Purgatory

Philosophical Dimensions

Kristof Vanhoutte, Benjamin W. McCraw, Kristof Vanhoutte, Benjamin W. McCraw

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9783319578903
• eBook ISBN: 9783319578910
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Théologie chrétienne

This book examines the concept of Purgatory. However, in contradistinction to the many monographs and edited volumes published in the past 50 years devoted to historical, cultural, or theological treatments of Purgatory—especially in proportion to the voluminous output on Heaven and Hell—this collection features papers by philosophers and other scholars engaged specifically in philosophical argument, debate, and dialogue involving conceptions of Purgatory and related ideas. It exists to broaden the discussion beyond the prevailing trends in the academic literature and fills an important intellectual gap.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Editors and Contributors
• List of Tables
• Chapter 1 Introduction: Purgatory’s Religious and Philosophical Heritage(s)
• Part I The Nature of Purgatory
• Chapter 2 Purgatory, Atonement, and the Self
• Chapter 3 Religious and Paranormal Experiences as Evidence for Purgatory
• Chapter 4 In the Twinkling of an Eye
• Chapter 5 Purgatory’s Temporality
• Chapter 6 Indulgent Love
• Part II Purgatory and Historical Considerations
• Chapter 7 Leibniz, Purgatory, and Universal Salvation
• Chapter 8 Mirror Geography: On the Emergence of Purgatory and the City
• Chapter 9 Climbing up to Heaven: The Hermetic Option
• Chapter 10 Poetry as Purgatorial: Dante and the Language(s) of Purgatory
• Chapter 11 Aquinas and the Possibility of a Probable Reasoned Argument for the Existence of Purgatory
• Part III Extending Purgatory
• Chapter 12 The Body in Crisis: Contemporary Articulations of Purgatory
• Chapter 13 Praying for the Dead: An Ecumenical Proposal
• Chapter 14 On the Metaphysics of Economics and Purgatory
• Chapter 15 Issues of Impermanence: Christian and Early Buddhist Contemplations of Time
• Chapter 16 The Purification of Doubt: Is It Better to Exist in Purgatory?
• Index