Download or read book Philosophy of Devotion written by Paul Katsafanas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-22 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do people persist in commitments that threaten their happiness, security, and comfort? Why do some of our most central, identity-defining commitments seem to resist the effects of reasoning and critical reflection? Drawing on real-life examples, empirical psychology, and philosophical reflection, Paul Katsafanas argues that these commitments involve an ethical stance called devotion, which plays a pervasive--but often hidden--role in human life. Devotion typically involves sacralizing certain values, goals, or relationships. To sacralize a value is to treat it as inviolable (trade-offs with ordinary values are forbidden), incontestable (even contemplating such trade-offs is prohibited), and dialectically invulnerable (no rational considerations can disrupt the agent's commitment to the value). Philosophy of Devotion offers a detailed philosophical account and defense of these features. Devotion and the sacralization of values can be reasonable; indeed, a life involving meaningful, sustained commitment depends on these stances. Without devotion, we risk an existential condition that Katsafanas describes as normative dissipation, in which all of our commitments become etiolated. Yet devotion can easily go wrong, deforming into the individual and group fanaticism that have become pervasive features of modern social life. Katsafanas provides an alternative to fanaticism, investigating the way in which we can express non-pathological forms of devotion. We can be devoted through affirmation and through what Katsafanas calls the deepening move, which treats the agent's central commitments as systematically inchoate. Each of these stances enables a wholehearted form of devotion that nevertheless preserves flexibility and openness, avoiding the dangers of fanaticism on the one hand and normative dissipation on the other. But this is inevitably a fragile and precarious achievement: affirmation can slide into a focus on rejecting what isn't affirmed, and the deepening move can ossify into rigidity. Only the perpetual quest to maintain a form of existential flexibility, which may require oscillation between affirmation and deepening, can stave off these dangers
Download or read book Reason Revelation and Devotion written by William J. Wainwright and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents a novel defense of the beneficial epistemic effect that extra logical features can have on the assessment of religious arguments.
Download or read book Caitanya Vaisnava Philosophy written by Dr Ravi M Gupta and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2014-03-28 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the sixteenth century, the saint and scholar Sri Caitanya set in motion a wave of devotion to Krishna that began in eastern India and has now found its way around the world. Caitanya taught that the highest aim of life is to develop selfless love for God Krishna, the blue-hued cowherd boy who spoke the Bhagavad Gita. Although only a handful of poetry is attributed to Caitanya, his devotional theology was expounded and systematized by his followers in a vast array of poetical, philosophical, and ritual literature. This book provides a thematic study of Caitanya Vaishnava philosophy, introducing key thinkers and ideas in the early tradition, using Sanskrit and Bengali sources that have seldom been studied in English. The book addresses major areas of the tradition, including epistemology, ontology, aesthetics, ethics, and history, and every chapter includes relevant readings from primary sources.
Download or read book Devotion written by Constance M. Furey and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2021-12-10 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What brings religious scholars Constance Furey, Sarah Hammerschlag, and Amy Hollywood together in Devotion is a shared conviction that "reading helps us live with and through the unknown." For them, the nature of reading raises questions fundamental to how we think about our political futures and modes of human relation. Each essay suggests different ways to characterize the object of devotion and the stance of the devout subject before it. Furey writes about devotion in terms of vivification, energy, and artifice; Hammerschlag in terms of commentary, mimicry, and fetishism; and Hollywood in terms of anarchy, antinomianism, and atopia. They are interested in literature not as providing models for ethical, political, or religious life, but as creating the site in which the possible-and the impossible-transport the reader, enabling new forms of thought, habits of mind, and modes of life. Ranging from German theologian Martin Luther to French-Jewish philosopher Sarah Kofman to American poet Susan Howe, this volume is not just a reflection on forms of devotion, it is also an enactment of devotion itself"--
Download or read book Sun of Devotion Stream of Blessings written by Lama Zopa Rinpoche and published by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. This book was released on 2016-08-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The key to happiness is the mind. With the mind, we can switch our life to suffering or we can switch it to happiness, just as we change television channels, choosing to watch programs about fighting and war, or peaceful things, like the nature programs people seem to enjoy. Experiencing happiness or suffering depends entirely on what we do with our mind. -Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings is the record of a remarkable series of powerful and clear Dharma teachings given by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2014 to students at Leeds and London in the United Kingdom. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive⿿s editor Gordon McDougall was present throughout these teachings and has now skillfully edited them into written form that retains the flavor of a great master giving precise instructions to the students sitting before him. In Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings, Rinpoche explains how to take care of our minds so that our happiness is in our own hands, gives profound teachings on the Buddhist philosophy of emptiness, discusses the need for ethics and a solid refuge, shows us how to cut the root of samsara, explores why practicing certain tantras is important and especially emphasizes how the guru is the most powerful object of our Dharma practice. Gordon has presented the subjects taught by Rinpoche in the order in which they were given, beginning with a deep commentary on the meaning of sang-gyä, the Tibetan term usually translated as "buddha," and retaining the powerful method by which Rinpoche would repeatedly reinforce and expand upon earlier topics. Rinpoche also spends much time discussing the great qualities of Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma), the incredible being who has become so important to Tibetan Buddhism, FPMT and the world.
