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7Pessimism in Kant and Schopenhauer. On the Horror of ExistenceDissertation, KU Leuven. 2014.The historical period of the 18th and early 19th century is usually perceived as the high point of human self-emancipatory optimism. Specifically, the Enlightenment believed that reason would guide humanity from darkness to the light. Ay, there's the rub, so rhymes the Bard of Avon, for wherefrom arriveth the urge to flee the dark? The rationalist propensity to remodel and re-invent the world is testament to a dreary and pessimistic analysis of the human condition. Thus, the Enlightenment made a…Read more
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116The lutheran influence on Kant’s depraved willInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion 73 (2): 117-134. 2013.Contemporary Kant-scholarship has a tendency to allign Kant’s understanding of depravity closer to Erasmus than Luther in their famous debate on the freedom of the will (1520–1527). While, at face value, some paragraphs do warrant such a claim, I will argue that Kant’s understanding of the radical evil will draws closer to Luther than Erasmus in a number of elements. These elements are (1) the intervention of the Wille for progress towards the good, (2) a positive choice for evil, (3) the inscru…Read more
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34Schopenhauer on Christ, Suffering and the Negation of the WillInternational Journal of Philosophical Studies 28 (2): 188-204. 2020.This paper seeks to illuminate Schopenhauer’s notion of the negation or denial of the will by investigating the figure of the saint within his philosophy. We argue that various discussions in Schop...
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83Schopenhauer on religious pessimismInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion 78 (1): 53-71. 2015.Schopenhauer’s bifurcation between optimistic and pessimistic religions is made, so I argue here, by means of five criteria: to perceive of existence as punishment, to believe that salvation is not attained through ‘works’, to preach compassion so as to lead towards ascetics, to manifest an aura of mystery around religious doctrines and to, at some deep level, admit to the allegorical nature of religious creeds. By clearly showing what makes up the ‘pessimism’ of a ‘pessimistic religion’, Schope…Read more
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97Atheism, Radical Evil, and KantPhilosophy and Theology 22 (1-2): 155-176. 2010.This paper investigates the link between (radical) evil and the existence of God. Arguing with contemporary atheist thinkers, such as Richard Dawkins and Victor Stenger, I hold that one can take the existence of evil as a sign of the existence of God rather than its opposite. The work of Immanuel Kant, especially his thought on evil, is a fertile source to enliven this intuition. Kant implicitly seems to argue that because man is unable to overcome evil by himself, there is a need for God to bri…Read more
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Silence, Excess, and AutonomyIn William Desmond’s Philosophy between Metaphysics, Religion, Ethics, and Aesthetics, Palgrave-macmillan. pp. 195-207. 2018.Continuing on the value of givenness, Dennis Vanden Auweele argues that a modern project for absolutized autonomy cannot do but dread silence, which signals a hiccup or momentary lapse in the project of logos. And yet, Vanden Auweele shows that silence can be a convalescence that renders human beings receptive to something in excess of finite determination, which can in turn inspire self-determination to new heights.
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47Erratum to: The lutheran influence on Kant’s depraved will (review)International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 73 (2): 135-135. 2013.Erratum to: The lutheran influence on Kant’s depraved will Content Type Journal Article Category Erratum Pages 1-1 DOI 10.1007/s11153-012-9344-7 Authors Dennis Vanden Auweele, Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Lesagestraat 43, 1820 Steenokkerzeel, Belgium Journal International Journal for Philosophy of Religion Online ISSN 1572-8684 Print ISSN 0020-7047
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3Against the Flow: Schopenhauer and Schelling on Negative FreedomIn Gregory S. Moss (ed.), The Being of Negation in Post-Kantian Philosophy, Springer Verlag. pp. 209-222. 2022.Schelling’s later philosophical thought and Schopenhauer’s philosophy undeniably have a Kantian pedigree. Their respective philosophies have had their major impact, however, in the late nineteenth century and twentieth century. For reasons that are both historical and systematical, the later Schelling (after 1809) and Schopenhauer were not deemed valuable interlocutors in the post-Kantian debates of the early nineteenth century. The reason for this, I argue, is that they go against the idealisti…Read more
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1IntroductionIn William Desmond’s Philosophy between Metaphysics, Religion, Ethics, and Aesthetics, Palgrave-macmillan. pp. 1-12. 2018.This chapter introduces the main aspects of metaxological philosophy: metaphysics, perplexity, community of art, ethics and being, and dialectical philosophy. It also provides a summary of the topics addressed in the contributions.
