MY BRIEF TESTIMONY

BRIEF 5 min. PERSONAL TESTIMONY - BARRY BALLARD

On a warm summer day in Washington D.C., I sat in a small movie theater listening to a re-broadcast of a Billy graham crusade that had been previously given elsewhere. I was attending with a Christian group who ministered on the air force based where I was stationed, "Andrews Air Force Base". At the conclusion of the presentation, there was an invitation given to receive Christ and counselors were standing up front to pray with those who came forward. The house lights went up and I went forward and prayed to receive Jesus Christ into my life. This was not the moment of my true conversion, this was "preparation-of-heart", part one.

On a humid pitch-black night in 1969, my plane touched down on the Saigon airfield that was currently under rocket attack. Black-out conditions were in effect and we were rushed to trucks and then transported to our barracks and its inclusive bunker for protection. I was assigned an m16 rifle, two clips of ammo, and given a helmet and flack-vest. I spent my first night in Saigon standing in the bunker, wondering "why?" I was even here. I understood none of it, except that supposedly it had to do with communism and we were protecting democracy. But, I just felt abandoned to the most bizarre and remote assignment I could imagine. I worked "support", so I do not want to give the false impression that I was "combat"; but I did serve some time in the jungle. Only one man died in our group during the year I was there; and he told me beforehand that he wanted to die and never return home. He had received his divorce papers in the mail about a week before my arrival. He was shot down in a helicopter "one" day before he was to return home. My one year in Saigon was a lesson in the deterioration of the human spirit and soul. Eventually, I also learned to hate myself and "living" and could care less about what might lie ahead. I was returning to the states with a crushed human soul, devoid of all optimism. This was "preparation-of-heart", part two.

On a humid gray-dusk-like-evening, I found myself, in 1970, driving through the main gate of Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas. I soon settled into my tasks of working in the 7th bomb wing headquarters, in support roles again as usual. I also served on the honor guard for special occasions for fallen veterans funerals, or award ceremonies. Even though my personal psyche was "wasted“; I was considered an admirable employee and respected for my abilities. My inner life however was an absolute disaster that I did not "share" with anyone. Strangely enough; I was visited by representatives of the "Navigators"; the same Christian organization that had approached me in Washington D.C. I began attending bible studies two nights a week and felt a little better about life by receiving this follow-up. I'll call this "preparation-of-heart", part three.

During my term of service at Carswell, I met my wife to be, Beverly, who invited me to her church in River Oaks, "Trinity Baptist Church". They had a young pastor, John Hatch, who was just finishing his doctorate at Southwestern and the atmosphere attracted me. It was in 1973, “4” years after that initial "preparation-of-heart"; that I made an honest commitment to Jesus Christ and immediately followed that with baptism.

From there, the road did not get any smoother, but my “soul” began a healing process that eventually went from healing to true "Wonder and Discovery". The first thing that was revealed to me was my spiritual gift, which is "Teaching". While at Trinity, I ended up writing three commentaries: James, Colossians, and Philippians. All three helped me grow in my commitment to Jesus Christ.

True conversion was preceded by three moments of "preparation-of-the-heart" in my case. Over a four year stretch of time, God never gave up on me. I think the strength of my testimony must be given to the strength of God's loving patience; to lead me along the final path that would secure my faith. Thank You.
















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lectures on jurgen moltmann

mp3's

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

"KERYGMA" IN ROMANS 10: 1-14

click link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/h44ncmmj8rifxfa/paulxx1.mp3

GLOSSARY FOR ROMANS 10: 1-14  :

1.        DZALOS:  an enthusiastic type common-sense, from surface data only.
2.       EPIGINOSKO:  to know something in “depth”, through and through.
3.       DIKAISOS:  conforming to the law of something, following it in the right way.
4.       IDIOS:  particularity, with no intersubjectivity.
5.       THEOS:  conforming to communal-spirit.
6.       CHRISTOS:  the “anointed one”; evolved to the status of a name for Jesus of Nazareth.
7.       TELOS:  end
8.       NOMOS:  rigid law or dogma.
9.       POIEO:  to construct through human activity.
10.   LEGO:  dialogue in communion, intersubjective activity.
11.   ANA-BASIS & KATA-BASIS:  to ascend up to spirit , or descend to underworld.
12.   KARUSSO:  to make known; related to bultmann’s “kerygma”
13.   HOMOLOGEO:  presentation of the CE as promise.
14.   PISTEUO:  faith as activity.
15.   OUK-DISTELLO:  no exclusion of any person.
16.   OUK-AISKUNA:  no shame to be inferred on any one person
17.   SKUDZO:  the activity of “differentiation”

18.   BARTH’S TRIAD:  “guilt – retirement and withdrawal – new orientation” (applied to the church).

Thursday, October 10, 2013

JJEAN-LUC NANCY: DOCTRINE OF "PHONOLOGY" or "listening-to-spirit"

click on link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/d2c8kt9zcsdxa39/nancyxx5.mp3

 BIRTH OF "PHONOLOGY".  : In this "book-of-births", Jean-Luc next introduces the reader to the task of consciousness. He has given us a soul; and now it is time to go to work. Within consciousness, the self finds itself situated in "abandonment". We are left in a state of "suspension", where metaphysical meanings and language no longer apply. We must turn to a new idea of love as "inversion". We take up the task of defining the idea of "being-in-the-world"; which emphasizes the sensate-side of existence. We are given the task of "LISTENING". TO THE: "voice-of-sensate-ordering". This leads us to appropriating the "infinity" within finitude itself. This is called "phonology"; not ontology.

