Mark C. Taylor, Williams College, USA; Gillian Rose, University of Warwick; John Milbank, University of Cambridge; Joanna Hodge, Wolfson College, Oxford; Toby Foshay, University of Victoria, Canada; Rowan Williams, Christ Church College, Oxford The Rev. Don Cupitt, Emmanuel College, Cambridge; Jonathan Bordo, Trent University, Ontario; Gad Horowitz, University of Toronto; Eve Tavor Bannet, University of South Carolina; Shannon Bell, York University, Canada; Robert Magliola, National Taiwan University; John O'Neill, York University, Ontario; Regina Schwartz, Duke University, USA; Geraldine Finn, Carl Raschke, University of Denver, USA; Patricia Joplin, Yale University, USA

Philippa Berry, Andrew Wernick

By illuminating the striking affinity between the most innovative aspects of postmodern thought and religious mystical discourse, Shadow of Spirit challenges the long established assumption that western thought is committed to nihilism.
This collection of essays by internationally recognised scholars explores the implications of the fascination with the `sacred', `divine' or `infinite' which characterizes much contemporary thought. It shows how these concerns have surfaced in the work of Derrida, Baudrillard, Lyotard, Kristeva, Irigaray and others. Examining the connection between this postmodern `turn' and the current search for a new discourse of ethics and politics, it also stresses the contribution made by feminist thought to this unexpected intellectual direction.