relevance of academic subjects to the world outside the academy. A functionalist view of education may well be resisted, but pursuing the question of what makes philosophy of religion relevant enables an account of the discipline to emerge that is rather different from the model that dominates analytic forms of the subject. I suggest that returning to existential themes offers a way forward for the discipline that makes it not just relevant but particularly important for current public discussions of what makes for a well-lived life. Keywords: feminism; loss; philosophy of religion; Viktor Frankl; wellbeing.
introduction During her investigation of the relationship between sex and intellect, the French philosopher and feminist activist Michèle Le Doeuff poses the following question to her fellow philosophers: We have to wonder what we are doing when we teach, and what the function of the university really is. Does our teaching have negative or supportive impact? Is it of any consequence for the future? For knowledge either breeds hope or crushes it when the past serves as a mirror of a desired future, or if one uses “facts” to deine and defend a norm for today and for the future (Le Doeuff 2003: 82–83).
1. Beverley Clack is a Professor in the Philosophy of religion, Department of History, Philosophy and religion, Oxford Brookes University. © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2012, Unit S3, Kelham House, 3 Lancaster Street, Shefield, S3 8AF.