JEAN-LUC NANCY: "DOCTRINE OF THE SOUL

CLICK LINK:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/uad09c5w8wi25of/nancyxx4.mp3

"7 ASPECTS OF THE "SOUL": Jean-Luc Nancy.

1. the soul is an "extended" soul.

2. the soul is always extended into spirit.

3. you never possess your soul as a thing.

4. being "born-again" is the constant-state of the soul; not a one-time event. we are born to spirit repeatedly.

5. your soul offers and receives affection.

6. your soul was first imparted with "gift and forgiveness" through your mother.

7. your soul must learn and arise within this finitude. through "3" stages : the child, adolescent, adult.

Friday, October 4, 2013

jean -luc nancy's ontology: how do we create spirit?

click link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/a6o87ezn8dxa2hs/nancyxx3.mp3

JEAN-LUC NANCY'S "TRACTATUS": at 60 pages, the only thing I dare compare this to is Wittgenstein's important work. This 60-page document is equally important. It comes 10 years after Nancy had formulated his system,; so there has been plenty of time for refinement. It is so compact with detail that, even if you are well-versed in Nancy; I would recommend reading Marie-Eve Morin's book on Nancy first; actually I'm referring to chapter one on "Ontology". This will help you here.

This is Nancy's ontology, in his own words; covering every aspect of his system, but compacted in booklet form. Think of it as 600 pages reduced to 60.

he presents his ontology as a triad consisting of: 1. "glorious-body"; 2. "Hieratic-body"; and 3. "Working-body". The triad works in a reciprocal manner until reaching the result of the "body-of-circulating-sense".

From here, he takes us into the actual realm of mutual-touch where he defines the aspects of "standing-in" and concludes by giving us the "13" concepts of his ontology of "standing-in"

I will give you these 13 concepts ahead of time and you can keep them as a reference when you approach the text: they are: 1. Relational-history; 2. Kenosis-of-eternity; 3. Transivity-of-being; 4. Wonder; 5. Desire-of-being; 6. Anticipation; 7. No-thing; 8. Hollowed-out; 9. Gap; 10. Archi-spatiality 11. Dimension-of-presence; 12. Gift; and 13. Decision.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

JEAN-LUC NANCY'S: "SOCIAL-BOND" FOR ART AND ETHICS

CLICK  ON link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ss323a6rsss73cr/nancyxx2.mp3

5. "From body to art". Pp. 124-148. : Actually this was one of the more important essays. It actually is two essays in one; first, the "social-bond", 2nd. The "work-of-art". The social bond ties in with chapter one; so Morin actually takes us full circle. Every page here is important. In fact, she waits till the last page to give us the 3rd "stance" of social-bond. This constituted the end of the book for me. I was only interested in the "5" essays that made up the meat of the book.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

NANCY: LETS CHRISTIANITY CRITIQUE ITSELF

CLICK ON :  link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ya3gv3cg0qvg2uh/nancyxx1.mp3

2. "Christianity". Pp. 48-72. Remember; even though this is a topical critique; the essays cannot be read out of order. Morin builds as she goes. Especially chapter one. Everything depends on "ontology". Having said that; I found this essay on Christianity to be excellent. A much better approach than others I've read. You can evaluate Nancy here from your own Christian perspective. Morin's writing will allow this. I actually found that I could articulate a Christology of "OPENING", which then led to a Trinitarian approach to positing. And finally a return to "ONTOLOGY". See what I mean: hammer home chapter one. Read it multiple times if need be, but internalize it. Nancy thrives on the ontological question. What A great approach to Nancy's Christianity. Better than anyone writing today; I can assure you. Way to go Marie-Eve!!!

Friday, September 27, 2013

JEAN-LUC NANCY: "ONTOLOGY"

click on link:   http://www.mediafire.com/listen/mqotqern8df1o2k/nancyxx.mp3

1. Ontology: by Marie-Eve Morin:  A very comprehensive presentation that actually draws a thought-picture, which is what you want with an ontology. The "6" steps of articulation are covered in the "realm of ideation". And positing gets covered on both sides: "differentiation and self-relation". "Mediation" gets most of the attention , as she focuses on the realm of mutual- touch. Excellent ontological analysis.

