The Highroad Around Modernism (SUNY Series in Philosophy) - Softcover

"Robert Neville's book is most welcome and most timely. It introduces a neglected but important voice to the debate on postmodernism -- the voice of 'speculative pragmatism.' Neville shows convincingly that certain distinctively non-modernist forms of philosophy -- from Peirce and Whitehead to Weiss and his own writing -- do not fall under the scythe of postmodernist critique. Having never been modernist, they cannot rightly be rejected or dismissed in the company of views which they had themselves effectively criticized. In arguing for an extended (and renewed) hearing for a vital strand of philosophical thought, the author offers telling judgments of contemporary philosophers such as Derrida and Rorty -- and behind them, Heidegger and Nietzsche. A forceful and engaging book." -- Edward S. Casey

"I think this is in all respects an exceptionally good book. Few authors are able to use tradition originally as has been done here. Moreover, the book has the potential to mark an important historical turn in late twentieth century thinking." -- Douglas R. Anderson

"It's hard to put down! Neville's style is elegant; his gentle wit interposes a chuckle in the midst of metaphysical profundities; his command of the philosophical, historical, and political literature is amazing and adds an unexpected richness to the text. The quagmire of post-modernism has reduced twenty-three centuries of Western metaphysical thought to the level of the silly. Others have attempted a rescue, but none so brilliantly as Neville." -- Elizabeth M. Kraus

Robert Cummings Neville is Professor of Philosophy and Religion, and Dean of the School of Theology at Boston University. He is the author of Reconstruction of Thinking; Recovery of the Measure: Interpretation and Nature; New Essays in Metaphysics; The Puritan Smile: A Look Toward Moral Reflection; The Tao and the Daimon; Behind the Masks of God: An Essay Toward Comparative Theology; God the Creator: On the Transcendence and the Presence of God; and A Theology Primer, all published by SUNY Press.