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8Freedom and Creation in Schelling (edited book)Frommann-Holzboog. 2022.This volume is dedicated to the exploration of the connection between freedom and creation in Schelling’s late philosophy. It contains contributions of internationally renowned and younger Schelling scholars from several countries. The scholarly interest in Schelling’s late philosophy has considerably increased during the last decades. Together with the rising number of available primary texts and translations, this has led, among other things, to a received scholarly view of Schelling’s Erlange…Read more
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25Liberal Democracy Needs Religion: Kant on the Ethical CommunityKantian Review 27 (2): 299-314. 2022.Liberal democracy has been experiencing a crisis of representation over the last decade, as a disconnect has emerged from some of the foundational principles of liberalism such as personal freedom and equality. In this article, I argue that in the third part of Kant’s Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason we can find resources to better understand and counteract this crisis of liberal democracy. Kant gives a powerful argument to include an invisible ethical community under a political co…Read more
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6Sandra Shapshay, Reconstructing Schopenhauer’s Ethics: Hope, Compassion, and Animal Welfare Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019 Pp. 248 ISBN 9780190906801 (hbk), $74.00 (review)Kantian Review 25 (1): 158-163. 2020.
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3Exceeding Reason: Freedom and Religion in Schelling and NietzscheDe Gruyter. 2020.The work of the later Schelling seems antithetical to that of Nietzsche: one a Romantic, idealist and Christian, the other Dionysian, anti-idealist and anti-Christian. Still, there is a very meaningful and educative dialogue to be found between Schelling and Nietzsche on the topics of reason, freedom and religion. Both of them start their philosophy with a similar critique of the Western tradition, which to them is overly dualist, rationalist and anti-organic. In response, they hope to inculcate…Read more
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4Past and Present Political Theology: Expanding the Canon (edited book)Routledge. 2020.This book demonstrates how discussions of Political Theology have been a constant feature throughout philosophical modernity and that they continue to impact contemporary political debates. By tracing the historical roots and detailing the contemporary outworking of Political Theology in Europe, it contends that this growing field requires a broader "canon" in order for it to mature. Political Theology is shown here to be about the diversity of relationships between religious beliefs and politic…Read more
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4Schopenhauer and the later Schelling in Dialogue on Mythology and ReligionJournal of Religion 97 (4): 451-474. 2017.
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10William Desmond’s Philosophy between Metaphysics, Religion, Ethics, and Aesthetics (edited book)Palgrave Macmillan. 2018.This volume collects seventeen new essays by well-established and junior scholars on the philosophical relevance of metaxological philosophy and its main proponent, William Desmond. The volume mines metaxological thought for its salience in contemporary discussions in Continental philosophy, specifically in the fields of metaphysics, philosophy of religion, ethics, and aesthetics. Among others, topics under discussion include the goodness of being, the existence and nature of God, and the aesthe…Read more
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51The Later Schelling on Philosophical Religion and ChristianityIdealistic Studies 48 (1): 69-92. 2018.Schelling’s later philosophy was historically received as a disappointment: the once brazen Romantic and pantheist becomes a pious Christian in his old age. Indeed, Schelling’s Berlin lectures on revelation and mythology culminate in a suspicious level of Christian orthodoxy. In the last few years, a number of scholars have offered a different reading of Schelling’s Spätphilosophie, particularly by pointing out his rethinking of nature, revelation, and Christianity. In this paper, I offer a syst…Read more
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18Chris Firestone, Nathan Jacobs, Jamer Joiner (Ed.): Kant and the Question of TheologyPhilosophischer Literaturanzeiger 71 (3): 317-322. 2018.
