ISBN : 9780198794301
Paradise Understood: New Philosophical Essays about Heaven systematically investigates heaven, or paradise, as conceived within theistic religious traditions such as Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It considers a variety of topics concerning what life in paradise would, could, or will be like for human persons. The collection offers novel approaches to questions about heaven of perennial philosophical interest, and breaks new ground by expanding the range of questions about heaven that philosophers have considered. The contributors wrestle with questions about human life in paradise that span the spectrum of the major subfields of philosophical enquiry. By employing both historical and contemporary philosophical resources, the volume makes a pioneering contribution toward answering pressing questions about human life in paradise. It will serve as a platform for future research, reinvigorating philosophical investigation into these neglected topics within philosophy of religion.
List of Contributors
T. Ryan Byerly and Eric J. Silverman: Introduction
Part I: The Basic Nature of Paradise
1 Eric J. Silverman: Conceiving Heaven as a Dynamic Rather than Static Existence
2 Katherin Rogers: Anselmian Mediations on Heaven
Part II: The Epistemology of Paradise
3 Ted Poston: Will there be Skeptics in Heaven?
4 Jonathan L. Kvanvig: The Cognitive Dimension of Heavenly Bliss
Part III: Virtue in Paradise
5 Rachel Lu: The Virtues in Heaven
6 Timothy Pawl and Kevin Timpe: Paradise and Growing in Virtue
Part IV: Paradise and Responding to Evil
7 Adam C. Pelser: Heavenly Sadness: On the Value of Negative Emotions in Paradise
8 T. Ryan Byerly: Virtues of Repair in Paradise
Part V: The Social and Political Philosophy of Paradise
9 Shawn Graves, Blake Hereth, and Tyler M. John: In Defense of Animal Universalism
10 Robert Audi: Personhood, Embodiment, and Survival: Speculations on Life after (Biological) Death
Part VI: Resurrection in Paradise
11 Eric T. Yang and Stephen T. Davis: Composition and the Will of God: Reconsidering Resurrection by Reassembly
12 Christopher M. Brown: Some Advantages for a Thomistic Solution to the Problem of Personal Identity Beyond Death
13 Hud Hudson: The Resurrection and Hypertime
Part VII: Freedom in Paradise
14 Brian P. Boeninger and Robert Garcia: Resting on Your Laurels: Deserting Desert in Paradise?
15 Richard Tamburro: The Possibility and Scope of Significant Heavenly Freedom
Part VIII: The Desirability of Paradise
16 Jerry L. Walls: Hume, Happiness, Heaven, and Home
17 Richard Swinburne: Why the Life of Heaven is Supremely Worth Living
