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Provides a coherent and defensible interpretation of Eliade's thought which allows less familiar readers to approach Eliade with a greater clarity and precision. Foreword by Mac Linscott Ricketts, a leading translator of Eliade's writings.
Reconstructing Eliade is a concept-by-concept analysis of the thought of Mircea Eliade and a re-evaluation of his analysis of religion. It illustrates how a thorough familiarity with Eliade's work can produce an interpretation of his thought as systematic, coherent, and fully rational. Part One provides an analysis of the terms of Eliade's understanding of religion—hierophany, the sacred and the dialectic of the sacred and profane, homo religiosus, myths and symbols—and thus of the meaning of religion implied throughout his work. Part Two inspects various problems which arise in light of this analysis, particularly relativism and the role of commitment. Part Three applies this analysis to certain problems—religion in the modern world and Eliade's unfinished analysis of the modern, the postmodern phenomenon, implicit religion, and various related problems in the study of religion. Far from being outmoded and inadequate, Eliade's thought is suggested to be fertile ground for the reconception of religious realities in the contemporary world.
"This is one of the very best overall defences of Eliade's ideas I have read. The outstanding scholarly value of this work is that Rennie has very well done for Eliade what the latter did not, or could not, do. Rennie 's treatment of the so-called 'Hidden Theological Agenda' and the 'Ontological Assumptions' of Eliade are of crucial significance to the distinction of this work among others. A ll this is especially important in light of what has seemed a parade of would-be jack-the-giant-killers over the past two decades. The author has not only shown Eliade to be hard to dismiss among the great thinkers of the age on the subject of religion. Rennie has also practically transformed 'the Eliade problem' into 'the Eliade prospect'." — Wendell Charles Beane, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Foreword
by Mac Linscott Ricketts
Acknowledgments
Part One. The Implicit Meaning of Religion
Introduction
1. Hierophany
2. The Sacred
3. The Dialectic of the Sacred and the Profane
4. The Coincidentia Oppositorum
5. Homo Religiosus
6. Symbols and Symbolism
7. Myths and Mythology
8. Illud Tempus —Time by Any Other Name
9. History and the Historical
10. Some Initial Conclusions
Part Two. Previous and Potential Criticisms
Introduction
11. Relativism
12. The Retreat to Commitment
13. Eliade's Political Involvement
14. Scholarly Criticism of Eliade
15. Some More Specific Criticisms
Part Three. Beyond Eliade
Introduction
16. The Religious Creativity of Modern Humanity
17. Archaic, Modern, Postmodern
18. Some Final Conclusions
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index