Monday, September 23, 2013

nancy's: doctrine of transcendence

click on link:   http://www.mediafire.com/listen/qek2psemzwjv59d/nancyx9.mp3

7. "Shattered love". Pp. 245-277: Nancy's "doctrine of transcendence". He takes the reader through "5" moments of transcendence: 1. Transport; 2. Transgression; 3. Transparency; 4. Tendency; 5. Transport-return. An extremely important essay ; in that he negates metaphysics and ontology. So what is transcendence? Great essay.
just 20 min.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

NANCY'S PHILOSOPHY OF POETRY

click on link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/sdpd2ta8wisue2w/nancyx8b.mp3

 "The sublime offering".  Do not skip this brilliant essay. Nancy addresses the sensate-sense side of his system in an all-inclusive way. This is the sense that must accompany directional-sense. But what is it? Just a work of art? Or more? This issue is discussed in this essay and brings out every level of the emergence of this deeper sense called the "sublime". The "sublime" has its own involved philosophy, even though it is part of the system. For Nancy there is a "philosophy of art" that surpasses or ruptures our usually constructed sense of aesthetics. "Reason" is taken- up within art, rather than an addition that follows art. This essay will make you realize why Nancy is so centered in the fine-arts; even more than philosophy itself. A must read if you choose to fully understand him.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

NANCY'S CONCEPT OF "WRITING"

click on link:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/n2s2vqalnnpd1pq/nancyx7.mp3

B. C HUTCHENS : ANALYZES "WRITING": Every commentator has a speciality; for Hutchens it is the realm of consciousness and its work of "writing" sense. I've said before that I am a fan of Jean-Luc Nancy. And I've come to appreciate Hutchens for his accurate depth of analysis.

Hutchens does not address much in the way of "motivation", but gives a detailed account of "deconstruction" in the unconscious. But; moving on to consciousness, is another matter. A superb presentation of "writing" is given here. This can be difficult for some readers of Nancy, and this material should help. He articulates the "generic-verb" of Nancy's hemeneutic as:
"to interrupt", which is precise and accurate. And he does an excellent job of bringing out the sub-system triads and not just emphasizing the over-arching triads. For example, he gives us the triad of "thinking-through" as: 1. Mechanical-unity; 2. Transitive-unity; and 3. World-sense-unity. In the realm of mediation he gives us the sub-system triad of: 1. Wonder-of-subject; 2. "Surprise-of-event"; and 3. "Leap-of-sense".

"Positing gets attention as "3" moments of ethical-interrogation, which is excellent. The systematic approach enlisted here complements Nancy's same systematic articulations. Therefore, "sense" gets realized as a strong "tandem-of-articulation" in this book.

this book is "post-grad material"; and I would be disappointed if I was anything else. Ths is for the Hegel or Nancy scholar or expert. Very strong recommendation from this reader - "5" stars.

Monday, September 9, 2013

JEAN-LUC NANCY: CONCEALMENT

CLICK ON DIRECT LINK:   http://www.mediafire.com/listen/mh1z8mmxf3jggbn/nancyx4.mp3

Concealed-thinking is finite-thinking; which is symbolic-thinking ; in the areas of art and “religion”.  Fully explains Hegel’s concept of "counter-blow".  Central to “all” post-modern thinkers.  30 min.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

JEAN-LUC NANCY: PHILOSOPHY NEEDS AESTHETICS FOR "TRUTH"

click on:  direct link for file http://www.mediafire.com/listen/d69gdvxddidx4dr/nancyx1.mp3

THE  LARGER PICTURE IS PRESENTED: Jean-Luc Nancy has been the one post-modern thinker to eventually rise to the top. A thinker with real substantial thought for our post-modern times. James, in recognizing this fact, devotes this text to drawing the reader into the larger context of Nancy's theory. The project is an amazing success; and illustrates the author's deep understanding of the entire movement of french post-modern thinking. Nancy becomes an extension of the "big-3" in German philosophy: Kant, Hegel, and Heidegger. James tells us that all three hover around a central problem; that of "presentation", or the eventual positing of the true. The issue first emerged with Kant who was stuck with a methodology of "schematism", where presentation is split into "darstellung" or the rational and "dichtung" or the metaphorical. Hegel tries to surpass the problem with "absolute spirit" but is trapped, according to Heidegger, in being situated in a dichotomy of "subject / object", which he cannot escape. Nancy feeds off Heidegger who also fails in presenting a "groundless subject"; and comes up with the radical post-modern notion of the imperative necessity of philosophy returning to its embeddedness in literature and aesthetics. James tells us this is where Nancy began in his early years. The later years must be filtered through this general conviction.


