Philosophy has traditionally engaged the problem of why there is something rather than nothing as a normal causal question. Such an approach, Hunter Brown proposes in Grace and Philosophy, does not do justice to the deep wonder and astonishment that the existence of the world elicits so widely among human beings. Such wonder has often been expressed in artistic and literary ways, includ- ing especially the language of grace, which captures the striking gratuity of existence and the spontaneous, grateful response so often evoked by it. Since the modern period, however, Brown argues, there has been a questionable narrowing of philosophy that privileges formal reasoning and theory over an engagement of immediate experience. Detached expertise, impersonal scholar- ship, and preoccupation with data have swept aside simple wonderment about the extraordinary gratuity of existence, and the remarkable ways in which such wonderment has been expressed. Against the grain of such widespread developments Grace and Philosophy proposes a perspective that maintains a place of importance in philosophy for such wonder and for the many forms in which it has manifested itself. Hunter Brown is professor of philosophy and religious studies at King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario. The course of human life, punctuated by unexpected and transformative moments, is never uniform. What are the characteristics of such life-defining moments, what responses do they evoke, and how do they transform the lives of those who experience them? In Vivo explores foundational questions and pivotal moments of the human experience – engagement with a foreign culture, the decision to break free from unfortunate experiences, a generous action undertaken in the context of an otherwise regular day – in terms of their life-altering potential. Through illustrative examples, both real and fictional, Csepregi reveals the primacy of personal feelings in shaping human life and demonstrates the formative power of spontaneity outside the traditional context of formal education. These moments, and particularly the way they disrupt ordinary temporal order, Csepregi argues, are the lived experiences of our vitality. In an age marked by increasing anxiety about the homogenizing tendencies of contemporary life, In Vivo is timely and revelatory. Informed by a range of philosophical thinking and examples from art, music, and literature, it illus- trates opportunities for meaningful reflection that are available to everyone, and urges the reader to engage with them. Gabor Csepregi is adjunct professor of philosophy at Laval University and past president of Dominican University College and the Université de Saint-Boniface. 2 0 M Q U P S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S April 2019 -5,7a755pl7lnl-7S 4s-i-l£ bAU1 4s-i-l£ Dc1 kssi-- 6o602 -5,7a755pl7lnl,7h 4,liaac bAU1 4,liaac Dc1 kn,iaa $.9ru n B - S5a66 0g99T omot.oN.0 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S April 2019 -5,7a755pl7lnnp7, 4s-i-lv bAU1 4s-i-lv Dc1 kssi-- 6o602 -5,7a755pl7lnns7S 4SSaiaac bAU1 4SSaiaac Dc1 k,,iaa $.9ru n B - sps66 0g99T omot.oN.0 Grace and Philosophy Understanding a Gratuitous World hunter brown A case for the reinstatement in philosophy of astonished wonder about life, and the poetic and artistic expressions of such wonder. P H I L O S O P H Y • R E L I G I O U S S T U D I E S In Vivo A Phenomenology of Life-Defining Moments gabor csepregi An exploration of the pivotal moments that transform and shape our lives. P H I L O S O P H Y • E D U C AT I O N