Bakhtin's Confessional Self-accounting and Psalms of Lament

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Tull

AbstractIn his early essay entitled "Author and Hero in Aesthetic Activity," Mikhail Bakhtin laid the groundwork for his later discussion of dialogism by exploring the concepts of "outsideness," "authoring," and "aestheticizing." While his essay concerns the relationship of an author to a created hero (literary character), it also—in typical Bakhtinian style—grows to encompass far more than literature, contemplating as well the construction of self, others, and even God. One portion of this most explicitly theological of his essays explores the genre he calls "confessional self-accounting" and the path by which remorse becomes the opportunity for faith both for the one repenting and for the one reading the confession of another.My essay uses Bakhtin's discussion to help explore a neighboring genre, the biblical Psalms of lament. These psalms display moods and movements analogous to those of confessional self-accounting—isolation, inner chaos, and the turn toward God as loving other for reconstructing a beloved self. The psalms have also functioned similarly to confessional self-accounting in the religious experience of generations of subsequent readers, who respond by reading their own griefs, fears, and hopes in the "I" and "we" of the ancient Psalms.

1984 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ninian Smart

My title is of course a variation on Professor H. D. Lewis' well-known Our Experience of God. There he expounded a variety of religious intuitionism, which stands in the line of Schleiermacher, Rudolf Otto and Martin Buber. These and other writers have characteristically made ‘the move to experience’, as a new blend of natural and revealed theology. The move makes a great deal of sense. On the one hand it grounds belief at a time when the older natural theology apparently had crumbled. On the other hand, it points to the dynamics of religious inspiration and gave a new perspective on revelation. It softens both reason and faith, of course, but it also provides a defence against skepticism. It fits well with a liberal attitude to scriptures and tradition. So there are manifest advantages of the move to experience, for those who wish to make it in the context of the Western theistic tradition. The writers I cited above, and Professor Lewis himself, have discussed religious experience from a mainly Western and theistic angle – even Otto with his great comparative concerns did so; and more needs to be said about the nature of religious experience in the broader context of Eastern and other religions. Lewis, however, paid attention to this wider problem, for instance in his 1963 article ‘Buddha and God’. In some respects this issue of the relationship of apparently non-theistic religions to theism is the most important one in contemporary crosscultural philosophy of religion.


Elenchos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Angela Longo

AbstractThe following work features elements to ponder and an in-depth explanation taken on the Anca Vasiliu’s study about the possibilities and ways of thinking of God by a rational entity, such as the human being. This is an ever relevant topic that, however, takes place in relation to Platonic authors and texts, especially in Late Antiquity. The common thread is that the human being is a God’s creature who resembles him and who is image of. Nevertheless, this also applies within the Christian Trinity according to which, not without problems, the Son is the image of the Father. Lastly, also the relationship of the Spirit with the Father and the Son, always within the Trinity, can be considered as a relationship of similarity, but again not without critical issues between the similarity of attributes, on the one hand, and the identity of nature, on the other.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie L. Williams

This paper was delivered as a plenary lecture, designed to respond to the one-day special conference focus upon links between socio-legal studies and the humanities.1 The paper focuses in particular upon the relationship between law and the humanities. It may be argued that the role of empirically sourced socio-legal research is well accepted, given its tangible utility in terms of producing hard data which can inform and transform policy perspectives. However, scholarly speculation about the relationship between law and the humanities ranges from the indulgent to the hostile. In particular, legal scholars aligning themselves as ‘black letter’ commentators express strong opinions about such links, suggesting that scholarship purporting to establish links between the two fields is essentially spurious, bearing in mind the purposive role of law as a problem-solving mechanism. The paper sets out to challenge such assertions, indicating the natural connections between the two fields and the philosophical necessity of continued interaction, given the fact that certain aspects of human experience and nature cannot be plumbed by doctrine or empiricism or even by combinations of the two. Law must be understood to stand at the nexus of human experience, in a relationship of integrity, where the word is understood to mean both morally principled and culturally integrated. In particular, the development of human qualities, of character and moral sensibility informing normative values – and, ultimately, engagement with the world of law – is a process of subtle cultural as well as psychological significance, and may benefit from interrogation deriving from the wider fields of human discourse.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tautvydas Vėželis

This article examines the problem of overcoming nihilism in Heidegger’s dialogue with Jünger. It is suggested that nihilism is manifested in various forms and is the deep logic of the whole history of European civilization. One of the main aims of this paper is to outline the relationship of nihilism and Nothing in Heidegger’s dispute with Jünger, viewing how Heidegger distinguishes his approach from Jünger’s point of view. Heidegger, on the one hand, treats nihilism as consummation of the Western metaphysical tradition, on the other hand, identifies Nothing itself as the shadow of Being, which cannot be overcome in the traditional dialectical thinking manner.


