scholarly journals The idea of incarnation revisited by Jung, Gadamer and Henry

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-302
Author(s):  
Paweł Sznajder

The idea of incarnation is one of the Christian theological concepts that has exerted the strongest influence on philosophical thought in Europe and which was repeatedly referred to in the twentieth century. The paper presents three reinterpretations of this biblical category. Carl Gustav Jung interprets incarnation in the spirit of Gnosticism, as a process of the psychological individuation of God and man; Hans‑Georg Gadamer employs the idea of the inner Word, Verbum interius, to analyse the dogmas of incarnation and the Trinity: seeking in them a solution to the mystery of language; while Michel Henry reaches for the Bible and theology to face anew the issue of human corporeality. These attempts to rethink the theological aspects of the Incarnation of the Son of God reveal the role of this notion in the development of modern psychology, the hermeneutic philosophy of language as well as in anthropology. At the same time, a philosophical reinterpretation of incarnation provides an impulse to rephrase the questions about the relationship between philosophy and theology, as well as faith and reason, good and evil, the relationship between God and man, the mind and the body, as well as speech and thinking. On the other hand, provisional answers to these questions may rekindle theological thought and contribute to the revival of reflection on issues such as the Holy Trinity, the Immaculate and Virgin Conception, or a privation theory of evil. The article provides a starting point for just such a multi‑faceted analysis.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-219
Author(s):  
Meindert E. Peters

Friedrich Nietzsche's influence on Isadora Duncan's work, in particular his idea of the Dionysian, has been widely discussed, especially in regard to her later work. What has been left underdeveloped in critical examinations of her work, however, is his influence on her earlier choreographic work, which she defended in a famous speech held in 1903 called The Dance of the Future. While commentators often describe this speech as ‘Nietzschean’, Duncan's autobiography suggests that she only studied Nietzsche's work after this speech. I take this incongruity as a starting point to explore the connections between her speech and Nietzsche's work, in particular his Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I argue that in subject and language Duncan's speech resembles Nietzsche's in important ways. This article will draw attention to the ways in which Duncan takes her cues from Nietzsche in bringing together seemingly conflicting ideas of religion and an overturning of morality; Nietzsche's notion of eternal recurrence and the teleology present in his idea of the Übermensch; and a renegotiation of the body's relation to the mind. In doing so, this article contributes not only to scholarship on Duncan's early work but also to discussions of Nietzsche's reception in the early twentieth century. Moreover, the importance Duncan ascribes to the body in dance and expression also asks for a new understanding of Nietzsche's own way of expressing his philosophy.


Mental fragmentation is the thesis that the mind is fragmented, or compartmentalized. Roughly, this means that an agent’s overall belief state is divided into several sub-states—fragments. These fragments need not make for a consistent and deductively closed belief system. The thesis of mental fragmentation became popular through the work of philosophers like Christopher Cherniak, David Lewis, and Robert Stalnaker in the 1980s. Recently, it has attracted great attention again. This volume is the first collection of essays devoted to the topic of mental fragmentation. It features important new contributions by leading experts in the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and philosophy of language. Opening with an accessible Introduction providing a systematic overview of the current debate, the fourteen essays cover a wide range of issues: foundational issues and motivations for fragmentation, the rationality or irrationality of fragmentation, fragmentation’s role in language, the relationship between fragmentation and mental files, and the implications of fragmentation for the analysis of implicit attitudes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 329-368
Author(s):  
Neža Zajc

