John David Caputo (born October 26, 1940) is an American philosopher who is the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and the David R. Cook Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. Caputo is a major figure associated with

postmodern Christianity Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post- Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, a ...

and

continental philosophy Continental philosophy is a term used to describe some philosophers and philosophical traditions that do not fall under the umbrella of analytic philosophy. However, there is no academic consensus on the definition of continental philosophy. Pri ...

of religion, as well as the founder of the theological movement known as weak theology. Much of Caputo's work focuses on

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences w ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Education

Caputo received his BA in 1962 from

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

, his MA in 1964 from

, and his PhD in philosophy in 1968 from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

Work

Caputo is a specialist in contemporary

, with a particular expertise in

, and

. Over the years, he has developed a deconstructive

that he calls

radical hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

, which is highly influenced by the thought of the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida. Additionally, Caputo has developed a distinctive approach to religion that he calls weak theology. Recently, his most important work has been to rebut the charges of

relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...

made against deconstruction by showing that deconstruction is organized around the affirmation of certain unconditional ethical and political claims. Caputo has a special interest in continental approaches to the philosophy of religion. Some of the ideas Caputo investigates in his work include the "religion without religion" of

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

; the "theological turn" taken in recent French phenomenology by

Jean-Luc Marion Jean-Luc Marion (born 3 July 1946) is a French philosopher and Roman Catholic theologian. Marion is a former student of Jacques Derrida whose work is informed by patristic and mystical theology, phenomenology, and modern philosophy.Horner 2005. ...

and others; the critique of

ontotheology Ontotheology means the ontology of God and/or the theology of being. While the term was first used by Immanuel Kant, it has only come into broader philosophical parlance with the significance it took for Martin Heidegger's later thought. While, for ...

; the dialogue of contemporary philosophy with

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

and

Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

; and medieval

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

. In the past, Caputo has taught courses on

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

Edmund Husserl , thesis1_title = Beiträge zur Variationsrechnung (Contributions to the Calculus of Variations) , thesis1_url = https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:58535/bdef:Book/view , thesis1_year = 1883 , thesis2_title ...

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the relationship of ethics to me ...

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...

, and

Reception

In reviewing Caputo's ''Cross and Cosmos'',

Denver Seminary Denver Seminary is a private, Evangelical Christian seminary with its main campus in Littleton, Colorado, an online global campus, and an extension campus in Washington, DC. It offers Master of Arts (MA), Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Doctor of M ...

professor

Douglas Groothuis Douglas R. Groothuis ( ; born January 3, 1957) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary. Groothuis was a campus pastor for twelve years prior to obtaining a position as an associate professor of philosophy of religion and ethics at Denver S ...

stated that for Caputo "God does not exist but insists... I cannot make out how Caputo can affirm the nonexistence of God while claiming God does something. It is simply illogical... A unicorn cannot insist on being fed -- or insist on anything else -- if it does not exist." https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/cross-and-cosmos-a-theology-of-difficult-glory/

Positions held

Caputo taught philosophy at Villanova University from 1968 to 2004. He was appointed the David R. Cook Professor of Philosophy at

in 1993. Caputo was the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion at

, where he taught in both the departments of philosophy and religion from 2004 until his retirement in 2011. He is emeritus professor at both Villanova University and Syracuse University and continues to write and lecture in both the United States and Europe. He is active in the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly ...

, the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profes ...

, the

Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) is a philosophical society whose initial purpose was to promote the study of phenomenology and existentialism but has since expanded to a wide array of contemporary philosophical pursui ...

and he chairs the board of editors for the ''Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory''.