2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (114) ◽  
pp. 143-158
Author(s):  
Tarja-Lisa Hypén

THE BRAND OF THE CELEBRITY AUTHOR IN FINLAND | In the 21st century, the celebrity author has begun to interest researchers not only as a marketing phenomenon, but also as the literary institution’s own phenomenon. In my article, I explore the relationship of the celebrity author to the so-called acclaimed authors of modern times. In Anglo-American research, the celebrity author and the bestselling author are distinguished as separate author types, but in the case of Finnish Jari Tervo, these types combine. For almost 20 years, Jari Tervo has been amongboth the most sold and the most visible celebrity authors in his home country. I examine how the publicity and brand of the Finnish celebrity author are formed. I consider how the brand affects the author’s works on the one hand, and the reception of the works on the other. I point out the limiting effects of the brand, but I also examine how, in combining the high and the low, it affords mobility in the literary fields while it also offers an opportunity to influence society.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Sirine Maher Zahran

Background: The increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been found to be an important contributor of calories in the diet. Whether there is an association between the increased consumption of SSBs and the high rates of overweight and obesity is still questionable. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of weight status and beverages consumed of adults in a residential compound in Abu Dhabi.Methods: Forty nine out of 65 residents form Al Reef Villas in Abu Dhabi agreed to participate in the study. Initial assessments including beverages frequency questionnaire and anthropometry measurements were completed for all participants. Participants who were identified as high beverages consumers were invited to a one-month intervention aiming to limit their beverages consumption. A final assessment was completed for all high consumers of beverages at the end of the one-month intervention.Results: 55% of the subjects were overweight or obese, and 51% had abdominal obesity. 73% consumed 100% fruit juices with no added sugar, 65% consumed soft drinks, and 60 % consumed plain milk and milk products. The majority (69%) consumed tea beverages rather than coffee beverages. There was no association between weight & beverages consumption. The mean energy percentage from beverages was 14.2 (± 11.1) among all participants. 53% were considered high consumers of beverages and 47% (n=23) were considered low consumers of beverages. The one-month intervention showed a significant decrease in % of calories from beverages and weight in the overweight & obese intervention group (p<0.001 and p<0.05) respectively.Conclusion: This study highlighted major health problems in Abu Dhabi including high rates of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity. The one-month intervention was effective in reducing the energy percentage from beverages and weight of the overweight and obese participants, but no association was found in this sample between beverages consumption and overweight and obesity.


1949 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Seiler

The results of a field survey of herpes zoster over a period of 18 months are described and the difficulties of such a survey mentioned.A total of 246 patients with herpes zoster, only 16% of whom had attended hospital, is reported. It is calculated that the yearly incidence in the population was approximately 2 per 1000.Full investigation and ‘follow up’ was undertaken in 184 cases. These are classified according to the site of the zoster—the dorsal, supra-orbital and cervical regions being affected in almost 90%, the dorsal region alone accounting for 53·3%.Herpes generalisatus occurred in 7, or 38%, of the cases, recurrent herpes zoster in 6, or 3·3%, while there was one case of motor paralysis affecting lower limb.The majority of patients were apparently well at the onset of the zoster, but 27 had some associated disease; 5 gave a history of trauma prior to the onset and 2 were related to pregnancy.The seasonal and geographical distribution is given and, while the numbers are too small for statistical analysis, the disease in 1947 showed two peaks of higher incidence, the one in May and the other in October. Crowding or density of population did not appear to be important, and the disease occurred sporadically rather than in epidemic form.There was a higher proportion of female cases, but when related to the population as a whole no sex differentiation was observed. Of the patients 60% were over 45 years of age.There was no evidence that housing conditions or occupation were of aetiological significance or that the disease was more common among any particular section of the community.Eleven patients had been associated with other cases of herpes zoster before developing the disease, while 3 gave a suggestive history of prior contact with chickenpox.A condition indistinguishable from chickenpox occurred among the contacts of 10 patients, 12 individuals being affected, and there was one instance of concurrent herpes zoster and chickenpox. Other infections such as mumps, measles and rubella, while as common in association with the onset of herpes zoster, were not so frequently found as the chickenpox condition amongst contacts of the disease.The results of the survey as regards the relationship of chickenpox and herpes zoster are discussed. It is considered that the evidence does not favour a significant association with chickenpox prior to the onset of herpes zoster, but that the facts are consistent with the view that a condition indistinguishable from chickenpox may follow contact with herpes zoster. It is suggested, however, that this may be a generalized manifestation of the virus of zoster rather than true chickenpox.


Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Bugai ◽  

The task of the paper is to determine what is the philosophical meaning of Plato’s Philebus. To define the meaning is to show which way of understanding Phile­bus is the most fruitful, most fully grasping and revealing what forms the sub­stantive core of Plato’s text. It’s no secret that the meaning of Philebus is not at all self-evident. From our point of view, the main subject of the dialogue lies not in the plane of ontology, but in ethics, and what is taken for ontological aspects in Philebus is much more related to the logical and methodological conditions for solving the main ethical problem. Therefore, in this article an attempt was made to show that the key themes of Philebus(the problem of the one-many, the relationship of the four kinds of beings, the theory of false pleasures) are inter­nally related. The question of the relationship between the one and the many is raised in connection with the clarification of the question of the logical status of pleasure. Division into four kinds (limit, unlimited, mixture, reason) is the ful­fillment of the methodological requirement for the necessity of division. The ana­lysis of pleasures following this methodological introduction examines pleasure in an entirely new light, in the light of truth/falsity.


Author(s):  
Cem Özatalay ◽  
Gözde Aytemur Nüfusçu ◽  
Gülistan Zeren

The use of blood money by powerful people during the judicial process following different kinds of homicides (workplace homicides, state homicides, gun homicides and so on) has become commonplace within the neoliberal context. Based on data obtained from five cases in Turkey, this chapter shows, on the one hand, how the use of blood money serves as an effective tool in the hands of powerful people to consolidate power relations, particularly necropower, as well as the relationship of domination, which rests upon class and identity-based inequalities. The analysis indicates that the blood money offers made by powerful people allows them to minimize potential penalties within penal courts and also to keep their privileged positions in the social hierarchy by purchasing the ‘right to kill’. On the other hand, the resistance of the oppressed and aggrieved people to the subjugation of life to the power of death is analysed with a particular focus on the role of power asymmetries between perpetrators and victims and their unequal positions in the social hierarchy. This conflictual relationship, which we qualify as an expression of necrodomination, offers novel insights into Turkey’s historically shaped system of domination.


Author(s):  
Robert Merkin ◽  
Séverine Saintier

Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. False statements of fact that induce a contract are known as actionable misrepresentations. In case of a misrepresentation, there are different legal remedies for breaches of contract. A misrepresentation renders the contract voidable (liable to be set aside using the remedy of rescission) so that the contract will be treated as if it had never been made, whereas a breach of contract will have no effect on the existence of the contract (in the absence of a repudiatory breach that will terminate the contract when future contractual obligations will be discharged). The chapter identifies actionable misrepresentations and, in particular, loss in instances where there is a duty of disclosure in English law. There are three types of actionable misrepresentations, dependent upon the state of mind of the one who makes the false statement: fraudulent, negligent, and innocent. This chapter looks at the legal remedies for actionable misrepresentations such as rescission, the availability of damages for different types of misrepresentations and the provisions of the Misrepresentation Act 1967. It also examines the effect of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) as amended on this area of law, the criminal offences and civil remedies for consumers, as well as the relationship of misrepresentation to other areas of law. Finally, it looks at clauses that seek to exclude or limit liability for misrepresentation or to deny any actionable misrepresentation, e.g. ‘non-reliance clauses’.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document