Lacan on Religion and Its Triumph

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

NIDA Lacan Study and Reading Group: Monthly Seminar Series: July 2017 Lacan on Religion and its Triumph Date: Wednesday, 26 July 2017 Time: 6-8pm Location: Tutorial Room-3; NIDA-215 Anzac Parade Lacan’s understanding and interpretation of the genesis of religion, in general, is deeply rooted in Freudian outline of religion and its foundation in the history of paternity in his two key texts, Totem and Taboo and “Moses and Monotheism.” Freud as Lacan states was a “declared partisan of a resolutely antireligious Aufklárung Enlightenment]. His approach to religion was driven by his radical atheism and scientism of the height of the industrial revolution in the West. In such a context, Freud believed that psychoanalysis, as a new science, would ultimately conquest the illusion of religion. By contrast, Lacan’s outlook on religion was inspired by a post-technological and post-ideological era, in which religion’s triumph looked for him predictable. His attitude towards religion was far less shaped by an ideological denunciation. Lacan systematically read Christian and medieval Scholastic theological texts. The inspiration of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas has been self-evident in his theories. He treasured mystical literature to the extent that, in his Seminar XX: Encore, he asked his readers to read his magnum opus, Écrits, as part of an ecstatic mystic literature. In 1974, in a lecture in Rome, he declared ‘invincibility’ and ‘triumph’ of religion. He draws on mystical literary discourse as evidence for his theory of feminine jouissance—the ‘jouissance of God’. In the first part, the monthly-seminar series in July would explore Freudian ideas about religion and its Lacanian interpretation. In the Second part, we will have a reading of Lacan’s The Triumph of Religion, pp. 55-77. Dr Ehsan Azari Stanizai Readings: Freud: Totem and Taboo; “Moses and Monotheism” Lacan: The Triumph of Religion Augustine: Confessions .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Ministerial Exemption Seems to Take Religious Autonomy As the Core Value to Be Effectively Cancelling Their ‘Special’ Status
This is an electronic reprint of the original article. This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. The Ministerial Exception – Comparative Perspectives Slotte, Pamela; Årsheim, Helge Published in: Oxford Journal of Law and Religion DOI: 10.1093/ojlr/rwv008 Published: 01/01/2015 Document Version (Peer reviewed version when applicable) Link to publication Please cite the original version: Slotte, P., & Årsheim, H. (2015). The Ministerial Exception – Comparative Perspectives. Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 4(2), 171–198. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwv008 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. This document is downloaded from the Research Information Portal of ÅAU: 30. Sep. 2021 This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Special Issue Article Oxford Journal of Law and Religion following peer review. The version of record, Pamela Slotte and Helge Årsheim, ‘The Ministerial Exception – Comparative Perspectives’, Oxford The Ministerial Exception – Comparative Perspectives Journal of Law and Religion, 2015, 4, 171-198, is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/ojlr/article/4/2/171/1396294 , doi: 10.1093/ojlr/rwv008 . ABSTRACT: This essay introduces the theme of the special issue on the legal practice of granting ‘ministerial exceptions’ to religious organizations and the relation of this practice to the principle of collective religious autonomy.
[Show full text]
1 Mapping Monastic Geographicity Or Appeasing Ghosts of Monastic Subjects Indrani Chatterjee
1 Mapping Monastic Geographicity Or Appeasing Ghosts of Monastic Subjects Indrani Chatterjee Rarely do the same apparitions inhabit the work of modern theorists of subjectivity, politics, ethnicity, the Sanskrit cosmopolis and medieval architecture at once. However, the South Asianist historian who ponders the work of Charles Taylor, Partha Chatterjee, James Scott and Sheldon Pollock cannot help notice the apparitions of monastic subjects within each. Tamara Sears has gestured at the same apparitions by pointing to the neglected study of monasteries (mathas) associated with Saiva temples.1 She finds the omission intriguing on two counts. First, these monasteries were built for and by significant teachers (gurus) who were identified as repositories of vast ritual, medical and spiritual knowledge, guides to their practice and over time, themselves manifestations of divinity and vehicles of human liberation from the bondage of life and suffering. Second, these monasteries were not studied even though some of these had existed into the early twentieth century. Sears implies that two processes have occurred simultaneously. Both are epistemological. One has resulted in a continuity of colonial- postcolonial politics of recognition. The identification of a site as ‘religious’ rested on the identification of a building as a temple or a mosque. Residential sites inhabited by religious figures did not qualify for preservation. The second is the foreshortening of scholarly horizons by disappeared buildings. Modern scholars, this suggests, can only study entities and relationships contemporaneous with them and perceptible to the senses, omitting those that evade such perception or have disappeared long ago. This is not as disheartening as one might fear.
