Here's a quote from the book Star Wars and Philosophy, a nifty tome given to me by my buddy Mike not long ago. The excerpt comes from a chapter that examines the Force through the lens of the Hegelian concept of Geist (Spirit). The contention is, as I understand it from the larger context of the chapter, the author's (though perhaps not unique to the author):
As the civilizations of our own time clash over rival theologies inherited from the past, mankind is in need of an empowering belief for our time, one that provides a unifying distillation of all the world's religions.
You'll have noted that the statement contains certain assumptions. I can spot five right away:
1. Belief-systems need to be up to date ("for our time").
2. Humanity is currently disempowered.
3. There is a need for some sort of unification.
4. The source for that unification is not found outside of the world's many religions, but is to be distilled from (all of?) them.
5. Humanity's disempowerment is connected to the clash of rival, inherited theologies.
And with that, I leave the comments area open for discussion.
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3 comments:
As an interpretation of the quotation, (1), (3) and (4) are uncontroversial. (Whether they are true is another issue entirely.)
I'm not so sure about (2) though. Seems to me that "the need for an empowering belief" doesn't necessarily presuppose that we are currently disempowered. Perhaps, rather, the idea is that humanity is always in danger of disempowerment; that our current empowering ideology is in need of constant refreshment.
And if (2) is questionable, then obviously so is (5).
What's not completely clear to me, either in the statement or in your analysis, is the relationship between empowerment and unification; or, conversely, why the current clash of civilizations should be thought of as something to be rectified through the maintenance or increase of power.
The real problem, IMHO, is that it's very obscure what notion of "power" is operative here.
"unifying"
"empowering"
This statement is a nice example of modern cant, though it would be more complete if the words "compassion" and "justice" were stuck in there somewhere.
The underlying assumptions seem to be that heterogeneity is inherently a source of conflict, and that religious beliefs are just metaphors. Naturally, we should be able to manipulate them to form new metaphors which will somehow empower us to be more unified. After all, no-one could possibly have their own reasons for believing something, right? [sarcasm]
Alan,
Agreed-- (2) might be wrong, but I don't think I'm far off. If the author were talking about a general or constant need for an "empowering belief," there would be little need to tie it to "our time." A perennial need invites a perennial response-- something for the ages. The author is clearly saying the beliefs must fit the times. Personally, I'm not sure I agree with this; I think ahistorical truths have their place, and can inform belief-systems that might change in terms of their vernacular expression, but not in terms of their basic point of departure (the nature of reality is empty, or triune, etc.).
If we already have empowering beliefs (whatever is actually meant by that phrase) in our time-- and are not under any specific threat of disempowerment-- what need is the author hoping to address? To my mind, "constant refreshment" doesn't quite seem to fit what the author is-- at least as I read him-- trying to say.
As for the relationship between empowerment and unification... dunno. I think it's a topic worth discussing. We could start with the commonsense notion that people in concerted groups tend to accomplish more, at least physically, than individuals who attempt to tackle the same projects alone (e.g., building a skyscraper, or banishing apartheid). Perhaps in that sense, unification is tied to certain types of empowerment. Again, I don't really know, but I'd be curious to hear your and other folks' opinions.
I suppose a bit more context might be necessary if we're going to discuss authorial intent. I can quote more from the chapter, if you like.
Kevin
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