Leonard Cohen and Philosophy

Various Positions
Herausgeber: Holt, Jason

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

"Cohen famously said that there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in. This book takes the brilliant light of Cohen's words and shines it into Plato's cave with such strength the prisoners are not only free but see the sun.? -KIMBERLY BALTZER-JARAY, author of Doorway to the World of Essences "Anyone interested in Leonard Cohen-whether a newcomer to his work or a longtime fan-will find much to reflect upon and savor here. Exploring Cohen's songs, albums, poems, and novels through the prism of philosophical and religious ideas, this volume covers diverse ground. . . . certain themes receive special focus, such as romantic love, authenticity, irony, perceptions of time, embodied consciousness, the Holocaust and the banality of evil, and the process of redemption.? -KATHLEEN LEAGUE, author of Adorno, Radical Negativity, and Cultural Critique "Leonard Cohen and Philosophy? 'Everybody know'? there's a connection: not only through his Judaism cut with classico-medievalist Québécois Catholicism and then further cut with Zen Buddhism, but also via his tutoring in the 'School of Hard Knocks' that is the pop-rock balladeer scene. . . . Editor Jason Holt, himself a fine absurdist experimental poet and a professor of philosophy, draws us into examining the koan of Cohen, so to speak. . . . Holt assembles twenty scholars to ponder the ideational links between Cohen as writer/songwriter and a cosmopolitan who's who of philosophers. . . . Reading these superb assessments of Cohen's (sung) words bids us read and/or hear the bard ever more intensively, to recognize in him the extension of a troubadour tradition . . .? -GEORGE ELLIOTT CLARKE, Professor of Canadian Studies, Harvard University & Poet Laureate of Toronto "Leonard Cohen and Philosophy . . . provides a delightful and engrossing philosophical journey through the life and art of Leonard Cohen. Jason Holt and his roster of engaging contributors make you want to travel with them-and you'll be glad you did.? -SHAUN P. YOUNG, editor of Jeopardy and Philosophy "Leonard Cohen and Philosophy deals with a wide range of issues, including the metaphysical world created in 'Suzanne' ? . . . the poetics of relationships , . . . and the phenomenology of time. . . . This volume presents perspectives not to be found elsewhere and offers readers a fuller resonance with Cohen's work.? -DrHGuy on Heck Of A Guy: The Other Leonard Cohen Site "It is rare for a promising young literary figure to become an influential pop music star, but that is exactly what Leonard Cohen has accomplished. . . . The chapters in this book run the gamut from classical and modern philosophical contexts to Cohen's varied masculinities and prophetic tone to his unusual singing voice and concepts of beauty, authenticity, irony, love, evil, and transcendence.? -DURRELL BOWMAN, author of Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion OPEN COURT: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS COVER DESIGN: SHANE ARBOGAST COVER PHOTO: ROB VERHORST/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES ISBN 978-0-8126-9856-5, $19.95 JASON HOLT is Associate Professor at Acadia University, where he teaches courses in philosophy and communication for the School of Kinesiology. His research focuses on aesthetics and philosophy of mind as well as popular culture and philosophy. His books include Blindsight and the Nature of Consciousness, which was shortlisted for the 2005 CPA book prize, various edited volumes, and literary books, most recently a book of poetry, Inversed.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Open Court
• Seitenzahl: 288
• Erscheinungstermin: 7. Oktober 2014
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 228mm x 151mm x 22mm
• Gewicht: 413g
• ISBN-13: 9780812698565
• ISBN-10: 0812698568
• Artikelnr.: 40542378

Autorenporträt

Jason Holt is a published poet and a philosopher who specializes in aesthetics and the philosophy of mind. He's an associate professor at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He is the editor of numerous books, including The Daily Show and Philosophy, and he is the author of Blindsight and the Nature of Consciousness.