[Show full text]
CS Lewis and the True Myth: a Reconciliation of Theology
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY C.S. Lewis and the True Myth: A Reconciliation of Theology, Philosophy, and Mythology A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Divinity in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Divinity School of Divinity By Courage Lowrance August 21, 2018 Abstract C.S. Lewis was both a student of pagan philosophy and mythology and a Christian. He never was divided between these two pursuits in his life, though he gave the latter its proper priority. What allowed Lewis to keep this balance was his idea of the gospel as the True Myth, an idea that helped lead to his conversion and remained at the core of his thinking throughout his life. By this idea of True Myth, Lewis was able to not only unite the pagan myths to Christian truth, but also the rest of human thought as well. Thus, in order to understand the nature of this key idea in Lewis’s thinking, this paper outlines what Lewis thought of mythology in general as a human phenomenon that bears explaining. The way in which Lewis saw mythology is analyzed in the first chapter according to the categories of the nature, the origin, and the function of mythology. In the second chapter, Lewis’s thoughts concerning the idea of the True Myth itself are considered. That various dichotomies of thought were united in Lewis’s mind by receiving this new idea is demonstrated. After this, the third chapter shows how Lewis’s thought fits in with historic and Evangelical orthodox Christian theology.
[Show full text]
Religion As a Virtue: Thomas Aquinas on Worship Through Justice, Law
RELIGION AS A VIRTUE: THOMAS AQUINAS ON WORSHIP THROUGH JUSTICE, LAW, AND CHARITY Submitted by Robert Jared Staudt A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate in Theology Director: Dr. Matthew Levering Ave Maria University 2008 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE: THE CLASSICAL AND PATRISTIC TRADITION CHAPTER TWO: THE MEDIEVAL CONTEXT CHAPTER THREE: WORSHIP IN THE WORKS OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHAPTER FOUR: JUSTICE AS ORDER TO GOD CHAPTER FIVE: GOD’S ASSISTANCE THROUGH LAW CHAPTER SIX: TRUE WORSHIP IN CHRIST CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY ABBREVIATIONS 2 INTRODUCTION Aquinas refers to religion as virtue. What is the significance of such a claim? Georges Cottier indicates that “to speak today of religion as a virtue does not come across immediately as the common sense of the term.”1 He makes a contrast between a sociological or psychological evaluation of religion, which treats it as “a religious sentiment,” and one which strives for truth.2 The context for the second evaluation entails both an anthropological and Theistic context as the two meet within the realm of the moral life. Ultimately, the study of religion as virtue within the moral life must be theological since it seeks to under “the true end of humanity” and “its historic condition, marked by original sin and the gift of grace.”3 Aquinas places religion within the context of a moral relation to God, as a response to God’s initiative through Creation and 4 Redemption. 1 Georges Cardinal Cottier. “La vertu de religion.” Revue Thomiste (jan-juin 2006): 335. 2 Joseph Bobik also distinguished between different approaches to the study of religion, particularly theological, philosophical, and scientific, all of which would give different answers to the question “what is religion?.” Veritas Divina: Aquinas on Divine Truth: Some Philosophy of Religion.
