Leonard Cohen and Philosophy: Various Positions

Contents

• "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
• 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 Ma
• 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," L
• 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 betwe
• Part V --Songs of Literature (15) "Leonard Cohen and the Philosophy of Memory," Pawel Dobrosielski and Marcin Napiorkowski Cohen's Flowers for Hitler through the lens of and as challenging Adorno's view that "there can be no poetry after Auschwitz." (16)
• Part VI --Songs from a Mind (18) "Is a Tear an Intellectual Thing? Leonard Cohen's Philosophy of Emotion," Liam Dempsey Cohen's perspective as fitting "process theories" which take emotions as quick but clumsy responses in contrast to the slower but wiser
• Part VII --Songs of Spirituality (21) "Clouds of Unknowing: Cohen's Via Negativa," Bernard Wills Cohen's "Judeo-Christianity" contrasted with his Buddhism as reflected in "Ballad of the Absent Mare" and elsewhere. (22) "The Prophetic Mr. Cohen in a Post-9
• 11. (23) "Breaking the Spell of 'Hallelujah'," Peter Stone Dennett's view of religion as "all things to all people" applied to the interpretive openness of "Hallelujah" to explain its popularity. Our Hands Bloody with Commas Contributor bios
• Index