Notable former students of Caputo

* Theodore George * Michael Brogan * James K. A. Smith, professor, philosopher and theologian * Nythamar de Oliveira, professor, philosopher and theologian

Bibliography

*(1978) ''The Mystical Element in Heidegger's Thought'' (Ohio University Press) *(1982) ''Heidegger and Aquinas'' (Fordham University Press) *(1986) ''The Mystical Element in Heidegger's Thought'' (Fordham University Press paperback with a new "Introduction") *(1987) ''Radical Hermeneutics: Repetition, Deconstruction and the Hermeneutic Project'' (Indiana University Press) *(1993) ''Against Ethics - Contributions to a Poetics of Obligation with Constant Reference to Deconstruction'' (Indiana University Press) *(1993) ''Demythologizing Heidegger'' (Indiana University Press) *(1997) ''The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida'' (Indiana University Press) *(1997) ''Deconstruction in a Nutshell: A Conversation with Jacques Derrida'', ed./auth. (Fordham University Press) *(2000) ''More Radical Hermeneutics: On Not Knowing Who We Are'' (Indiana University Press) *(2001) ''On Religion'' (Routledge Press) *(2006) ''Philosophy and Theology'' (Abingdon Press) *(2006) ''The Weakness of God'' (Indiana University Press) *(2007) ''After the Death of God'', with

Gianni Vattimo Gianteresio Vattimo (born 4 January 1936) is an Italian people, Italian philosopher and politician. Biography Gianteresio Vattimo was born in Turin, Piedmont. He studied philosophy under the existentialism, existentialist Luigi Pareyson at the Un ...

(Columbia University Press) *(2007) ''How to Read Kierkegaard'' (Granta; Norton, 2008) *(2007) ''What Would Jesus Deconstruct?: The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church'' (Baker Academic) *(2013) ''The Insistence of God: A Theology of Perhaps'' (Indiana University Press) *(2014) ''Truth'' hilosophy in Transit(Penguin) *(2015) ''Hoping Against Hope: Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim'' (Fortress Press) *(2015) ''The Folly of God: A Theology of the Unconditional'' (Polebridge Press) *(2018) ''Hermeneutics: Facts and Interpretation in the Age of Information'' (Pelican) *(2019) ''Cross and Cosmos: A Theology of Difficult Glory'' (Indiana University Press) *(2020) ''In Search of Radical Theology: Expositions, Explorations, Exhortations'' (Fordham University Press) *(2021) ''The Collected Philosophical and Theological Papers, Volume 3: The Return of Religion'' (John D. Caputo Archives)

References

External links

writings
John D. Caputo at philpapers.org
*, by John D. Caputo *, by John D. Caputo

(pdf), by John D. Caputo *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170314154916/http://philosophyandscripture.org/JohnCaputo.pdf "Scripture: A Prologue"">"Jacques Derrida (1930–2004)"
(pdf), by John D. Caputo

(pdf), by John D. Caputo *[http://www.jcrt.org/archives/04.3/caputo.pdf "Without Sovereignty, Without Being: Unconditionality, the Coming God and Derrida's Democracy to Come"">"Scripture: A Prologue"
(pdf), by John D. Caputo

(pdf), by John D. Caputo *[http://www.crosscurrents.org/Caputo0406.pdf "Theopoetic/theopolitic"">"Without Sovereignty, Without Being: Unconditionality, the Coming God and Derrida's Democracy to Come"
(pdf), by John D. Caputo

(pdf) John D. Caputo and Catherine Keller
'Cross Currents; Winter 2007; V. 57, No. 1' Interviews *[http://www.jcrt.org/archives/03.2/caputo_raschke.shtml Interview with Carl Raschke">"Theopoetic/theopolitic"
(pdf) John D. Caputo and Catherine Keller
'Cross Currents; Winter 2007; V. 57, No. 1' Interviews
Interview with Carl RaschkeThe Modern World
After Atheism: New Perspectives on God and Religion, Part 2
by David Cayley
, ''Ideas'', broadcast 1 May 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Caputo, John D. 1940 births American philosophers Christian continental philosophers and theologians Phenomenologists Deconstruction Heidegger scholars Living people Bryn Mawr College alumni La Salle University alumni Death of God theologians Syracuse University faculty American Christian theologians