The Postmodern Saints of France: Refiguring 'the Holy' in Contemporary French Philosophy

By: Colby Dickinson

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Synopsis: From the mid to the late 20th century various French thinkers have at times toyed with the label of 'the saint', applying it to friends, colleagues, the revered and even the worshipped such as Genet, Sartre, Camus or Foucault. Despite this profaning of the term, however, there are many subtle truths which emerge from its usage among such writers.This volume is devoted to exploring certain varied notions of 'the saint' in recent French philosophical and literary thought from within a theological context, offering insights and valuable contributions toward how we understand sainthood in cultural, philosophical and religious terms.Each essay focuses on the convergence of a particular author's work and their various (re)formulations of 'saintliness' in their writings, whether this concept is directly expressed in their writings or not. In general, the aim of the volume is to develop a critical engagement between each authors' philosophical worldview and historical notions of sainthood, such that we are capable of providing new understandings of what a 'saint' could be said to be in our world today.