Download or read book Shoes Outside the Door written by Michael Downing and published by Counterpoint LLC. This book was released on 2001 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the people who established the first Buddhist monastery outside of Asia.
Download or read book Climate Change and the Art of Devotion written by Sugata Ray and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2019-07-31 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the enchanted world of Braj, the primary pilgrimage center in north India for worshippers of Krishna, each stone, river, and tree is considered sacred. In Climate Change and the Art of Devotion, Sugata Ray shows how this place-centered theology emerged in the wake of the Little Ice Age (ca. 1550–1850), an epoch marked by climatic catastrophes across the globe. Using the frame of geoaesthetics, he compares early modern conceptions of the environment and current assumptions about nature and culture. A groundbreaking contribution to the emerging field of eco–art history, the book examines architecture, paintings, photography, and prints created in Braj alongside theological treatises and devotional poetry to foreground seepages between the natural ecosystem and cultural production. The paintings of deified rivers, temples that emulate fragrant groves, and talismanic bleeding rocks that Ray discusses will captivate readers interested in environmental humanities and South Asian art history. Art History Publication Initiative. For more information, visit http://arthistorypi.org/books/climate-change-and-the-art-of-devotion
Download or read book Agency and the Foundations of Ethics written by Paul Katsafanas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paul Katsafanas explores how we can justify normative claims such as 'murder is wrong'. He defends an original account of constitutivism—the view that we do so by showing that agents become committed to them in virtue of acting—and resolves philosophical puzzles about the metaphysics, epistemology, and practical grip of normative claims.
Download or read book Transgressive Devotion written by Natalie Wigg-Stevenson and published by SCM Press. This book was released on 2021-02-28 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Academic theology is in need of a new genre. In "Transgressive Devotion" Natalie Wigg-Stevenson articulates a theological vision of that genre as performance art. She argues that theology done as performance art stops trying to describe who God is, and starts trying to make God appear. Recognising that the act of studying theology or practicing ministry is always a performance, where the boundaries between what we see, feel, experience and learn are not just blurred but potentially invisible, Wigg-Stevenson brings together ethnographic theological fieldwork, historical and contemporary Christian theological traditions, and performance artworks themselves. A daring vision of theology which will energise anybody feeling ‘boxed in’ by the discipline, Transgressive Devotion blurs borders between orthodoxy, heterodoxy and heresy to reveal how the very act of doing theology makes God and humanity vulnerable to each other. This is theology which is a liturgy of Divine incantation. In other words: this is theology which is also prayer.
Download or read book Jesus the Great Philosopher written by Jonathan T. Pennington and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of us tend to live as though Jesus represents the "spiritual part" of our lives. We don't clearly see how he relates to the rest of our experiences, desires, and habits. How can Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity become more than a compartmentalized part of our lives? Highly regarded New Testament scholar and popular teacher Jonathan Pennington argues that we need to recover the lost biblical image of Jesus as the one true philosopher who teaches us how to experience the fullness of our humanity in the kingdom of God. Jesus teaches us what is good, right, and beautiful and offers answers to life's big questions: what it means to be human, how to be happy, how to order our emotions, and how we should conduct our relationships. This book brings Jesus and Christianity into dialogue with the ancient philosophers who asked the same big questions about finding meaningful happiness. It helps us rediscover biblical Christianity as a whole-life philosophy, one that addresses our greatest human questions and helps us live meaningful and flourishing lives.
Download or read book Aristotle on Religion written by Mor Segev and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comprehensive account of the socio-political role Aristotle attributes to traditional religion, despite rejecting its content.