St Maxim the Greek: Some notes on his understanding of the sacred timeBased on a manuscript by St Maxim the Greek, this article explores his specific under­standing of the relationship between language and biblical tradition. It gives some answers to questions concerning his theology, which are posed by his liturgical experience of the sacred time, which is based not on repeating the excerptions from the patristic authors, but is primarily founded on his accurate reading and in-depth perception of the Holy Bible. Maxim the Greek, who in his personal writings showed a detailed knowledge of both the Old Testament and Sla­vonic biblical texts, was thus not only able to separate the canonical from the non-canonical sacred texts, but also successfully classified the Christian teachings according to ethical value, from the Old Testament prophets to the apostles and the Church Fathers. With his hierarchy he also gave meaning to the ontological-eschatological dimension (three levels – appropriate to the Holy Trinity) of their spiritual efforts. His knowledge, which also reflects the precise understanding of dogmatic theological decisions of the first ecumenical church councils, ranks highest the learning that comes directly from the Son of God, which Maxim the Greek experienced through his theological-liturgical prayer practice.Maxim found theologically unambiguous formulations which most profoundly deter­mined the specific nature of his personal theology in the Byzantine hymnography dedicated to the Mother of God. All the mentioned facts lead the author to the further explore his specific Old Church Slavonic language, in which he managed to preserve not only the early Christian mentality but also the theological-liturgical characteristics of the ascetic and later monastic discipline that he learned in the monastery of Vatopedi at the Holy Mount Athos. The article concludes with the proposition that only through detailed study of the personal language of St Maxim the Greek can we arrive at a definition of his Theology. Św. Maksym Grek. Kilka uwag o jego rozumieniu czasu świętegoArtykuł poświęcony jest specyficznemu rozumieniu związku języka i tradycji biblijnej w manuskrypcie św. Maksyma Greka. Proponuje odpowiedzi na pytania dotyczącego jego teologii, jakie zostały zawarte w jego liturgicznym doświadczeniu świętego czasu, które nie polega na odtwarzaniu ekscerpcji z autorów patrystycznych, lecz jest przede wszystkim oparte na właściwym odczytaniu i dogłębnym rozumieniu Biblii. Maksym Grek, który w swoich pismach osobistych wykazuje szczegółową wiedzę na temat zarówno Starego Testamentu, jak i słowiańskich tekstów biblijnych, posiada umiejętność oddzielenia nie tylko tekstów kanonicznych od niekanonicznych, ale także z powodzeniem klasyfikuje nauki chrześcijań­skie zgodnie z ich wartością etyczną, od proroków Starego Testamentu do apostołów i Ojców Kościoła. Hierarchią tą nadaje także znaczenie wymiarowi ontologiczno-eschatologicznemu (trzy poziomy – właściwe Świętej Trójcy) ich wysiłków duchowym. Wiedza, która ujawnia się również w precyzyjnym rozumieniu decyzji dogmatycznych pierwszych ekumenicznych sobo­rów Kościoła, sytuuje najwyżej bezpośrednią naukę płynącą od Syna Bożego, której Maksym Grek doświadczył dzięki teologiczno-liturgicznej praktyce modlitewnej.W bizantyńskiej hymnografii odnajduje on jednoznaczne sformułowania teologicznie, poświęcone Matce Boskiej, które najdobitniej określają specyfikę jego osobistej teologii. Wszystkie wspomniane fakty wiodą do dalszych badań jego charakterystycznego języka staro-cerkiewno­-słowiańskiego, w którym stara się zachować nie tylko wczesną mentalność chrześcijańską, lecz także teologiczno-liturgiczne cechy ascetycznej, a później monastycznej, dyscypliny, której nauczył się w monastyrze Vatopedi na Świętej Górze Atos. Artykuł stawia tezę, że tylko szczegółowe badania języka św. Maksyma Greka pozwalają na zdefiniowanie jego teologii.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Andrianus Nababan

AbstrackThe Christian religious education teacher is an educator who provides knowledge about Christianity based on the Bible, centered on Jesus Christ, and relied on the Holy Spirit. Christian Religious Education teachers must be able to offer their bodies in Romans 12:1-3. The understanding of offering the body include: 1)the Christian religious education teacher always i approaches the loving and generous God 2)give advice by encouraging, directing convey the truth of God's Words. 3). renewal of the mind by distinguishing which is good and pleasing to God. Thus, each Christian religious education teacher can understand that a true educator must surrender his/her body as a true offering according to will of God.Key word: Christian education teacher; Offering the body Romans 12:1-3.ABSTRAKGuru Pendidikan Agama Kristen merupakan seorang pendidik yang memberikan ilmu pengetahuan tentang agama Kristen yang berdasarkan Alkitab, berpusat pada Yesus Kristus, dan bergantung pada Roh Kudus kepada peserta didik dalam kegiatan belajarmengajar. Guru Pendidikan Agama Kristen harus mampu mempersembahkan tubuhnya dalam Roma 12:1-3 sebagai ibadah sejati. Pemahaman mempersembahkan tubuh yaitu 1)guru Pendidikan agama Kristen senantiasa menghampiri Allah yang penuh kasih dan kemurahan 2)memberikan nasihat dengan mendorong, mengarahkan dan berdasarkan kebenaran Firman Tuhan. 3)pembaharuan budi dengan membedakan mana yang baik dan yang berkenan kepada Allah. Demikian Guru Pendidikan Agama kristen mampu memahami mempersembahkan tubuh menyangkut kehendak Allah sebagai pendidik yang sejati.Kata Kunci: Guru Pendidikan Agama Kristen; Mempersembahkan tubuh.