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

NANCY: EMERGENCE OF "SACRED-IMAGE"

click on:  direct link for file http://www.mediafire.com/listen/zamfpde1m7rta5q/nancyx.mp3


THE EMERGENCE OF THE "SACRED-IMAGE": Aesthetics is not a tangential area of thought in Nancy's system; it is a critical part of the core of his position. This book is an essential part of understanding his thought. The "cognitive-registers-of-meaning" in today's society have failed and fragmented. Aesthetics rescues us by taking us beyond the "cognitive"; similar in the way Hegel introduced "counter-blow" as a necessity to pass back out of philosophy and rejoin art, for the "beyond-of-saying".

Jean-Luc Nancy primarily addresses "painting" here but the principles apply to all aesthetics. And he combines "creator"and "observer", rather than restricting perspective.

In this book, Nancy reveals to us the "8" moments of the emergence of the "sacred-image". I will give them to you now , as it may assist you in your reading. They are as follows:

1. Image-as-hidden-surface
2. Image-as-distinction
3. Image-as-mystic-intimacy
4. Image-as-trace-of-meaning
5. Image-as-horizon
6. Image-as-access
7 Image-as-cut-out
8. Image-as-poetry

Sunday, August 11, 2013

NANCY'S "CORPUS"

click on direct link for file.http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ya76w7ksjc3ucbw/nancy9.mp3

this is my 7th reading of Nancy; I am a huge fan of his thought. But I want to give a helpful and honest account of this work, without my bias. If you have not already studied Nancy, you should not make this book your first reading. STOP; and purchase this book instead: "the sense of the world" . If you have studied Nancy to some degree already, then: PROCEED.

all post-modern thinkers emphasize the fact that "significance -of-spirit" cannot be articulated in language. But they have to write books and essays presenting this fact; so they are left on the edge of the void-point, looking for new words. Since none exist; they engage in poetic-writing to express their ideas. "Some" of this is allowed. Let's be fair about that. But the over-use and obscure-use of poetic language is not allowed in an academic text. The beginning of this book is a "dark-comedy", as the other reviewer of this book emphasizes. I agree with that review. It helped me to stay objective. Bravo, for writing an honest critique. But I'll go a step further and call this dark-comedy - "bad-poetry". The beginning of this manuscript completely evacuates the reader from the void-point, where Nancy prefers that the reader remain. It is very frustrating and can be endured only if you already have internalized his system; so you cannot be lost.

But, staying un-lost is important; because , later he returns to a "teachable void-point" and actually clarifies previous concepts he had left unclear during his dominance during the years of 1993 to 1997.


Thursday, August 1, 2013

NANCY'S: "CIVIL SOCIETY"

click on:  direct link to file. http://www.mediafire.com/?mj50a22puai8y84

NANCY'S PHILOSOPHY OF CIVIL-SOCIETY: Nancy consolidated his thought during the French-publication years of 1993 to 1997. This manuscript was published in 1996 and falls within that range. It should be considered as essential to understanding Nancy's overall position. Each work during these 4 years presented an important point-of-view concerning his structure of "Being".

In this text, he centers on the philosophy of civil society and adds that the "primary" function of philosophy is to articulate "civil-society". He traces this emphasis back to the Greeks of Athens; where even the theater played a role in presenting the"myth" that would inform the direction of society.

some of the more important aspects of this work consist of: (1) his first specific step-by-step articulation of the birth of the "self" when confronted by the "other". (2) a better presentation of "ex-scribing" as both moment and process. (3) and a better job of integrating the mediation of the "void-point" into the system; actually linking psychology and mythology. Nancy's system runs from psychology to mythology to ethics. Here, they are presented together.


Sunday, July 28, 2013

JEAN-LUC NANCY: AESTHETICS AND POLITICS WORK TOGETHER

click on:  direct link for file   http://www.mediafire.com/?seft7hd59ipg1mb



FOR NANCY, aesthetics must accompany ethics or politics as a “counter-blow” to keep the event “fluid” as event,  and not rigid dogma. He situates these operative realms at the “void-point” which is the “realm-of-spirit”.  Here are two brief snap-shots.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

NANCY'S: MYTH OF THE VOID-POINT

click on:  direct link for file     http://www.mediafire.com/?1ca74tr3chc04cu


Nancy’s system contains two main parts: a psychology for the logic of constructing the notion of the “true”.  And a mythology for the targeted area for positing called the “void-point”.

