MIAMI UNIVERSITY - THE GRADUATE SCHOOL CERTIFICATE FOR APPROVING THE DISSERTATION We hereby approve the Dissertation of Kimberly D. Murray Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy ________________________________________ Alice E. Adams, Director ________________________________________ Jennie Dautermann, Reader ________________________________________ Britton Harwood, Reader ________________________________________ LuMing Mao, Reader ________________________________________ Elizabeth Wilson, Graduate School Representative ABSTRACT SIGNS AND WONDERS: REASON AND RELIGION IN SOCIAL TURMOIL by Kimberly D. Murray The purpose of this dissertation is to propose that exploratory thinking (or the use of wonder) can serve as an effective alternative to exclusive thinking and improve the functioning of critical reason within ideological frameworks. In the first half, I explore the ways in which current ideals and values in America– including the view of God as a Supreme Being, belief in the dualism between humanity and divinity, and current practices of exclusive religion and nationalism– intensify cultural strife by increasing social dichotomization and decreasing the influence of critical reason. In the first chapter, I discuss four interrelated signs that serve as strong indicators of escalating global conflict: greater attention to exclusive religion and nationalism, stronger ties between church and state, increasing social extremism, and the diminishing influence of reason. Chapter Two is an analysis of how exclusive forms of religion and nationalism reinforce insecurity, dependency, cultural egotism, and social uniformity. Applying Herbert Marcuse’s critique of operational reason and Slavoj i〉ek’s discussion of ideological fantasy, I argue in Chapter Three that exclusive thinking functions ideologically to disengage multiple viewpoints and, thus, reinforce racial and cultural stereotypes, homophobia, violence, and social stratifications. As part of that chapter, I consider several definitions of reason and show how these definitions change according to metaphysical distinctions of mind-body-soul and, moreover, how these distinctions perpetuate social inequities. In the second half of the dissertation, I present examples of exploratory thinking that resist the ideological constraints of exclusive religion and nationalism by encouraging multiple viewpoints, expanding restrictive views of subjectivity, and bridging the gap between reason and faith. To support these points, Chapter Four incorporates a discussion of Luce Irigaray’s and Jean Luc Nancy’s concept of wonder, as well as the exploratory approaches to knowledge and spirituality offered by the New Age Movement. SIGNS AND WONDERS: REASON AND RELIGION IN SOCIAL TURMOIL A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English by Kimberly D. Murray Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2004 Dissertation Director: Alice E. Adams c. Kimberly D. Murray 2004 SIGNS AND WONDERS: REASON AND RELIGION IN SOCIAL TURMOIL Table of Contents Dedication_____________________________________________________________ iv Acknowledgments________________________________________________________v Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 1 Part I: Of Signs and Mysteries ___________________________________________ 10 Signs of Cultural Turmoil and the Divisive Power of Mystery _____________________ 11 Shifting Paradigms: Rising Interest in Religion and the Polarization of Exclusive Religion and Alternative Spirituality _____________________________________________________________12 Effects from the Incremental Blending of Religion and Nationalism _________________________19 Social Polarization ________________________________________________________________25 The Diminishing Application and Effectiveness of Reason_________________________________30 Reading the Signs: Social Ills and the Excesses of Belief __________________________ 36 Perpetuating Insecurities ___________________________________________________________36 Perpetuating Dependencies _________________________________________________________40 Ideology, Belief, and the Diminution of Critical Reason __________________________ 47 Reason Dis(re)membered ___________________________________________________________55 Part II: Exploring Wonders _____________________________________________ 64 Revolutionizing the Discourses of Reason and Faith _____________________________ 65 Mistrust of Exclusivity and Dualistic Thinking __________________________________________70 Revolutionizing Institutions _________________________________________________________74 The Balancing of Reason and Wonder in the New Age Movement___________________________79 Revolutionizing Exclusive Subjectivity ________________________________________________85 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 94 Works Cited __________________________________________________________ 97 iii Dedication Dedicated to all those who have inspired me and challenged my spirit, my heart, and my mind, and also to Elvis, my dachshund, who attended his first college English class in March 2002. iv Acknowledgments Each of the professors on this committee met with me personally, listened generously, read more than a couple drafts, and offered their own opinions as helpful guidance without inhibiting my own. Their friendship–often offered along with a cup of coffee or dinner–means more to me than I can say here. My family and friends have sustained me through times both difficult and pleasant by believing in me and helping me laugh when I needed to the most. I especially appreciate my daughter, Erin, and partner, Megan, for their love, patience, and support. None of my professors or anyone close to me has ever expressed doubt about whether or not I could achieve this goal even though I doubted myself several times. For that, I am most grateful. v SIGNS AND WONDERS: REASON AND RELIGION IN SOCIAL TURMOIL Introduction What I relate is the history of the next two centuries. I describe what is coming, what can no longer come differently: the advent of nihilism. This history can be related even now; for necessity itself is at work here. This future speaks even now in a hundred signs, this destiny announces itself everywhere; for this music of the future all ears are cocked even now. For some time, our whole European culture has been moving as toward a catastrophe, with a tortured tension that is growing from decade to decade: restlessly, violently, headlong, like a river that wants to reach the end, that no longer reflects, that is afraid to reflect. (Nietzsche 3) As Friedrich Nietzsche drafted The Will to Power in the late 1880s, he realized the “necessity” of an emerging nihilism that could “no longer come differently” (3). As many of us are aware, the advent of nihilism has affected the 20th and 21st centuries to such a degree that, for at least the last fifty years, a majority of Americans have mourned the loss of customary beliefs in morality, religion, government, and other societal institutions. Psychoanalytic therapist Rollo May, writing about cultural change during the 1960s, observed a progressive loss of love and will in what he called an “age of radical transition”: the old myths and symbols by which we oriented ourselves are gone, anxiety is rampant; we cling to each other and try to persuade ourselves that what we feel is love; we do not will because we are afraid that if we choose one thing or one person we’ll lose the other, and we are too insecure to take that chance. (13-14) Change is occurring in American culture so fast now that it feels as if we experience a radical transition every few years. In fact, citizens of industrialized countries have experienced over a century of rapid changes in technology, science, education, and consumerism–all of which have dramatically affected how we view others, ourselves, and the functioning of our social worlds. Although we see the obvious benefits of such progress, primarily in terms of advances in medicine, travel, and mobile communication, such dramatic changes in culture often have side effects that, at first, seem insignificant but, over time, can create cultural gaps and social inequities. For instance, corporate back-climbers create and fill industry niches that reinforce commodity fetishism, pollute groundwater, and overstock public landfills (the Disney Corporation’s plan to market disposable DVDs serves as a prime example). We need only watch television or browse through a glamor magazine to see how materialism and sexism continue to redefine social ethics. Indeed, the effects of technological evolution have impacted American life and social relations throughout the globe; however, these effects are less profound and, possibly, less harmful than the strain that results when social foundations fail in response to human need. My focus primarily concerns American culture, one of the most gifted societies in the world--technologically, educationally, and economically. Prior to September 11, 2001, U.S. citizens were more inclined to think that, at least in contemporary society, 1 major episodes of cultural strife occurred on other continents. Americans felt free from the constant fear and terror that many people in other nations experience. After 9/11, this feeling of safety generally disappeared without much reflection in the popular media or among the general public about why the