Inhaltsangabe

"Popstar-Poet: The Leonard Cohen Paradox,? Jason Holt
Introduces the book by presenting Cohen as an enigmatic, paradoxical figure
in part because he challenges the popular art/high art dichotomy.
Part I-Songs of Existence
(1) "Leonard Cohen as a Guide to Life: Stoicism, Epicureanism, and
Skepticism,? Brendan Shea
Cohen as reflecting the wisdom of these ancient Greek and Roman
philosophies.
(2) "That's How the Light Gets In: The Existential Cohen and the Joy of
Infinite Resignation,? Agust Magnusson
Cohen's worldview from the point of view of existentialism.
(3) "Naked at the End of the World: Leonard Cohen and Apocalyptic Time,?
Gary Shapiro
"The Future? as exploring philosophical views of the apocalypse.
Part II-Songs of Identity
(4) "Give or Take a Night or Two: Kierkegaard, Cohen, and the Dialectic of
Irony,? Christopher Lauer
Kierkegaard's account of irony illuminating how Cohen creates a sense of
intimacy with his listeners.
(5) "Why Cohen Is Our Man,? Wieland Schwanebeck
Complexities of masculine identity as variously expressed in Cohen's songs.
(6) "Emending the Soul of the Lost Past: Cohen's Path to Self-Knowledge,?
Daniele Santoro
Cohen as mapping a path to wisdom through painful and nostalgic
self-knowledge.
Part III-Songs of Love
(7) "Her Beauty in the Moonlight Overthrew You: Leonard Cohen on
Self-Deception in Love,? Simon Riches
Cohen's views of love as resolving the "paradox of self-deception.?
(8) "The Self, the Other, and the Mystery of the Mirror,? Lisa Warenski
Bodily awareness and mirroring of the beloved in love as ways of
understanding but not dispelling the mystery of "touching a perfect body
with your mind.?
(9) "Love and Longing in Leonard Cohen, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty,?
Ellen M. Miller
Themes of Cohen's work as reflecting the philosophies of Heidegger and
Merleau-Ponty and how it "all comes together? in experience.
(10) "You and Who in Leonard Cohen: Telling Time, Playing Love, and Ancient
Ethics,? Babette Babich
The erotic and ancient philosophical significance of Cohen's use of
pronouns.
Part IV-Songs of Aesthetics
(11) "Hey, That's No Way to Use Metaphor!? Wieland Schwanebeck
Cohen's lyrics as exhibiting different theories of metaphor.
(12) "Covering Cohen,? Adam Auch
Aesthetic complexities of covering Cohen including the tension between
authenticity and generic artistry, especially in terms of how context
shapes meaning.
(13) "Is Leonard Cohen a Good Singer?? Jason Holt
Aspects of this question as reflecting the problem addressed by Hume of
whether there really can be objective standards of taste.
(14) "Duende,? Ed Winters
Cohen's appeal explained in part through Goethe's/Lorca's aesthetic notion
of the duende, "a mysterious power which everyone senses and no philosopher
explains.?
Part V-Songs of Literature
(15) "Leonard Cohen and the Philosophy of Memory,? Pawel Dobrosielski and
Marcin Napiórkowski
Cohen's Flowers for Hitler through the lens of and as challenging Adorno's
view that "there can be no poetry after Auschwitz.?
(16) Topic: Schopenhauer's pessimism and Cohen's poetry (title TBA), Liane
Heller
Schopenhauer's philosophy (pessimism, aesthetics, will and representation)
as seen in elements of Cohen's poetry.
(17) "The Politics of Leonard Cohen,? Steven Burns
Beautiful Losers as expressing a particular political philosophy which
gives a unity to the novel that it is often seen as lacking.
Part VI-Songs from a Mind
(18) "Is a Tear an Intellectual Thing? Leonard Cohen's Philosophy of
Emotion,? Liam Dempsey
Cohen's perspective as fitting "process theories? which take emotions as
quick but clumsy responses in contrast to the slower but wiser intellect.
(19) "Can You Touch Someone's Body with Your Mind?? Rachel Haliburton
Cohen's view of mind and body as similar to Thomas Nagel's in affirming the
reality of subjectivity as irreducible to mere physical or functional
characteristics.
(20) "From a Dark Space,? Christopher Ketchum
Listening to Dear Heather as echoing Eugene Minkowski's phenomenology of
"dark space.?
Part VII-Songs of Spirituality
(21) "Clouds of Unknowing: Cohen's Via Negativa,? Bernard Wills
Cohen's "Judeo-Christianity? contrasted with his Buddhism as reflected in
"Ballad of the Absent Mare? and elsewhere.
(22) "The Prophetic Mr. Cohen in a Post-9/11 World,? Timothy P. Jackson
Cohen's "musical synthesis? of the religious and the secular as providing
resources to cope with religious and political conflicts post-9/11.
(23) "Breaking the Spell of 'Hallelujah',? Peter Stone
Dennett's view of religion as "all things to all people? applied to the
interpretive openness of "Hallelujah? to explain its popularity.
Our Hands Bloody with Commas
Contributor bios
Index