JURGEN MOLTMANN & JEAN-LUC NANCY: a shared prophesy

JURGEN MOLTMANN & JEAN-LUC NANCY: a shared prophesy

Jurgen Moltmann has been my theologian of choice for quite a few years; since 1975.  We also are good friends, which is even more important to me.  I have never allowed another individual to ascend to his plane until just recently; that person being jean-Luc Nancy. Nancy is a great post-modern fit for previous followers of Moltmann.  Nancy uses Christian language and even Christian concepts, but they are de-mythologized of course.  I’ve found a great deal of material which helps to establish a reciprocal relationship, with each informing the other.  That is why you’ve seen this upsurge of Nancy lectures on Moltmann’s site.   At this point it can only be an invitation; but I think you will arrive at a similar conclusion if you dig into Nancy’s original work.  Thank you, Barry Ballard.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

NANCY THROUGH HIS "5" SCHEMA:

click on:  direct link for file    http://www.mediafire.com/?0gw8gecgfuug5d9

A good workable understanding of Nancy simply requires learning his 5 schema.  Then you can anticipate his thought successfully.  It gives you a nice composite picture.  30 min. only

Friday, July 19, 2013

NANCY: THE OTHER HALF

click on: direct link  http://www.mediafire.com/?07dhbkon16qz8r4

***i just cleaned up the 8:32 point, so cleaner copy now.***


THIS IS ONE-HALF OF NANCY'S SYSTEM: Jean-Luc Nancy likes to approach philosophical problems in two-volume sets. He just finished his philosophy of religion as "dis-enclosure" and "adoration"; and both volumes were excellent. But during the years of 1993-1997, Nancy was interested in the structure of "being". (I'm using french publication dates here). Nancy's philosophy is best depicted as a "triad consisting of: (1). Hegel; (2). Kierkegaard; and (3). Nancy. Precisely stated Nancy is neo-kierkegaardian and neo-Hegelian. He does not reside in only one camp. Because of this deeper sense of personality to his thought, he approached the structure of being by first publishing "the sense of the world" in 1993. This book was to portray his consummate position, and it did. And, in the process, Nancy borrowed extensively from Kierkegaard's "Sickness unto death". The presentation was brilliant and powerful and presented the neo-kierkegaardian stance of Nancy' system. OK, that's half-done.

four years later in 1997, Nancy published this presentation of the structure-of- being, but within the context of Hegel's thought rather than Kierkegaard .

Monday, July 15, 2013

BADIOU: MORE DETAIL:

click on:  direct link  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/p1ea51e47u82m24/badiou6.mp3

BADIOU'S CLEAREST "THOUGHT-PICTURE":Badiou and Zizek are on a mission. They want to be the dominant voices of the post-modern movement; and things are evolving to be just that way.

Badiou has determined to lay down his philosophy in three large volumes of 600 pages each. In 2005, volume one appeared as "being and event". In 2009, this volume appeared as volume two of his overall philosophy. And like the philosopher he truly admires, Hegel; Badiou waited until he had finished these two volumes before writing the "Introduction". That's really the best way to approach an introduction. The introduction was just released this year as "philosophy and the event". You should probably read the small 2013 paperback first, but that's up to you. I did read the paperback first, and it is extremely helpful for understanding this second volume of Badiou's system.

So what is a logic, according to the Hegelian scheme of things? (By the way, Badiou has a love/hate relationship to Hegel; loves his psychology, hates his ontology)




Friday, July 5, 2013

BADIOU'S "TRUTH-PROCEDURE"

click on:   direct link   http://www.mediafire.com/listen/25ajugkqc185sc2/badiou3(2).mp3

AN INTRO: BUT FOR THE SCHOLAR: Even if you are already well-versed in post-modern thought. And even if you have already studied Badiou's "Being and Event"; you will want to purchase this manuscript which goes a long way at clarifying Badiou's position and any obscurities from the previous technical work. This text is accessible, but it is still written in philosophical language. I'd call it "conversational-philosophical" language.

This appears five years after"Being and Event"; and it takes up a methodology of the "Socratic dialogue" as a disclosure- tool. This text specifically centers the presentation of Badiou's position around the six specific steps of the "truth-procedure"; "3" in the unconscious and "3" in consciousness. The steps are: 1. Encounter; 2. Grasping; 3. Proposal; 4. Elaboration;
5. Incorporation; and 6. Positing. There is also a detailed articulation of "mediation", so nothing is left out. There is also an excellent discussion of "Art", which takes the place of "Religion" for badiou. "Art" is presented through a process of "4" moments, with each moment containing its own triad. It is very systematically presented.



Monday, July 1, 2013

SELF AS SPIRIT:

KIERKEGAARD AND NANCY: THE “15" STEPS TO REACHING “SELF” AS “SPIRIT”

(copyright: Barry L. Ballard, July 1, 2013)


1.   NANCY: inscribed.  Self begins with a preceding “origin-identity-truth” of self that is on-the-way to arriving completely. An inscribed “trace-of the-eternal” which is opening.

KIER: despair.  Self is in despair of “weakness”, but where introversion results in the “infinite-self” being posited as an abstract possibility.

2.   NANCY: inscription is opened in a “waking” moment.

KIER: abstract possibility opens as “primitive-plan”; the waking out of despair.

3.   NANCY: opening leads to “imagination”; an imagination which is “praxis-based”.

KIER: infinitizing. The imagination engages an unconscious activity of
“fantastical-expansion”.