[Show full text]
Kids Abroad: Ignore Them, Abuse Them Or Protect Them? Lessons on How to Protect Children on the Move from Being Exploited
Mike Dottridge Kids abroad: ignore them, abuse them or protect them? Lessons on how to protect children on the move from being exploited. Terre des Hommes International Federation This study has been produced with the financial assistance Cover photo: Terre des Hommes Germany of the Oak Foundation and Terre des Hommes Netherlands. ©Terre des Hommes International Federation, August 2008. The views expressed are those of the author. ISBN number: 978-2-9700457-3-1 The Terre des Hommes International Federation is a network of eleven national organisations, whose mission is to provide Photo credits: active support to children, their family and their community without racial, religious, political, cultural or gender-based Photos 1, 4 and 9: discrimination in the framework of the United Nations Con- Terre des Hommes Foundation (Lausanne, Swizterland) vention on the Rights of the Child. To achieve this aim, the Terre des Hommes organisations mobilise political will, ad- Photo 2: vocate for appropriate government policies and support 1085 Terre des Hommes Netherlands. development and humanitarian aid projects in 71 countries. Projects are run in close partnership with the beneficiaries Photos 3, 5-8 and 10: who are the primary actors in their own lives, including chil- Mike Dottridge. dren. Terre des Hommes works with 850 local and national 2 civil society organisations. The photos in this study have been selected to ensure they meet the criteria set out in UNICEF’s Principles for ethical The Terre des Hommes International Federation (TDHIF) reporting on children (accessed at www.unicef.org/media/ has consultative status with the United Nations Economic media_tools_guidelines.html).
[Show full text]
Latour As a Reader of Emile Durkheim
Bruno Latour as a Reader of Emile Durkheim September 2016 Tim Howles Keble College, University of Oxford A short essay first published on logisticsofreligionblog.wordpress.com 1 Introduction One aspect of Latour’s modus operandi that is sometimes neglected is the fact that he is a reader of other texts. And indeed over the years he has produced a number of book reviews. So how, then, does Latour review books? It will come as no surprise to note that the reviewing technique of a thinker like Latour operates in the back-and-forth grip of a creative tension. On the one hand, as we’d expect, his reviews are disciplined and trenchant, full of citation and faithful to the argumentational structure of the subject-text in hand—in many ways, his book reviews model responsible exegesis (of the sort he politely requests, but does not always receive, for his own writing). And yet, on the other hand, filtered as they are through the matrix of his own forms of intuition, all his reviews represent quasi-Latourian manifestos in their own right, wrenching the subject-text into an actuality of his choosing, examining it according to the epistemological and ontological schemata that lies at the heart of his own Weltanschauung. If, like me, you’re interested in that, then Latour’s book reviews will be a resource worth mining. Naturally these reviews often fly under the radar. Often they’re only in French. And so it’d be good to start the discussion going on one or two of them where we can, particularly for an English- speaking audience.
[Show full text]
Reformed Theology Deism and Disestablishment in Virginia John Parker Lynchburg College
University of Lynchburg Digital Showcase @ University of Lynchburg Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects Winter 2-2014 The Duty We Owe Our Creator; Reformed Theology Deism and Disestablishment in Virginia John Parker Lynchburg College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/utcp Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Other Religion Commons Recommended Citation Parker, John, "The Duty We Owe Our Creator; Reformed Theology Deism and Disestablishment in Virginia" (2014). Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects. 84. https://digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/utcp/84 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Showcase @ University of Lynchburg. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Showcase @ University of Lynchburg. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Duty We Owe Our Creator; Reformed Theology Deism and Disestablishment in Virginia John Parker Senior Honors Project Highest Honors Submitted February, 2014 Com m ittee chair; Dr. Stephen Dawson Dr. Amy Merrill-Willis Dr. Adam Dean Dr. N.S. Amos The First Amendment to the United States Constitution contains within it two distinct clauses, the first guarantees the free exercise of religion clause, the second prevents the establishment of a national church. Stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’, this clause ensured that these United States would never have an official state church and that citizens could not be penalized for practicing their own faith. This was a major innovation. There did exist some provision for certain sects within the legal frame work, such as exemptions from the swearing of oaths granted solely to the Quakers1, this was done on a case by case basis and was not built into the social contract.
