Michel Foucault on Spiritual Self-Practices, Counter-Conducts, and Power-Knowledge Constellations
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Materialism Versus Spirituality: Neo-Vedanta Approach of Synthesis
IDEA – Studia nad strukturą i rozwojem pojęć filozoficznych XXIV Białystok 2012 ADITYA KUMAR GUPTA (New Delhi, Indie) MATERIALISM VERSUS SPIRITUALITY: NEO-VEDANTA APPROACH OF SYNTHESIS Human beings are often described as having two opposing (and complemen- tary) elements: Flesh and Soul. We all strive, to a certain extent and according to everybody’s ability, to reach a level where we are satisfied with both elements. This satisfaction is actually an ideal, and seldom do we find people who have reached that level. This estrangement between the two spheres of life, the relationship between materialism and spirituality, is as central a divide as one can imagine. From the remains of our earliest writings, these concepts have been illuminated for us by religious figures, philosophers, novelists, and literary critics, amongst many others. Some have given predominance to matter, while others to spiritu- ality. There have been, however, some philosophers in human history who have tried to strike a balance between the two. One of them is certainly Vivekananda, who stressed the need for perfect synthesis of materialism and spirituality in life. The synthesis of materialism and spirituality has become inevitable to the mo- dern man. The last quarter of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st cen- tury have witnessed many transitional changes. Immense progress in science and technology, and in economy has brought about more comfortable living conditions for man. Globalization and liberalization of economies have played a crucial role in this regard. In the era of globalization, we are witnessing an attack of mate- rialism. However, globalization has many good effects. -
Supervision As Soul Care: a Spirituality of Integrity
Supervision as Soul Care: A Spirituality of Integrity Felicity Kelcourse Summary A spirituality of integrity for caregivers and their supervisors requires attention to the well-being of body, mind, and also soul. The spiritual, religious, and theological contexts in which these relationships exist create a unique context for formation and supervision in which distinctions and conjunctions between psychic life and the life the spirit can be effectively and usefully identified. Supervisors caring for caregivers attend to the minds and bodies of those they supervise. It is the supervisor’s task to monitor and support both the work of supervisees and their general well-being. Pastors, chaplains, and counselors giving care to others are encouraged to do their best work by caring for themselves as well. Supervisors in turn will need to practice what they preach—finding balance in their own lives that allows them to support others effectively. A spirituality of integrity for caregivers and their supervi- sors requires attention to the well-being of body, mind, and also soul. The Benefits of Soul Awareness We speak of mind and body as though they can be separated, although actual separation is implausible. A body not animated by a functioning mind is inco- herent or inert. Minds cannot exist without bodies as Damasio, a neurologist, points out in Descartes’ Error.1 But the fiction of separation serves us metaphori- cally when we speak of a “mindless act” or someone living “in their head.” Felicity Kelcourse, PhD, LMHC, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 W. -
Religious History As Religious Studies
This article was downloaded by: [Yale University Library] On: 22 June 2012, At: 18:26 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Religion Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rrel20 Religious history as religious studies Kathryn Lofton a a Department of Religious Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208287, New Haven, CT, 06520-8287 Available online: 21 Jun 2012 To cite this article: Kathryn Lofton (2012): Religious history as religious studies, Religion, 42:3, 383-394 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2012.681878 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and- conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection -
Calvin, Mystical Union, and Spirituality
CALVIN’S MYSTICISM 183 CALVIN, MYSTICAL UNION, AND SPIRITUALITY Clive S. Chin* Mysticism in John Calvin? This question comes somewhat as a surprise to those who are familiar with Calvin studies. In fact, the issue of mysticism in Calvin has prompted one writer to ask: “Gibt es in der Theologie des Genfer Reformators einen ‘mystischen’ Grundzug, der seine oft—wie man meint—‘gesetzlichen’ Ansichten konterkariert?”1 Böttger’s question raises not only the possible existence of a mystical strain, but also an inherent tension — between the warm, mystical side and the cold, logical side — in the Reformer’s theology. Indeed, older portraits of Calvin in the secondary literature of the past century have often depicted a cold, austere, rigid, logical dogmatician devoid of the experiential dimension of religious faith. 2 More recently, as if to correct this caricature and underscore the preferred softened portrait of a warm, personal, and experiential Calvin, a few writers make the bold claim to have identified alleged mystical strains in Calvin’s theology. One particular strain concerns Calvin’s use of the “unio mystica” element in his writings. 3 This essay seeks to *Rev. Dr. Clive S. Chin, Ph.D., is Full-Time Lecturer of Systematic Theology at TTGST. Prior to joining the faculty, he served as a pastor in the U.S.A. for over seventeen years. His research interests include Biblical theology, Prolegomena (theological methods), Reformation thought (Calvin), and Christian spirituality. 1Paul Christoph Böttger, “Gott, der Brunnquell aller Güter: gibt es einen ‘mystischen’ Grundzug in der Theologie Calvins?” in Reformiertes Erbe: Festschrift für Gottfried W. -
