On Tragedy and Transcendence
An Essay on the Metaphysics of Donald MacKinnon and Rowan Williams
Foreword by Graham Ward
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
From the time of Plato's proposed expulsion of the poets, tragedy has repeatedly proposed a challenge to philosophical and theological certainties. This is apparent already in early Christianity amongst leading figures during the patristic age. But this raises the question: Why was the theme of tragedy still accepted and deployed throughout the history of Christianity nevertheless? Is this merely an accident or is there something more substantial at play? Can Christian theology take the tragic seriously? Must Christianity ultimately deny the tragic to be coherent, or might it be able to sustain its negativity? Some like George Steiner, David Bentley Hart, and John Milbank have doubts about such a coherency, but others think differently. This book aims to examine this debate, laying out the lines of disagreement and continuing tensions. Through a critical examination of the work of Donald MacKinnon and the eminent Christian thinker Rowan Williams, the book aims to show that there is a path for reconciling the claims of Christian orthodoxy and the experience of tragedy, one that is able to maintain a metaphysical foundation for both real transcendence and unfolding historicity, without denying either.
Khegan M. Delport is a Research Fellow at the Department of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, University of Stellenbosch and Department of Historical and Constructive Theology, University of the Free State. He has published his work in Modern Theology, The Heythrop Journal, and The Journal of Anglican Studies, amongst others.
“Khegan Delport is an exciting young South African theological voice. Exemplified in On Tragedy and Transcendence, his work already bears the marks of a mature scholar. Ambitious and erudite, the present work makes a significant contribution not only to contemporary philosophical theology but to the growing nexus between theology and literary studies.”
—Stephen Martin, Professor of Theology, The King’s University
“In On Tragedy and Transcendence Khegan Delport provides an extensive and critical exposition of the thought of Donald MacKinnon and Rowan Williams on the tragic. Central to this inquiry is the question of whether one can take tragedy and historicity seriously without jettisoning classical accounts of transcendence. The result is a richly textured and tightly argued study—one that underscores the author’s claim that the grammar of transcendence and tragedy has transcultural resonance.”
—Robert Vosloo, Professor of Systematic Theology, Stellebosch University