The Moral Status of Animals (Oxford Paperbacks)

Politics & Social Sciences

Clark, Stephen R.L

Philosophy

Oxford University Press

The Nature of the Beast: Are Animals Moral?

Literature & Fiction

British & Irish

This second volume in the Limits and Renewals trilogy is an attempt to restate a traditional philosophy of mind, drawing on philosophical and poetical resources that are often neglected in modern and postmodern thought, and emphasizing the moral and political implications of differing philosophies of mind and value. Clark argues that without the traditional concept of the soul, we have little reason to believe that rational thought and individual autonomy are either possible or desirable. The particular topics covered include the political context of identity claims, the possibility of knowledge and the dangers of curiosity, the fear of death, the philoprogenitive gene, and the mind-body problem.

A Parliament of Souls (Limits and Renewals Vol 2)

Clarendon Press

In this book, Stephen R.L. Clark defends the primary faith of humankind, that there is a real world which is more than a shadow of our desires and fancies, and which can be discovered through right reason. Focusing on the way in which we can "turn aside" to the Truth from the normal delusions of self-concern, Clark offers a properly worked, Platonic metaphysics as the key to identifying that reality. This book is the final volume of Limits and Renewals, a trilogy based on the author's Stanton lectures, delivered at Cambridge between 1986 and 1989, and his Wilde lectures, delivered at Oxford in 1990.

God's World and the Great Awakening (Limits and Renewals)

History

Asia

This book is an ambitious and challenging restatement of traditional political philosophy. The first of a three-volume series, Limits and Renewals, the book is concerned with the nature of political society, particularly with the errors and faulty arguments that have been used to support a "liberal modernist" view of the state and our political system. Clark argues that political modernism, which is determinedly secular and untraditional, has been a destructive influence on religion and our understanding of community living. In order to secure a decent social order, he contends, we must rediscover our allegiance to a sacred order that is represented by, for example, family loyalties, a respect for tradition, and attention to the wider interests of the global and historical community.

Civil Peace and Sacred Order

Business & Money

Economics

The moral status of animals

From Athens to Jerusalem: The Love of Wisdom and the Love of God

These expanded Gifford lectures attempt to answer Tertullian’s jibe, “What business has Jerusalem with Athens?” That is, what possible connection can there be between Christianity’s “enthusiasm” and rational philosophy? Addressing this question within the horizons of multiple, sometimes apparently opposing, worldviews, the author ends by stoutly defending reason, the achievability of truth, and the reality of consciousness against contemporary attack, illustrating how philosophy—too often reduced to abstract pseudo-virtuosity—can help us dissolve modern conundrums that have led to epidemic depression, relativism, and acedia. In particular, he finds that Neoplatonic theism, which has well served Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Hindus, provides a language of debate for those of different religious traditions, and a context in which those dedicated to humane learning and the love of truth can take their pursuit as something more than an impracticable hobby. This thesis is applied to such issues as the evolution of consciousness, environmentalism, animals’ rights, the ethics of belief, negative theology, and the problem of evil. “It is good to see Stephen R. L. Clark’s From Athens to Jerusalem in print again, as its originality and ingeniousness have well stood the test of time. Clark’s writing is always fresh, clear, and suggestive. Even if you are not apt to be converted to neo-Platonism, you will be required to think again, and think hard, about why a Christian angle on it should not remain a vital contender in today’s panoply of metaphysical visions.”— SARAH COAKLEY , University of Cambridge and Australian Catholic University; author of God, Sexuality, and the An Essay ‘On the Trinity’ “This book does much more than respond to Tertullian’s question, for Clark also develops here a theistic epistemology and philosophy of mind meant to respond to several contemporary academic trends. He takes on all comers in a nuanced way and with a lively, engaging style. Scholars should be very happy to have a reprint available of this important book in which the traditional roots of both reason and faith are examined in original ways.”— DANIEL A. DOMBROWSKI , Seattle University; author of Not Even a Sparrow The Philosophy of Stephen R. L. Clark “In From Athens to Jerusalem , containing his 1981 Gifford Lectures, the most capable and versatile English philosopher of religion of his generation offers an insightful reconciliation of faith and reason. Thoroughly Christian, while also rooted deeply in classical thought and sensitively appreciative of multiple religious traditions, this book explores a range of perennially important issues elegantly and provocatively.”— GARY CHARTIER , La Sierra University; author of An Ecological Theory of Free Expression “This book, now something of a classic, remains as fresh and relevant in its arguments as when first published. Its concerns, such as the challenge of relativism, deserve close consideration by a new generation.”— ROGER TRIGG , Ian Ramsey Centre, Oxford; author of Beyond Why Science Needs Metaphysics “In this expanded set of Gifford Lectures, distinguished philosopher Stephen Clark weaves his interests in Platonism, Christianity, animal rights, and science fiction into a text both deeply insightful and highly readable.”— JOHN DILLON , Trinity College Dublin; author of The Roots of The Origins and Chief Features of a Philosophical Tradition

Plotinus, the Roman philosopher (c. 204-270 CE) who is widely regarded as the founder of Neoplatonism, was also the creator of numerous myths, images, and metaphors. They have influenced both secular philosophers and Christian and Muslim theologians, but have frequently been dismissed by modern scholars as merely ornamental. In this book, distinguished philosopher Stephen R. L. Clark shows that they form a vital set of spiritual exercises by which individuals can achieve one of Plotinus’s most important goals: self-transformation through contemplation. Clark examines a variety of Plotinus’s myths and metaphors within the cultural and philosophical context of his time, asking probing questions about their contemplative effects. What is it, for example, to “think away the spatiality” of material things? What state of mind is Plotinus recommending when he speaks of love, or drunkenness, or nakedness? What star-like consciousness is intended when he declares that we were once stars or are stars eternally? What does it mean to say that the soul goes around God? And how are we supposed to “bring the god in us back to the god in all”? Through these rich images and structures, Clark casts Plotinus as a philosopher deeply concerned with philosophy as a way of life.

Plotinus: Myth, Metaphor, and Philosophical Practice

University of Chicago Press

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Books by Clark, Stephen R.L