[Show full text]
Appendixes L to T
APPENDIX L Challenges in Estimating the Costs of Violence against Women and Girls Data Availability Public Disclosure Authorized The availability of data to estimate violence and its costs has evolved tremendously (Day, McKenna and Bowlus 2005). Before the availability of national surveys that included questions to establish the prevalence of at least some forms of violence against women and girls, researchers were constrained to rely on small surveys or case studies and based prevalence rates on proxy measures and extrapolated data (Blumel et al. 1993; KPMG 1994). Increasing access to representative national survey data on prevalence rates of violence has allowed researchers to approximate costs at national levels. Finally, in recent years, researchers have access to significant nationally representative datasets that allow sophisticated and comprehensive analyses. Yet, data availability remains a critical challenge for estimating costs of violence against women and girls, particularly in the developing world. Some key challenges include: 1. Inaccuracy of prevalence rates for violence: as noted in chapter 2, even the best Public Disclosure Authorized calculations of prevalence rates are most likely underestimates, thus even with the Most cost studies are based on best data and methodology, one should estimates of costs of intimate partner assume that cost calculations are violence (IPV), probably because underestimates. Moreover, prevalence IPV is the most frequently reported rates barely exist for certain forms of type of violence, has the largest violence, such as girl child sexual abuse, amount of data and prevalence trafficking, or honor killings, making estimates, and the largest amount of costing impossible in these cases. Thus costing information.
[Show full text]
Religious Affiliations of the Chinese Community in Australia: Findings
religions Article Religious Affiliations of the Chinese Community in Australia: Findings from 2016 Census Data Yu Tao * ID and Theo Stapleton School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, M257, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +61-08-6488-3959 Received: 9 February 2018; Accepted: 20 March 2018; Published: 22 March 2018 Abstract: Through a systematic investigation—the first attempt of this kind—into the recently released 2016 Australian census data, this article presents a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the religious identity of the Chinese Community in contemporary Australia. Based on the empirical information derived from the census, this article details and interrogates the apparent high level of secularity among the Chinese community in Australia. It also demonstrates that, whilst Christianity is the most popular religion within the Chinese community, the proportion of people who claim to be Christian is significantly lower in the Chinese community as compared to Australia’s general population. Furthermore, the proportion of believers in Buddhism, Ancestor Veneration, Confucianism, and Taoism within the Chinese community is significantly higher than the same proportion found within Australia’s general population. It is also shown that even when using different definitions to demarcate the Chinese community, those being self-reported ancestry, languages spoken at home, or the birthplaces of parents, the religious profile of the community remains relatively stable. However, a further breakdown into ancestral, geographical, and linguistic groups reveals some noteworthy differences. Keywords: Chinese community in Australia; census; cultural diversity; migrant; multiculturalism; overseas Chinese; religious affiliation; religious diversity; secularisation 1.
[Show full text]
This Paper Is the Accepted, Not Published, Version. Please Do Not Cite Without Express Permission from the Authors
This paper is the accepted, not published, version. Please do not cite without express permission from the authors. Religious Literacy of Australia’s Gen Z Teens: Diversity and Social Inclusion Anna Halafoff a*, Andrew Singletona, Gary Boumab and Mary Lou Rasmussenc aDeakin University, Geelong, Australia; bMonash University, Melbourne, Australia; cAustralian National University, Canberra, Australia *Corresponding Author: Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus, Melbourne, VIC 3216, Australia. Email: [email protected] This work was supported by the Australian Research Council ARC DISCOVERY PROJECT: DP160102367 1 Religious Literacy of Australia’s Gen Z Teens: Diversity and Social Inclusion Australia is a culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse country, however, learning about the religious dimensions of this superdiversity is inadequately reflected in the national school curriculum, notwithstanding recent attempts to address this at the state level in Victoria. Debates regarding the role of religion in school have raged across the country for decades and have impeded the introduction of learning about diverse worldviews and religions, and even research on this topic. Competing views of Australia’s national identity, as a multifaith and/or secular and/or Christian nation continue to affect both policy and curriculum in Australia, and thereby the level of religious literacy of its citizens. Using data from a national study of young Australians and their worldviews, this research investigates levels of religious literacy and appreciation of religious diversity of ‘Generation Z’ Australians, for whom superdiversity is the norm. In doing so, it concludes that Australian curricula must evolve to include more content on diverse worldviews and better reflect the lived experiences of younger generations.