4.   NANCY: internal posited desert.  Unconsciously,  the self reserves a “space” for the “feeling-percepts” of the “trace-of-sense” found in the situation that correspond to the trace within the self.

KIER: internal posited mirage.  The unconscious space for the feeling-percepts of possibilities is  not the entire desert; it is the fuzzy and non-distinct hint of a mirage of possibilities that don’t appear as hard-edged certainties.

5. NANCY: self forms a “body-of-pattern” called “world”.  Unconsciously,  and based on feelings, arranging the feeling-percepts of the desert into a  felt-model of “transformation” or “body-of-transformation”.

KIER: not a “body”, but a “pregnancy” is created as the “personality-of-sprit”; waiting for the mid-wife activity in cognition.

6.   NANCY: arrangement of sub-systems.  The self,  unconsciously , based on feelings, keeps relating the “thought-picture” of the “body-of-transformation” to the “process-of-appearing” in externality and recognizes that the “feeling-model” can be refined into a “punctuated” group of  sub-systems of “truth” that can then be organized into an “enchaining”of interrelated spacing and structure. Called: “originating-spatiality”

KIER: arrangement of sub-systems becomes less distinct in kierkegaard and means  the resolution  of contradictions facing the self in the mirage.  Therefore, he creates the step of “temporary-suspension” of the teleology of the moral-stand-point, in  favor of an eschatological ethics, similar to Abraham.

7. NANCY: “punctuation” concentrates into “central- glimmer” , which is more than the sum of punctuations.  It is represented as an influential “excess” of spirit.

KIER: “passage  through the eye of the needle” (part 1).  Begins as a process that first demands that the self posit the sense of the possibility of the divine , in  the new eschatological ethics.

8.   NANCY: situation narrows as cognition takes over.

KIER: “passage through the eye of the needle” (part 2).  For kierkegaard, it is a “fight” ; a fight against the pain of childbirth.  A “travail-of-birth- pangs” that means faith is not easily decided in view of the lack of certainty.

9.   NANCY: "passage through the eye of the needle".  Cognition takes up the “excess” in a responsible “faith-decision”.

KIER: “passage through the eye of  the needle” (part 3).  For  Kierkegaard,  self also takes responsibility for the excess of the mirage.  But that means choosing to be a “mid-wife”,  by a willingness to conceptualize the “infinitizing” into an “idealizing” of language that can be posited.

10. NANCY: cognition appropriates the feelings and the “body of transformation” with its imaginative possibilities

KIER: consciousness re-appropriates “infinitizing” and works it through a “cognitive-praxis” in the external world.

11.   NANCY: cognitive partitioning.  Cognition concretizes the “spatiality-model” of:
“punctuations” into “lexical content”   & “enchaining” into “lexical form”.

KIER: consciousness enlists a lexical content called: “transferred-language”, which is symbolic language of the spirit with metaphor ; used to articulate the “cognitive-praxis”.

12 NANCY: cognition also conceptualizes the “excess” as “infinite liberation”.

KIER: Kiekegaard’s cognition also conceptualizes the infinite-excess of possibility as:
“the generic-verb of “building-up”, rather than liberation.

13. NANCY: positing linguistically. self posits th result as “being-to be-completed”; or as an eschatological promise.

KIER: the model of “transferred-language” is coupled with the empowerment of “love-as-building-up” ; and is ready for positing.

14. NANCY: the result is actualized in the instability of the “realm-of-difference” or “appearing-process”.

KIER: the result is actualized in the “tendency-of a -community” of selves ; where all selves are perceived inscribed with the infinite ground.

15.   NANCY: result is returned to self.  Self grows in “spirit”.

KIER: the positing is relinquished to its own self-actualization and return.  Self grows as “spirit”.  



Sunday, June 30, 2013

NANCY'S ENTIRE SYSTEM:

click on:  direct link      http://www.mediafire.com/listen/8dvzccc8ams4v00/nancy3.mp3

A COMPREHENSIVE PRESENTATION OF THE "NANCY-SYSTEM". This is my third reading of Nancy. I recently finished his two-volume set on Christianity which were also excellent. However, I have a suggestion to make that will hopefully enrich your experience. Nancy is the 20th century version of Kierkegaard, as synthesized with Hegel. Nancy frequently references Kierkegaard's "Abraham and Isaac". But the best possible correlation is to be found in Kierkegaard' "sickness unto death". Read this very short piece first and you will have a tremendous leverage when discerning this text of Nancy's. Nancy's writing style is organized in a very precise manner. The chapter divisions mean something to Nancy. He separates ideas by chapters, which he keeps brief. This helps the reader to organize his thought, according to his own divisions. The text was written in 1993, but took till 1997 to reach an English translation. He was 53 years old when he wrote this and it was considered to be a culminating and inclusive work (which it is).


