Leonard Cohen and Philosophy

Auteur

Jason Holt is a published poet and a philosopher who specializes in aesthetics and the philosophy of mind. He's an associate professor at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He is the editor of numerous books, including The Daily Show and Philosophy, and he is the author of Blindsight and the Nature of Consciousness.

Texte du rabat

"Cohen famously said that there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in. This book takes the brilliant light of Cohen's words and shines it into Plato's cave with such strength the prisoners are not only free but see the sun.?
-KIMBERLY BALTZER-JARAY, author of Doorway to the World of Essences

"Anyone interested in Leonard Cohen-whether a newcomer to his work or a longtime fan-will find much to reflect upon and savor here. Exploring Cohen's songs, albums, poems, and novels through the prism of philosophical and religious ideas, this volume covers diverse ground. . . . certain themes receive special focus, such as romantic love, authenticity, irony, perceptions of time, embodied consciousness, the Holocaust and the banality of evil, and the process of redemption.?
-KATHLEEN LEAGUE, author of Adorno, Radical Negativity, and Cultural Critique

"Leonard Cohen and Philosophy? 'Everybody know'? there's a connection: not only through his Judaism cut with classico-medievalist Québécois Catholicism and then further cut with Zen Buddhism, but also via his tutoring in the 'School of Hard Knocks' that is the pop-rock balladeer scene. . . . Editor Jason Holt, himself a fine absurdist experimental poet and a professor of philosophy, draws us into examining the koan of Cohen, so to speak. . . . Holt assembles twenty scholars to ponder the ideational links between Cohen as writer/songwriter and a cosmopolitan who's who of philosophers. . . . Reading these superb assessments of Cohen's (sung) words bids us read and/or hear the bard ever more intensively, to recognize in him the extension of a troubadour tradition . . .?
-GEORGE ELLIOTT CLARKE, Professor of Canadian Studies, Harvard University & Poet Laureate of Toronto

"Leonard Cohen and Philosophy . . . provides a delightful and engrossing philosophical journey through the life and art of Leonard Cohen. Jason Holt and his roster of engaging contributors make you want to travel with them-and you'll be glad you did.?
-SHAUN P. YOUNG, editor of Jeopardy and Philosophy

"Leonard Cohen and Philosophy deals with a wide range of issues, including the metaphysical world created in 'Suzanne' ? . . . the poetics of relationships , . . . and the phenomenology of time. . . . This volume presents perspectives not to be found elsewhere and offers readers a fuller resonance with Cohen's work.?
-DrHGuy on Heck Of A Guy: The Other Leonard Cohen Site

"It is rare for a promising young literary figure to become an influential pop music star, but that is exactly what Leonard Cohen has accomplished. . . . The chapters in this book run the gamut from classical and modern philosophical contexts to Cohen's varied masculinities and prophetic tone to his unusual singing voice and concepts of beauty, authenticity, irony, love, evil, and transcendence.?
-DURRELL BOWMAN, author of Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion

OPEN COURT: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
COVER DESIGN: SHANE ARBOGAST
COVER PHOTO: ROB VERHORST/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES

ISBN 978-0-8126-9856-5, $19.95

JASON HOLT is Associate Professor at Acadia University, where he teaches courses in philosophy and communication for the School of Kinesiology. His research focuses on aesthetics and philosophy of mind as well as popular culture and philosophy. His books include Blindsight and the Nature of Consciousness, which was shortlisted for the 2005 CPA book prize, various edited volumes, and literary books, most recently a book of poetry, Inversed.

Résumé
From the early years, when he morphed from celebrated poet to provocative singer/songwriter, to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Leonard Cohen has endured as one of the most enigmatic and profound figures in all of popular music. With his uniquely compelling voice and unparalleled depth of artistic vision, the aesthetic quality an

Contenu

"Popstar-Poet: The Leonard Cohen Paradox,? Jason Holt
Introduces the book by presenting Cohen as an enigmatic, paradoxical figure in part because he challenges the popular art/high art dichotomy.

Part I-Songs of Existence
(1) "Leonard Cohen as a Guide to Life: Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism,? Brendan Shea
Cohen as reflecting the wisdom of these ancient Greek and Roman philosophies.
(2) "That's How the Light Gets In: The Existential Cohen and the Joy of Infinite Resignation,? Agust Magnusson
Cohen's worldview from the point of view of existentialism.
(3) "Naked at the End of the World: Leonard Cohen and Apocalyptic Time,? Gary Shapiro
"The Future? as exploring philosophical views of the apocalypse.

Part II-Songs of Identity
(4) "Give or Take a Night or Two: Kierkegaard, Cohen, and the Dialectic of Irony,? Christopher Lauer
Kierkegaard's account of irony illuminating how Cohen creates a sense of intimacy with his listeners.
(5) "Why Cohen Is Our Man,? Wieland Schwanebeck
Complexities of masculine identity as variously expressed in Cohen's songs.
(6) "Emending the Soul of the Lost Past: Cohen's Path to Self-Knowledge,? Daniele Santoro
Cohen as mapping a path to wisdom through painful and nostalgic self-knowledge.

Part III-Songs of Love
(7) "Her Beauty in the Moonlight Overthrew You: Leonard Cohen on Self-Deception in Love,? Simon Riches
Cohen's views of love as resolving the "paradox of self-deception.?
(8) "The Self, the Other, and the Mystery of the Mirror,? Lisa Warenski
Bodily awareness and mirroring of the beloved in love as ways of understanding but not dispelling the mystery of "touching a perfect body with your mind.?
(9) "Love and Longing in Leonard Cohen, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty,? Ellen M. Miller
Themes of Cohen's work as reflecting the philosophies of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty and how it "all comes together? in experience.
(10) "You and Who in Leonard Cohen: Telling Time, Playing Love, and Ancient Ethics,? Babette Babich
The erotic and ancient philosophical significance of Cohen's use of pronouns.

Part IV-Songs of Aesthetics
(11) "Hey, That's No Way to Use Metaphor!? Wieland Schwanebeck
Cohen's lyrics as exhibiting different theories of metaphor.
(12) "Covering Cohen,? Adam Auch
Aesthetic complexities of covering Cohen including the tension between authenticity and generic artistry, especially in terms of how context shapes meaning.
(13) "Is Leonard Cohen a Good Singer?? Jason Holt
Aspects of this question as reflecting the problem addressed by Hume of whether there really can be objective standards of taste.
(14) "Duende,? Ed Winters
Cohen's appeal explained in part through Goethe's/Lorca's aesthetic notion of the duende, "a mysterious power which everyone senses and no philosopher explains.?

Part V-Songs of Literature
(15) "Leonard Cohen and the Philosophy of Memory,? Pawel Dobrosielski and Marcin Napiórkowski
Cohen's Flowers for Hitler through the lens of and as challenging Adorno's view that "there can be no poetry after Auschwitz.?
(16) Topic: Schopenhauer's pessimism and Cohen's poetry (title TBA), Liane Heller
Schopenhauer's philosophy (pessimism, aesthetics, will and representation) as seen in elements of Cohen's poetry.
(17) "The Politics of Leonard Cohen,? Steven Burns
Beautiful Losers as expressing a particular political philosophy which gives a unity to the novel that it is often seen as lacking.

Part VI-Songs from a Mind
(18) "Is a Tear an Intellectual Thing? Leonard Cohen's Philosophy of Emotion,? Liam Demps…