[Show full text]
Australia's Changing Religious Profile—Rising Nones and Pentecostals
JASR 30.2 (2017): 129-143 JASR (print) ISSN 1031-2943 https://doi.org.10.1558/jasr.34826 JASR (online) ISSN 1744-9014 Australia’s Changing Religious Proﬁle—Rising Nones and Pentecostals, Declining British Protestants in Superdiversity: Views from the 2016 Census Gary D. Bouma Monash University Anna Halafoff Deakin University Abstract The 2016 Australian Census reveals continued change in Australia’s religious diversity. While reviewing some of the highlights of this develop- ment—the continuing increase in the ‘no religion’ category, the first ever decline in Catholic numbers, and the rise of Hindus and Sikhs—several reli- gious groups, which are not usually combined in the census, actually when grouped together represent most of the Pentecostal and charismatic churches and form the fourth largest religious group in Australia. These changes are set in a comparative context, internationally and intergenerationally. The religious diversity and Anglican retention rates of Stonnington—one of Melbourne’s 21 Cities—are examined as a window on local diversity and change. Finally, we discuss three main categories of religion in contempo- rary Australia: the ‘nones’; the spiritual but not religious; and the religious and spiritual. The data reveal a new context of superdiversity in Australia. Keywords Religious diversity, religious ‘nones’, superdiversity, youth and religion. Introduction The 2016 Australian Census reveals continued change in Australia’s dynamic religious and cultural diversity. This article reviews some of the highlights of this development, sets them in a comparative context, internationally and intergenerationally, examines a window on local diversity and change, and provides some evidence on the ‘nones’. The rise of this superdiversity has also occasioned anticosmopolitan reactions.
[Show full text]
Final Artwork.Indb
BLINDJuvenile ALLEY Justice in India HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Blind Alley Juvenile Justice in India Paromita Shastri Enakshi Ganguly Th ukral Centre With inputs from For Child Bharti Ali Rights Vipin Bhatt i © HAQ: Centre for Child Rights ISBN No. 978-81-906548-3-8 Published by: HAQ: Centre for Child Rights 208 Shahpur Jat New Delhi 110049 India Telephone: +91-11-26490136 Telefax: +91-11-26492551 Supported by: CORDAID, Th e Netherlands Photographs: Enakshi Ganguly Th ukral Cover Photograph: Amit Mitra Design and Typesetting: Aspire Design, New Delhi ii Foreword HAQ’s fi rst report on the juvenile justice system in India is based primarily on its own journey over the last three and a half years and experiences in this fi eld. It is also a personal journey that we as individuals have traversed in this period. Several co-travellers joined us and left, each one of them bringing in something new and signifi cant. Th ey include our team members, volunteers and interns. One of them was Ruzbeh N Bharucha, who went on to write ‘my god is a JUVENILE DELINQUENT’, based on what he saw and experienced as a volunteer with HAQ, working with the Juvenile Justice Board. Our co-travellers have also been the children who allowed us into their lives, shared with us their pain and hope, so that we could help them in some way. Parts of our journey were shared by members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards, and the Delhi High Court Committee on Juvenile Justice that was set up sometime after we started work.
[Show full text]