The quest for God and the good: world philosophy as a living experience

309 Pages·2015·1.949 MB·English

by  Lobel, Diana

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“Diana Lobel’s control of her sources is most impressive, and her writing
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is very lucid. She has a knack for using everyday, concrete examples to Columbia University Press
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explicate complex concepts, and I highly recommend this book.” contact: Lisa Hamm
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212 459-0600 x7105
—michael gottlieb, new york university l
Lobel, The Quest for God and the Good
iana Lobel takes readers on a journey across Eastern and Western phil-
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osophical and religious traditions to discover a beauty and purpose at
the heart of reality that makes life worth living. Guided by the ideas
T All art is live and in position.
of ancient thinkers and the insight of the philosophical historian Pierre Hadot, •

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The Quest for God and the Good treats philosophy not as an abstract, theoretical
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discipline, but as a living experience. r
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For centuries, human beings have struggled to know why we are here, whether
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a higher being or dimension exists, and whether our existence is fundamentally h
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good. Above all, we want to know whether the search for God and the good ls
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will bring happiness. Following in the path of the ancient philosophers, Lobel s
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directly connects conceptions of God or an Absolute with notions of the good, po
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illuminating diverse classical texts and thinkers. She explores the Bible and the
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work of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Maimonides, al-Farabi, and al-Ghazali. She aG
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reads the Tao Te Ching, I Ching, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads, as well as the texts o
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of Theravada, Mahayana, and Zen Buddhism, and traces the repercussions of ld
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these works in the modern thought of Alfred North Whitehead, Iris Murdoch, va
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Alasdair MacIntyre, and Charles Taylor. n
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While each of these texts and thinkers sets forth a distinct and unique vision, all e t
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maintain that human beings find fulfillment in their contact with beauty and p
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purpose. Rather than arriving at one universal definition of God or the good, r
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Lobel demonstrates the aesthetic value of multiple visions presented by many e
thinkers across cultures. The Quest for God and the Good sets forth a path of inves- nco
tigation and discovery culminating in intellectual and spiritual communion. eo
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diana lobel
is associate professor of religion
at Boston University and the author of Between The Quest for God and the Good
Mysticism and Philosophy: Sufi Language of Religious
Experience in Judah Halevi’s Kuzari and A Sufi- c
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Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya
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Ibn Paquda’s Duties of the Heart. u • world philosophy as a living experience •
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ISBN-13: 978-0-231-15315-7 a
cover artwork: Paul Heussenstamm, www.mandalas.com Diana Lobel
9 780231 153157
cover desiGn: Lisa Hamm
printed in the U.S.A.
columbia university press | new york cup.columbia.edu
The Quest for God and the Good

Diana Lobel
The Quest for God and the Good
• world philosophy as a living experience •

C olumbia University Press
N ew York
columbia university press

Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2011 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Lobel, Diana.
The quest for God and the good : world philosophy as a living experience /
Diana Lobel.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 231- 15314- 0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978- 0- 231- 15315- 7 (pbk.) —
ISBN 978- 0- 231- 52701- 9 (electronic)
1. Philosophy and religion. 2. God—Comparative studies. 3. Good and evil—Reli-
gious aspects—Comparative studies. 4. Religious life—Comparative studies. I. Title.
BL51.L5755 2011
202'.11—dc22 2010033894

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid- free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may
have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
F or Albert, Francine, and Janet Lobel
In countless ways, you have each shown me
the beauty of genuine kindness.


And indeed it was very good.
genesis 1:31

Contents
Acknowledgments  xi

Introduction
1
1. “God Saw That It Was Good”:
The Creation of the World in the Hebrew Bible
8
2. A Divine Craftsman Shapes All for the Good:
Plato’s Realm of the Forms
22
3. Change and the Good: Chinese Perspectives
56
4. The Harmony of Reason and Revelation:
Augustine and Maimonides on Good and Evil
75
5. You Are the Absolute: Philosophies of India
87
6. Compassion, Wisdom, Awakening:
The Way of Buddhism
98