Ancient and Modern
Ancient and Modern: What the History of Religion Teaches Us About Contemporary Global Trends Philip Jenkins Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Humanities at Pennsylvania State University Distinguished Senior Fellow at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion ARDA GUIDING PAPER Ancient and Modern: What the History of Religion Teaches Us About Contemporary Global Trends Religious developments in the contemporary world attract a great deal of scholarship drawing on a wide range of methodologies — ethnographic, economic, and sociological — but the historical component is still not as prominent as it should be. Certainly modern scholars have traced the historical origins of modern conditions, for example in terms of the Christian missions that created the flourishing churches of Africa and Asia, or the contemporary rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Having said this, surprisingly little work on contemporary conditions draws on the vast and flourishing scholarly literature concerning religion in earlier centuries, in the ancient, medieval and early modern worlds. Historians dwell in one academic world while scholars of contemporary religion inhabit another, and the two sides have little contact.1 Yet such a separation is unfortunate, in that the earlier history contains a vast amount of information and case-studies that are highly relevant to contemporary conditions. More important, perhaps, these studies tell us repeatedly that contemporary trends that we believe to be modern and unprecedented are in fact no such thing, and that they have often appeared in earlier eras. It is futile, then, to try and explain these supposed novelties in terms of strictly modern developments. Moreover, contemporary scholarship often describes processes that assume a historical trajectory, but often, the historical pattern is assumed rather than demonstrated. -
Historical Critique Or Transcendental Critique in Foucault: Two Kantian Lineages Colin Koopman, University of Oregon
Colin Koopman 2010 ISSN: 1832-5203 Foucault Studies, No. 8, pp. 100-121, February 2010 ARTICLE Historical Critique or Transcendental Critique in Foucault: Two Kantian Lineages Colin Koopman, University of Oregon ABSTRACT: A growing body of interpretive literature concerning the work of Michel Foucault asserts that Foucault’s critical project is best interpreted in light of various strands of philosophical phenomenology. In this article I dispute this interpretation on both textual and philosophical grounds. It is shown that a core theme of ‘the phenomenological Foucault’ having to do with transcendental inquiry cannot be sustained by a careful reading of Foucault’s texts nor by a careful interpretation of Foucault’s philosophical commitments. It is then shown that this debate in Foucault scholarship has wider ramifications for understanding ‘the critical Foucault’ and the relationship of Foucault’s projects to Kantian critical philosophy. It is argued that Foucault’s work is Kantian at its core insofar as it institutes a critical inquiry into conditions of possibility. But whereas critique for Kant was transcendental in orientation, in Foucault critique becomes historical, and is much the better for it. Keywords: Michel Foucault, Critique, Immanuel Kant, Phenomenology, Transcen- dental Critique. 100 Koopman: Historical Critique or Transcendental Crititique in Foucault ‚You seem to me Kantian or Husserlian. In all of my work I strive instead to avoid any reference to this transcendental as a condition of the possibility for any knowledge. When I say that I strive to avoid it, I don’t mean that I am sure of succeeding< I try to historicize to the utmost to leave as little space as possible to the transcendental. -
Ethical Invention in Sartre and Foucault: Courage, Freedom, Transformation
© Dr. Kimberly S. Engels ISSN: 1832-5203 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.v27i27.5893 Foucault Studies, No. 27, 96-116, December 2019 ARTICLE Ethical Invention in Sartre and Foucault: Courage, Freedom, Transformation DR. KIMBERLY S. ENGELS Molloy College, USA ABSTRACT. This article explores the concept of ethical invention in both Jean-Paul Sartre’s and Michel Foucault’s later lectures and interviews, showing that a courageous disposition to invent or transform plays a key role in both thinkers’ visions of ethics. Three of Sartre’s post-Critique of Dialectical Reason lectures on ethics are examined: Morality and History, The Rome Lecture, and A Plea for Intellectuals. It is shown that ethical invention for Sartre requires the use of our freedom to transcend our current circumstances, a willingness to break away from harmful ideologies, and directing