Thursday, June 27, 2013

KIERKEGAARD: WHY POST-MODERNS LOVE HIM

click on:  direct link http://www.mediafire.com/listen/zpj0hlbd8hm6kyr/kier.mp3

AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT by anyone's standards. Kierkegaard gives his readers, for the first time; the presentation of existentialism as a complete system. And especially as a system that is easily adaptable to post-modern thought. Kierkegaard is frequently being referenced by the post-moderns and there is a good reason. His thought profoundly addresses the issues that are just now being addressed in post-modern thinking. This applies especially to the idea of establishing the "self" as "spirit". And being obligated to fulfill this inscription and questioning. The benefits are numerous with reading this text; but a few gems are: 1. The articulation of the human condition as passing through five levels of despair. 2. The "3" moments of the unconscious as: a. inscription of the primitive-plan of spirit. b. The infinitizing of the imagination in reaching self-possibilities. c. synthesis in creating pregnancy of the "personality-of-spirit". 3. The work of consciousness as "mid-wife activity" in three steps of: a. infinitizing. b. praxis. c. finitizing. And 4. The constitution of the self through the posited Notion that becomes actualized in concrete reality in the tension of the available space "before god" - that prods us with the promise of "self"as"spirit".

Sunday, June 23, 2013

NANCY: CHRISTIANITY FOR 21ST CENTURY

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http://www.mediafire.com/listen/08mxmtt78ona76b/nancy2.mp3

THIS IS PART ONE OF A TWO-PART PROJECT. At the age of 68, Nancy set out to write his post-modern position on the Christian faith. That project lasted for 5 years and finished with volume two being published in 2013, when he turned 73. This is not meant to be a stand-alone volume. And Nancy even directs his reader to realize that no "system" of thought is being presented here. In fact he recommends reading the essays in any order you prefer, since they were lectures given at separate and diverse dates and address various issues in post-modern thinking. The publisher was gracious enough ,however, to split the project into two separate works; one addressing de-construction(this volume), and the other addressing re-construction. I actually read these volumes in reverse; and I'm glad I did. Volume two does present a complete system; and then you can integrate the essays from volume one. But for now, let me address this volume separately:

Saturday, June 15, 2013

JEAN-LUC NANCY: LIFE IS SPIRIT

click on:  DIRECT LINK. http://www.mediafire.com/listen/sj3vjnb7g70d55x/nancy.mp3

Nancy holds the Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Chair at the European Graduate School, which already makes me a fan. But, as much as I enjoyed this challenging book, I did find one hole in it that I wish he would fill. (I did not read volume one, so I can only address this volume as a self-contained unit) Nancy tells us humanity needs an awakening. This awakening will come about through a deconstruction of Christianity. Remember this: Nancy's position is a de-construction of a Christianity that "informs" his system. So don't just throw him out if you feel your Christian sensibility is being threatened. You will find much value here.

the emphasis is on the explored unconscious, rather than cognitive consciousness. This is the rule for post-modern thinking so don't be alarmed. Nancy says that we can return to the vitality that underlies Christianity if...


THE 5-STEP PROCESS OF NANCY’S “ADORATION”

1.  The self questions how the current “resonating-referral-state” can be opened towards co-existence.
2.  Questioning leaves the “rational” self facing  the “absurd” or the “abyss” of a huge dissemblance between universal co-existence and the particularities of contingency.
3.  The unconscious accompanies the positing with the motivation-set and the stored feeling-percept of the vertical intersection of reality by the “kenosis” of spirit.
4.  This is Kierkegaard’s “teleological suspension of the ethical”, where the self suspends the rational-logical evaluation of history and its “dissemblance.
5.  Self posits the “elevated language of affirmation”; in  spite of the tension we face and our own dis-placement.  We posit an  anticipatory opening of co-existence out of our “straining forward” standing purpose from the motivational set .  (Called “faith” in Christianity).

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

schliermacher changed hermeneutics: 25 min. from 19th cent.

click on:  DIRECT LINKhttp://www.mediafire.com/listen/ef4509awzyn0sbp/schlier.mp3

Schliermacher has gained popularity again in the post-modern era. His hermeneutics emerged in the 19th century and followed Schlegel's. he was influential with regard to the big "3" of the 20th century; Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer. He is considered to have created a new turning-point in hermeneutics, with his emphasis on psychology and the unconscious side of understanding. His monumental work was "the Christian faith", which was condensed to this version in 1911. This version is superb and excludes none of the essential material.  highly recommended


Saturday, June 8, 2013

WILHELM DILTHEY: HERMENEUTICS FROM 1910

click on:  DIRECT LINKhttp://www.mediafire.com/listen/k1og2005n82yv83/dilthey.mp3

WILHELM DILTHEY represents one of the "great three" in the development of philosophical hermeneutics in the 20th century; where we had: Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer. Dilthey held the Hegel-chair at Berlin University, so it should be no surprise that his approach emphasized the triad- type of analysis and emphasized history. The criticism against Dilthey has been that his writings don't present a cohesive structure and that he is difficult to follow.
His collected works in this volume actually make the best presentation of his position in the series.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

