POST-MODERN CONTEXT

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ZABALA PROVIDES A POST-MODERN "COMPASS" FOR THE NEWLY INAUGURATED. If you are planning a venture into post-modern research then the first thing you need to know is that the center of discussion will be hermeneutics, not doctrine. Initially, you could find yourself quite lost. But Zabala provides the reader with a first-look of the overall development of hermeneutics in post-modern thinking that will allow the new researcher a chance to get their bearings. In-depth analysis is not provided here. This is an overview. But, I will say that , even as one experienced in post-modern work; I found the book valuable and interesting. Zabala wants the reader to see how Heidegger has been appropriated by six key thinkers since post-modern thought started taking hold. These six are: Schurmann; Derrida; Nancy; Gadamer; Tugendat; and Vattimo. Each thinker is "summarized with regard to their estimations of Heidegger. In the beginning of the book, Zabala does give you an analysis of deconstruction and principles of reconstruction. But, the mediating context of these "6" thinkers is central to understanding where we are in regard to the understanding of "being". This book is very accessible and could even work for under- grads with a little familiarity with philosophical language. When finished, you'll have an idea how things work in this new emerging area of philosophy. I certainly recommend this book to those just getting their feet wet in post-modern research. But, like I say; the experienced researcher will still appreciate the inter-related picture the author draws. 5 stars for a great compass.

GADAMER : POST-MODERN HERMENEUTICS DEFINED

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There is a reason Hans Gadamer lived to be 102 years of age. God knew we needed him. Gadamer's history-making consummate work was "Truth and Method", published in 1960 when Gadamer was 60 years old. This collection of essays is in response to that consummate position. It is a refinement of the previously refined conclusions. Therefore, to be an effective book, you would need to have an all-inclusive understanding of Gadamer ahead of time. If not from "truth and method", then from some other source. These essays cover a 12 year period of writing from 1960 - 1972. He offers true new clarifications that are powerful. After completing this work I felt I had the best representation of a thinker that I could ever have imagined.  a valuable thinker to study for all.

POST-MODERN HERMENEUTICS: VATTIMO

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Chances are, if you've ever taken a course in hermeneutics; it was taken at a private institution that provided a textbook that "conserved" the ideology of the institution and its religious affiliation. In other words, you didn't get much of an objective presentation. Vattimo's book is about teaching hermeneutics; teaching it in a non-slanted format that will illustrate for the first time what a hermeneutics seminar should be all about. The first half of the book is about the necessity of de-construction and extremely "negative". But, do not be discouraged, because in the second half you will begin your self-taught seminar on hermeneutics. Too bad this comes many years late for me. I took hermeneutics in the 70's. This is a super presentation of the principles of interpretation. By the way, the role of philosophy is equal to "hermeneutics" according to Vattimo. The de-construction, in the beginning, is also enlightening however. And the "international monetary fund" gets kicked in the teeth a few times. Post-modern hermeneutics is about the "thrown-project", of having been cast into a "post-metaphysics context" that demands conversation rather than over-arching mythologies. Vattimo does draw it all to its ethical conclusions , so don't worry. The practical aspects will be discussed under the concept of "weak-thought". "Weak thought" just means that absolutes have been involved in a historical process of weakening that we should not disregard. This is a powerful course in hermeneutics that I appreciated. 5 stars, without question. Get this please.

deleuze: final words before he died.

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Deluze is one of my favorite thinkers and I was already familiar with his work. This volume was supposed to be something that evolved just before his death and represented his comprehensive thought. I found it to be very comprehensive, presented in a logical order, and very accessible .


he doesn't give a vague answer; he tells us exactly what philosophy is; it has three specific steps: the pre-philosophical plane of immanence; the conceptual-persona; and finally, construction of the "constellation-event". He fills each area with substantial content and links the areas together.

one exciting aspect of the presentation is the way he enlists Hegel's concept of "counter-blow". With his theory of an extended plane; he articulates the eventual curves that evolve along this plane, and the "folding-back",

SIKH RELIGION: neo-colonialism

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IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE "ABDA-GURU". And the "abda-guru" was with god; and the "abda-guru" was god. Mandair's new book on how the east can move beyond colonialism to post-colonialism is a significant contribution from Columbia's insurrection series. This time, however it is not post-modern thought. It goes beyond that to post-colonial thought. The fundamental premise is to move forward by adopting Zizek, with a few modifications. This means that Europe and India look at the same events and hold the same purpose from two distinct perspectives. Their paths will run parallel to each other, but will never converge or synthesize. A past attempt at a synthesis was colonialism and it absorbed and obliterated India's distinct identity. Parallax is the only workable solution.




neo-colonial texts have emerged that provide false signification for India. These were Singh's Sikh theology and Mcleod's systematic theology. What is needed is a new signifier to couple with the hermeneutic of parallax. That new signifier is "sabda-guru" or "word". The word-model will transcend both false models of "humanism" and "post-modernism". This model is constructed through the "vanishing mediator of an authentic India-identity and voice.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND: 1 & 2

In 19 days. On may 4th, Alice Liddell will turn 161 years old. You may know her better as the girl who fell down the rabbit hole at age 10. She just finished her PhD at Columbia university (which shows it’s never too late to go back to school; and she contacted me through my internet site just recently. When I asked her why me? She responded, " after listening to your lectures I could tell that you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole also. I’d thought we’d get along fine. We ended up going through a series of interviews; she’s always kept a diary, ever since her childhood. She felt that Deleuze had gotten the story slightly wrong; but not entirely so, when he interpreted it along the lines of postmodern thinking. She agreed with the idea, but said she wanted a few things cleared up. I felt honored that she would approach me with such a task; but such is the case; and I am headlong into my notes as you read this. I’d like to make it by May 4^th, but that might be difficult. She is an interesting character and still has an active and energetic imagination at age 161.

this is MY work only;  no outside sources whatsoever.  please keep this in mind. 

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S POSITION

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Mark Taylor is the head of the religion department at Columbia University. Therefore he is at the forefront of emerging postmodern thought in America; in response to the French philosophy which currently has taken center stage. His university champions this movement and his position is extremely important for understanding how we are involving ourselves in this process in America. Taylor's position is actually situated at the beginning and end chapters of the book. The center section presents a chronological view of how this new school came into being. So if you don't want the history lesson right away; you could read the first chapter and the last two chapters and just take in Taylor's position. This is rewarding in itself. You get two books for the price of one. Taylor's fundamental position is to challenge the theory of entropy ; that everything is unavoidably headed for dissolution and chaos. He says the new science has found room for neg-entropy and that theology should adopt this neg-entropy theory also. In this way, the self can approach the abyss of darkness and its repetition of sameness with a real anticipation of difference and its potential to "self-actualize into a sub-system of order. The key here is that Taylor admits to "objective" self-organizing sub-systems; not just our subjective construction