our free praxis towards the goal of universal humanism. Examining several of Foucault’s interviews alongside his lecture series The Government of Self and Others and The Courage of Truth, it is shown that ethical invention for Foucault requires a rejection of necessities or inevitabilities in our current landscape, a willingness to reshape our current beliefs, and a philosophical way of life that results in an alteration of the relationship to self and others. For both thinkers, ethical inven- tion should be preceded by a critical reflection on ourselves in our historical moment. Both argue that ethical invention requires a rejection of the inherent value of our world and realization that the conditions of possibility for being subjects are malleable. Last, it is shown that both philoso- phers specifically call philosophers or intellectuals to invent. -
A Contextual Examination of Three Historical Stages of Atheism and the Legality of an American Freedom from Religion
ABSTRACT Rejecting the Definitive: A Contextual Examination of Three Historical Stages of Atheism and the Legality of an American Freedom from Religion Ethan Gjerset Quillen, B.A., M.A., M.A. Mentor: T. Michael Parrish, Ph.D. The trouble with “definitions” is they leave no room for evolution. When a word is concretely defined, it is done so in a particular time and place. Contextual interpretations permit a better understanding of certain heavy words; Atheism as a prime example. In the post-modern world Atheism has become more accepted and popular, especially as a reaction to global terrorism. However, the current definition of Atheism is terribly inaccurate. It cannot be stated properly that pagan Atheism is the same as New Atheism. By interpreting the Atheisms from four stages in the term‟s history a clearer picture of its meaning will come out, hopefully alleviating the stereotypical biases weighed upon it. In the interpretation of the Atheisms from Pagan Antiquity, the Enlightenment, the New Atheist Movement, and the American Judicial and Civil Religious system, a defense of the theory of elastic contextual interpretations, rather than concrete definitions, shall be made. Rejecting the Definitive: A Contextual Examination of Three Historical Stages of Atheism and the Legality of an American Freedom from Religion by Ethan Gjerset Quillen, B.A., M.A. A Thesis Approved by the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies ___________________________________ Robyn L. Driskell, Ph.D., Interim Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee ___________________________________ T. -
Foucault's Subjectivity and Confucian Cultivation Wei Guan Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 10-27-2017 Education as a Moral Responsibility: Foucault's Subjectivity and Confucian Cultivation Wei Guan Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Guan, Wei, "Education as a Moral Responsibility: Foucault's Subjectivity and Confucian Cultivation" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4121. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4121 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. EDUCATION AS A MORAL RESPONSIBILITY: FOUCAULT’S SUBJECTIVITY AND CONFUCIAN CULTIVATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Educational Theory, Policy & Practice by Wei Guan B.S., Northwestern Architecture Engineering Institution, Xi’an, China, 1996 M.A., The University of Iowa, 2005 December 2017 To Awen !ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first person I want to thank is my advisor, Dr. Petra Munro Hendry. She supported me from the beginning, when I started my Ph.D. in the Curriculum Theory program at Louisiana State University. Recognized for her significant lifetime achievements in Washington DC at the AERA Conference in 2016, Dr. Hendry is revered as an impactful leader in curriculum studies. -
What Is an Intellectual? Gary Hall
Document generated on 09/30/2021 6:22 a.m. Surfaces Answering the Question: What is an Intellectual? Gary Hall DISCUSSIONS DU PREMIER CONGRÈS INTERNATIONAL SUR LE DISCOURS HUMANISTE DISCUSSIONS FROM THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HUMANISTIC DISCOURSE Volume 6, 1996 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1064857ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1064857ar See table of contents Publisher(s) Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal ISSN 1188-2492 (print) 1200-5320 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this article Hall, G. (1996). Answering the Question: What is an Intellectual? Surfaces, 6. https://doi.org/10.7202/1064857ar Copyright © Gary Hall, 1996 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ Surfaces Answering the Question: What is an Intellectual Gary Hall University of Teesside School of Law, Humanities & International Studies Surfaces Vol. VI. 212 (v.1.0A - 22/12/1996) - ISSN: 1188-2492 Copyright for texts published in Surfaces remains the property of authors. However, any further publication should be accompanied by an acknowledgement of Surfaces as the place of initial publication. intellectual... a person possessing or supposed to possess superior powers of intellect. OED '...after '68 people were saying that nobody could speak for anybody else; expression was not something that could be monopolized. -
Spirituality — the Psyche Or the Soul?