1997 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin O'Connor

In 1866, theAtlantic Monthlypublished a fictional case study of an army surgeon who had lost all of his limbs during the Civil War. Written anonymously by American neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell, “The Case of George Dedlow” describes not only the series of wounds and infections which led to the amputation of all four of the soldier's arms and legs but also the after-effects of amputation. Reduced to what he terms “a useless torso, more like some strange larval creature than anything of human shape,” Dedlow finds that in disarticulating his body, amputation articulates anatomical norms. His observation of his own uniquely altered state qualifies him to speak in universal terms about the relationship between sentience and selfhood: “I have dictated these pages,” he says, “not to shock my readers, but to possess them with facts in regard to the relation of the mind to the body” (1866:5). As such, the story explores the meaning of embodiment, finding in a fragmented anatomy the opportunity to piece together a more complete understanding of how the body functions—physically and metaphysically—as a whole.


Humanities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Alberto Tondello

In Agency and Embodiment, Carrie Noland describes gesture as “a type of inscription, a parsing of the body into signifying and operational units”, considering it as a means to read and decode the human body. Through an analysis of James Joyce’s collection of Epiphanies, my paper will examine how gesture, as a mode of expression of the body, can be transcribed on the written page. Written and collected to record a “spiritual manifestation” shining through “in the vulgarity of speech or gesture, or in a memorable phase of the mind itself”, Joyce’s Epiphanies can be considered as the first step in his sustained attempt to develop an art of gesture-as-rhythm. These short pieces appear as the site in which the author seeks, through the medium of writing, to negotiate and redefine the boundaries of the physical human body. Moving towards a mapping of body and mind through the concept of rhythm, and pointing to a collaboration and mutual influence between interiority and exteriority, the Epiphanies open up a space for the reformulation of the relationship between the human body and its environment. Unpacking the ideas that sit at the heart of the concept of epiphany, the paper will shed light on how this particular mode of writing produces a rhythmic art of gesture, fixing and simultaneously liberating human and nonhuman bodies on the written page.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-166
Author(s):  
Richard Pleijel

In this paper, the translation of the Biblical Hebrew word nephesh is discussed in light of new research. The starting point for the paper is a 1976 article in The Bible Translator that discusses the translation of nephesh based on the idea that it is a monistic entity referring to human beings as such. It is shown that this view was most representative for the exegetical consensus of the time of the article. However, a fair amount of new research points out new directions for interpreting nephesh as an entity or essence that was perceived as being separable from the body. This is also confirmed by research on cognate ancient Near Eastern concepts. It is argued that this should affect our way of translating the word nephesh.


Author(s):  
Christopher Hays

The relationship between Egypt and ancient Israel and Judah was far more complex than is often recognized. Egypt figures prominently in their national myths of origin as a way station for the patriarchs and as the “house of slaves” and starting point of the Exodus. Although no Exodus event can be confirmed from extrabiblical sources, its significance in the Bible suggests an historical kernel. The diverse existing traditions about Egypt in the texts of the Pentateuch and other early biblical writings, combined and written down at a later date, seem to reflect different experiences on the part of the groups that coalesced into Israel By the time of the monarchy, there is more direct evidence for Egyptian influence on Israelite culture, particularly in administrative affairs. It is also clear that Egyptian religion was practiced in the Levant at this time and would have been known in Israel and Judah. By the time of the divided monarchy, the historical picture comes into better focus. Relations between Egypt, Israel, and Judah were quite variable. Although Egypt’s New Kingdom empire in the Levant had ended, the region continued to be a useful trading outlet, and the pharaohs were not above raiding to assert their power. However, there are numerous examples of fugitives from the Levant finding refuge from their enemies in Egypt. In the interest of maintaining a buffer zone against the northern empires that encroached, Egypt and Kush gave military aid to Israel and Judah at times, through both direct action and supplies. The prophets had not forgotten Egypt’s role as an oppressor and frequently condemned it, as well as the tendency of Israelite and Judahite rulers to seek its help. But at times the prophets also envisioned peace with Egypt. There are a number of specific Egyptian texts that supply mutually illuminating points of comparison with biblical texts, including wisdom instructions, prayers, hymns, creation accounts, and autobiographies. These are indications of the extensive, ongoing, cultural interactions between Egypt and the cultures that produced the Old Testament.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Gunne Grankvist ◽  
Petri Kajonius ◽  
Bjorn Persson

<p>Dualists view the mind and the body as two fundamental different “things”, equally real and independent of each other. Cartesian thought, or substance dualism, maintains that the mind and body are two different substances, the non-physical and the physical, and a causal relationship is assumed to exist between them. Physicalism, on the other hand, is the idea that everything that exists is either physical or totally dependent of and determined by physical items. Hence, all mental states are fundamentally physical states. In the current study we investigated to what degree Swedish university students’ beliefs in mind-body dualism is explained by the importance they attach to personal values. A self-report inventory was used to measure their beliefs and values. Students who held stronger dualistic beliefs attach less importance to the power value (i.e., the effort to achieve social status, prestige, and control or dominance over people and resources). This finding shows that the strength in laypeople’s beliefs in dualism is partially explained by the importance they attach to personal values.</p>


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