Phenomenology of the Icon (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781009317924)

How can something finite mediate an infinite God? Weaving patristics, theology, art history, aesthetics, and religious practice with the hermeneutic phenomenology of Hans-George Gadamer and Jean-Luc Marion, Stephanie Rumpza proposes a new answer to this paradox by offering a fresh and original approach to the Byzantine icon. She demonstrates the power and relevance of the phenomenological method to integrate hermeneutic aesthetics and divine transcendence, notably how the material and visual dimensions of the icon are illuminated by traditional practices of prayer. Rumpza's study targets a problem that is a major fault line in the continental philosophy of religion - the integrity of finite beings I relation to a God that transcends them. For philosophers, her book demonstrates the relevance of a cherished religious practice of Eastern Christianity. For art historians, she proposes a novel philosophical paradigm for understanding the icon as it is approached in practice.

Author: Stephanie Rumpza
ISBN-10: 100931792X
ISBN-13: 9781009317924
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/31/2023
Pages: 350
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.06h x 5.98w x 0.79d