Palliative and Supportive Care (2014), 12, 91–94. # Cambridge University Press, 2014 1478-9515/14 $20.00 doi:10.1017/S1478951514000303 FROM THE EDITOR Spirituality — The psyche or the soul? The Divine Spirit hovered upon the surface of the Well-Being — 12-item Scale (FACIT-sp-12), used in water many articles, proffers little insight in exploring Genesis, 1:2 spirituality (Cella, 2010). It is based on circular ques- tions, and merely confirms that “meaning, purpose, peace, and calm” are important to people. The items The medical literature is conflicted and uncertain include the following (Cella, 2010): “Below is a list of when discussing spirituality. “Spiritual” was once 12 statements that other people with your illness clearly understood when religion was widely accepted have said are important. Please circle or mark one in the West and the existence of the soul was assumed. number (from 0–4) per statement to indicate your re- (Harper, 2011;Egan,2011) The medical literature sponse as it applies to the past seven days: “I feel today does not refer to the classical concept of spiri- peaceful; I have a reason for living; My life has tuality. One has a sense that modern medicine is been productive; I have trouble feeling peace of embarrassed by concepts such as the soul and immor- mind; I feel a sense of purpose in my life; I am able tality. However, in recent years the palliative care, to reach down deep into myself for comfort; I feel a psycho-oncology, and (even) oncology literatures sense of harmony within myself; My life lacks mean- have re-explored the spiritual concept, albeit in a secu- ing and purpose; I find comfort in my faith or spiri- lar guise. -
REVIEW Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault, Human Nature: Justice Vs
Asger Sørensen 2013 ISSN: 1832-5203 Foucault Studies, No. 16, pp. 201-207, September 2013 REVIEW Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault, Human Nature: Justice vs Power. The Chomsky- Foucault Debate, edited by Fons Elders (London: Souvenir Press, 2011), ISBN: 978-1-595- 58134-1 This small booklet is a transcript (and in the case of Foucault, a translation) of what was said in a Dutch television program recorded in 1971, today allegedly accessible at You Tube. The edi- tor Fons Elders is the original organizer of the program. He was thus part of the conversation just as the audience was allowed to pose a few questions. Elders first published these tran- scripts in 1974 under the title Reflexive Waters: The Basic Concerns of Mankind, and first one could thus ask: Is it worth publishing them again? Yes, definitely. Does it reveal anything fundamentally new and surprising about Foucault or Chomsky? No, not really, but the con- frontation between them brings forth certain traits of their respective ways of thinking that may be worth a little extra scrutiny. The text consists of Elders’ introduction (iii-ix) and the transcript, which has two main parts. The first part of the conversation is about the question of human nature, knowledge, and science (1-42), the second is on politics (42-82), and it is es- pecially the second part I find interesting, both in relation to Foucault and in more general philosophical terms. I will thus focus on two points, namely how they relate to politics, and which implication this has for their relation to anarchism.