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9Pessimism in Kant's Ethics and Rational ReligionLexington Books. 2018.Dennis Vanden Auweele explores Kant’s moral and religious philosophy and shows that a pessimistic undercurrent pervades them. This provides a new vantage point not only to comprehensively assess Kantian philosophy, but also to provide much needed context and reading assistance to the general premises of Kant's philosophy and rationality.
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19Schopenhauer, Pessimism and SuicideTijdschrift Voor Filosofie 76 (2): 307-330. 2014.Schopenhauer’s argument against suicide is typically received negatively in the scholarly literature, insofar that it appears to be one of the numerous inconsistencies that haunt his philosophical system. Thus, after elaborating upon the unique characteristics of Schopenhauer’s argument against suicide, I will discuss the well-known objection to it. By offering a fresh outlook on Schopenhauer’s ethics, I will suggest a new way of appreciating Schopenhauer’s argument so as to rehabilitate his und…Read more
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14Reconciliation, Incarnation, and Headless HegelianismFaith and Philosophy 34 (2): 201-222. 2017.A number of contemporary authors (e.g., Catherine Malabou, Slavoj Žižek, and John Caputo) claim that Hegel’s Religionsphilosophie provides important insights for contemporary philosophy of religion. John Caputo argues that Hegel’s notion of incarnation as radical kenosis is a powerful tool for postmodern Radical Theology. In this essay, I scrutinize this claim by balancing Hegel’s notion of incarnation with his notion of recognition—the latter of which Caputo removes from a “headless Hegelianism…Read more
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2Arthur Schopenhauer: Cogitata. Philosophische Notizen aus dem NachlassPhilosophischer Literaturanzeiger 70 (3): 214-216. 2017.
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16Arthur Schopenhauer: Cholerabuch. Philosophischen Notizen aus dem NachlassPhilosophischer Literaturanzeiger 71 (1): 5-7. 2018.
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59Schopenhauer and the Paradox of GeniusEpoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (1): 149-168. 2015.Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy proved more palpable to artists of the nineteenth century than to philosophers as such. Ironically, Schopenhauer’s aesthetical theory is particularly paradoxical on a variety of fronts. One troubling paradox is how Schopenhauer subscribes both to the elitist nature of the genius artist and a naturalist metaphysics. How can a singular being have radically distinct abilities if s/he cannot principally differ from the rest of existence? I address this paradox in thi…Read more
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23Review of Mark Walker: Kant, Schopenhauer and Morality (review)Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 74 (2): 359-361. 2012.
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6Review of Christopher Ben Simpson: The William Desmond Reader (review)Philosophischer Literaturanzeiger 66 (1): 38-40. 2013.
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9Joel Madore: Difficult Freedom and Radical Evil in KantPhilosophischer Literaturanzeiger 64 (4): 365-368. 2011.
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26The Poverty of PhilosophyAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 87 (3): 411-432. 2013.Recently, William Desmond’s metaxological philosophy has been gaining popularity since it proposes a powerful counterweight to the dominance of deconstruction in certain areas of contemporary philosophy of religion. This paper serves to introduce Desmond’s philosophy and confront it with one specific form of Postmodern theology, namely John Caputo’s “weak theology.” Since Desmond’s philosophy is—while thought-provoking and refreshing—not well known, a substantial part of this paper is devoted to…Read more
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19Arthur Schopenhauer: The World as Will and Representation: Volume 1. Edited and Translated by Judith Norman, Alistair Welchman and Christopher JanawayPhilosophischer Literaturanzeiger 64 (3): 302-303. 2011.
Leuven, Belgium
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Religion |
19th Century Philosophy |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |