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Wrote the varieties of religious experience. Wants to show how each religion works. Originator of pragmatism. Wanted pragmatism to apply to nature as well. -does it work? -he defines religion as what works for them -religion Is workable ;pragmatism: talks about the truth of what works (practical) if something is true than it works. Rudolph Otto- picked up Hustler’s method and applied it to religious experience. ;his religious experience definition is subjectively: the experience of awe and Objectively: the holy other, meaning power and understanding beyond the ordinary.
Toss book title: the Idea of the holy -religious objects- can be an event. -religious Pl- he calls the atmosphere the Numinous – the radiance holy objects have about them. Semiotics- Just beginning since 20th century. Study of signs, wanted to talk about every type of sign that has ever existed. To understand reality, all thinking begins with the signs that precede them. Before u get to the meaning of the religion u have to understand the meaning of the sign Itself. Feelings form before Ideas. C. s Pierce- originator of semiotics.
Agreed with James about what works Talks but added something new: the world of signs. Ideas are products of signs. First come the signs then the Ideas. Charles Darwin- natural selection, evolution is unpredictable. Life as we know it. Trying to describe how we got to here. Stuart Kauffman- brings Darwin and C. S Pierce together. When evolution is at that point with new possibilities b/c the environment Is different, It Is unpredictable where it is going next. -adjacent possible- are there because someone put them there or b/c they are random.
Lessen(y)o creation story- separation between emptiness above and emptiness below. Out of the sexual reunion of the two is the creation of the earth. The sky, skivvies, is maleness, and atheism Is femaleness. Skivvies(above) Atheism(below) -before he dies he says when I die burn my body and said If you come out and look moon. -what are they doing up there- they don’t see the big dipper. They see a three fingered hand reaching down from the sky. The sky is turning Witty- original creature. Watched the want in the creek and noticed that the want was flat with only two dimensions, unlike the other creatures.
The want sees the Witty watching her so she puts a curse on the Witty to die. Want- mother of the world of frogs. Protector) America Elide- most impressive scholar in world religions Hieroglyph- sacred power flows on an axis. Gabriel Marcel- difference between problems and mysteries. Religions generally speaking about mysteries Frazier- describes religions as evolutionary phases. The tree periods: 1 . World of magic 2. Religion- way of changing nature replaced magic 3. Science replaces religion Problems and mysteries- Haiku Pickup- Man- power talking about basic religions.
In terms of invisible power (Pl 5) Fetish- Ritual tools. Teach doesn’t think it relates with animals but book does. Totem- Taboo- (35) something to avoid b/c it offends the spirits. Ex- Touch a dead body Shaman Sucking rituals Native American church Trance induction- ritual, makes Pl in an extraordinary state of consciousness. Pre historical society the susceptibility was much higher. (hypnotism) Kuris dance- daggers, conflict between witch and dragon. Bites a live chicken head. Black elks great vision as follows: every piece fits into a lesson of how to live.
West A. Sacred color of the west- black B. Natural power of west- thunderstorm C. Spiritual power of west- double power: power to destroy/kill and the power of vying again. D. Ritual power of west- tool is the arrow and bow E. Sacred messenger of west- thunder A. Sacred color- white B. Natural power- snow storm C. Spiritual power- power of purification. The snows purify the world and the weak do not survive D. Ritual tool- a double tool but boils down to an herb. A sacred herb called the blackout, they are winter berries. E. Sacred messenger- white goose. There are no white geese in America native. East A. Sacred color- red B. Natural power- dawn and sunrise C. Spiritual power- peace, rainbow, sun rising D. Ritual tool- peace pipe E. Sacred messenger- morning star South A. Sacred color- yellow B. Natural power- weeds/plants (growth) C. Spiritual power- wisdom D. Ritual tool- sacred stick/ tree E. Sacred messenger- buffalo Sun dance- sacred stick- ritual tool for power of south. Suspended from a tree until hooks tear thru skin and fall to ground.
Sacred hoop- Ghost dancing- Sir James Frazer- Ludwig February- idea of projection, God is the projection of you. -2 books: essence of religion and essence of Christianity Karl Marx- famous phrase- religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature -religion is real- emotional. Puts energy into emotion instead of actions to change society Frederica Nietzsche- has a book called Thus Spoke Ezra Thus- who was the first monotheistic god. Nietzsche used Ezra as spokesperson to insult religious people Sigmund Freud- projecting father or parent figure into god. Future of allusion is his book. Psycho analysis- believes if we have problems to solve them is free association. Take off of hypnosis. Karl Jung- student of Freud. Psychoanalyst, he believed dreams were made of archetypes. Saw religion as creator of symbols (archetypes) which are Pl trying to solve problems. Julian Gayness- wrote The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind. His theory is that when Pl were becoming conscienceless the two parts of their brains talked to themselves and the person heard them talking to each other.
Know- dates, and what’s unusual about religion at time: find in book Neanderthal religion Neolithic religion Petrography- scratching or hacking into hard surface. Used for art and civilization. Pictograph- Loran Iambi Kowtow IANAL Orison Sun 49-50 find in book: African Awake Gestalt- German word. Mind as a projecting instrument, always intentional. What you see. Shape, pattern, configuration. You inverse- ;THREE basic types of religion, and consciences itself 1 . Hinduism-Eastern religion. Problems are separated and solutions is wholeness.
Atman- (individual consciousness) appearance of ones soul. Brahmas- (universal consciousness) is the star filled in, don’t see the parts anymore. Problem is the part and the reality is making the part apart of the whole. Ram-dads: awareness. Maya- tries to separate them In all three of these religions unconsciousness is the power (Buddhism, Tao, and Confucianism) The guru- empowered persons in Hinduism, specialize in absorbing he atman and Brahmas. The sages- empowered in Taoism The Chunk-thug- in Confucianism, correct the imbalance in society.