Download or read book A Philosophy of Devotion written by John C. Plott and published by Lawrence Verry Incorporated. This book was released on 1974 with total page 690 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Religion Satan S Philosophy of Truth written by Bubba and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you have come across this book either by chance, by purchase, or someone has given it to you, I pray you will read it. I promise it will be a blessing to your soul. We are told by the Word of God to seek Him diligently! Without any denominational pull to my understanding Gods Word, I have done so for many years. I am sixty-five years old and a common man in my walk with Christ. I was a little slow in the beginning, but now, after thirty-five years, I have been running to catch up with Him. Why am I running? Time is of great importance. No matter how young or old we are, we just never know how much time we have in this world. Please read what I have learned from the Word of God and the knowledge He will give us. You may or may not agree with all my views and opinions. After all, I am just a common man. What I do promise youthis book will open your eyes and hearts! It will give you an incentive to seek God diligently! No matter what religion we may follow, we must seek Him diligently!
Download or read book Daring Devotion written by M. R. Conrad and published by . This book was released on 2020-12-07 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Missions Devotional. For 31 days, step back in time and see how God worked in and through men and women like you. Read their stories. Hear their own words. Feel their heartbeat. Experience their struggles. Get closer to their God. Discover the source of their strength in the promises of God's Word. This devotional book is a gateway to spiritual growth through the truths of God's Word and the examples of those who lived God's promises.
Download or read book The Materiality of Devotion in Late Medieval Northern Europe written by Henning Laugerud and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores aspects of the devotional world of late medieval northern Europe, with a special emphasis on how people interacted with texts, images, artifacts, and other instruments of piety at the level of the senses. The book focuses on the materiality of medieval religion and the manner in which Christians were encouraged to engage their senses in their devotional practices: gazing, hearing, touching, tasting, and committing to memory. In so doing, it brings together the ideals of medieval mystical writing and the increasingly tangible and material practice of piety, which would become characteristic of the period. [Subject: History, Medieval Studies, European Studies, Religious Studies]
Download or read book Contemplative Studies and Hinduism written by Rita D. Sherma and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2020-10-05 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is one of the first wide-ranging academic surveys of the major types and categories of Hindu contemplative praxis. It explores diverse spiritual and religious practices within the Hindu traditions and Indic hermeneutical perspectives to understand the intricate culture of meditative communion and contemplation, devotion, spiritual formation, prayer, ritual, and worship. The volume extends and expands the conceptual reach of the fields of Contemplative Studies and Hindu Studies. The chapters in the volume cover themes in Hindu contemplative experience from various texts and traditions including classical Sāṃkhya and Patañjali Yoga, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the role of Sādhana in Advaita Vedānta, Śrīvidyā and the Śrīcakra, the body in Tantra, the semiotics and illocution of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sādhana, mantra in Mīmāṃsā, Vaiṣṇava liturgy, as well as cross-cultural reflections and interreligious comparative contemplative praxis. The volume presents indigenous vocabulary and frameworks to examine categories and concerns particular to the Hindu contemplative traditions. It traces patterns that cut across Hindu traditions and systems and discusses contrasting methods of different theological/philosophical schools evincing a strong plurality in Hindu religious thought and practice. The volume provides intra-religious comparisons that reveal internal complexity, nuances, and a variety of contemplative states and transformative practices that exist under the rubric of Hindu practices of interiority and reflection. With key insights on forms and functions of the contemplative experience along with their theologies and philosophies, the volume suggests new hermeneutical directions that will advance the field of contemplative studies. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of religious and theological studies, contemplative studies, Hindu studies, consciousness studies, yoga studies, Indian philosophy and religion, sociology of religion, philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and South Asian studies, as well as general readers interested in the topic.
Download or read book The Place of Devotion written by Sukanya Sarbadhikary and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-08-07 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s new open access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Hindu devotional traditions have long been recognized for their sacred geographies as well as the sensuous aspects of their devotees' experiences. Largely overlooked, however, are the subtle links between these religious expressions. Based on intensive fieldwork conducted among worshippers in Bengal’s Navadvip-Mayapur sacred complex, this book discusses the diverse and contrasting ways in which Bengal-Vaishnava devotees experience sacred geography and divinity. Sukanya Sarbadhikary documents an extensive range of practices, which draw on the interactions of mind, body, and viscera. She shows how perspectives on religion, embodiment, affect, and space are enriched when sacred spatialities of internal and external forms are studied at once.