DERRIDA ON THE "GIFT"

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Derrida is best known as the "father of deconstructionism" for post-modern thought. But approaching this book from that narrow perspective would rob the reader of a great deal of significance in this work. This book truly is about "THE GIFT"; and that point should be honored. But the best key for understanding this manuscript is given to us by Derrida himself on page "9": "Even if that is not the case, nothing prevents us from putting a psychoanalytic reading of these words (Patocka's) to the test, at least on an experimental basis. This is Derrida's "philosophy of psychology", through the interpretive lens of Patocka. He willingly takes up this approach as an experiment because post-modern thinking has almost exclusively taken the subjective/psychological framework as their best model for articulation;

Thursday, May 30, 2013

GRONDIN'S PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS: entire project

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this book is used by Yale university as the primary text for philosophical hermeneutics. They have a high regard for its quality, as do I. Grondin is teaching here; so be prepared for a textbook type of presentation, although it reads fluidly. He takes the reader through the historical development of the concept of hermeneutics in eighteen stages. He ends with the detailed master of the post-modern age: Gadamer. This is how we get to Gadamer:

1. Allegory of the stoics in 1st cent AD.
2. Late stoicism & logos-universality
3. Typology: Christ as logos.
4. Augustine: clarify through parallel.
5. Aquinas: literal plus spiritual.
6. Facius: linguistic-based "key".
7.  Dannhauer:  logical analysis.
8. Chladenios: 4 kinds of obscurity.
9. Meier: assign places in sign-model.
10. Franke: affect dwells in every word.
11. Ast: single self-identical spirit.
12. Schlegel: transform intuition of antiquity.
13. Schliermacher: psychological expression of inwardness
14. Boekh: meaning within historical relationships.
15. Droysen: reclaim inwardness of historical.
16. Dlthey: structure presented signs in history
17. Heidegger: hermeneutic-circle.
18. Gadamer: 4-steps of "conversation"

Friday, May 17, 2013

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.

Monday, May 13, 2013

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.

Friday, May 3, 2013

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.

Monday, April 29, 2013

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",

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

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.


Friday, April 19, 2013

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 4th, 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. 

CLICK ON:  PART 1

OR

CLICK ON:  PART 2

Sunday, April 14, 2013

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

Thursday, April 11, 2013

LACAN'S INFLUENCE ON POSTMODERNS:

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All of the postmodern thinkers in philosophy today claim Lacan as their inspiration. Therefore, every thinker needs to investigate this psychological contribution. This book by Fink gives you an adequately in-depth look where you don't just get skimmed-over summary material but some relevant thought to apply to philosophy. The book is structured perfectly and so don't skip around. Start on page one and proceed. The book takes you logically through each structural step of the emerging "self" in Lacan's theory. Lacan gives Freud some radical ontological weight which inspired a lot of what we are reading today. Lacan flourished in the 60's when French philosophy was being re-born.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

deleuze: part II - epistemology

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Our positing of difference in the "Spatium" was to follow an epistemology of the triad of: 


"bodies - sense - event", which led to the manifestation of the incorporeal. This earlier volume from Columbia univ. press gives us the epistemology in detail. He concentrates on the 3rd moment of "event" and the "logic of sense", as the title announces. He presents an extremely detailed account of : manifestation of the singularity along the line of "past-future" on the surface of external bodies; next , signification as the"ideal-game", for which he lists "8" aspects. Then 3rd, he articulates abstraction along the "border-of-sense", as that creative frontier where our "rebel-element" emerges that stretches the present. Finally he addresses what many might miss: an actual doctrine of Hegel's "counter-blow". He calls it keeping concepts "liquid" and preventing them from the rigidity that is imposed by the "schizophrenic -self". This liquidity is presented as a triad of: word-passion / word-action / word-aesthetic (my rendition for this 3rd moment). The amount of information here is staggering. He is tough to completely assimilate. But take your time; conquer questions immediately before moving on. I did this with his 1994 book; and then this one was much more accessible. Deleuze offers real transcendence for post-moderns; but it is a "produced" transcendence. After completing this volume you should have a firm grasp on his thought. 5 stars of course.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

marx on representation

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THE MARX ESSAY WAS BRILLIANT AS WELL. Interestingly, you will read the bulk of the essay, minus the final 20 pages and then Hartley breaks out an in-depth summary of "structure" for the former content he just discussed. Take good notes in the beginning and this late structure-contribution is extremely helpful. It lifts Marx out of strict capitalism economics. And adds social dialectic. Ths was an interesting presentation of Marx which synthesized it into postmodern thinking.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

DELEUZE: REAL TRANSCENDENCE

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After a long list of postmodern neo-Marxist Hegelians, we finally come across the first postmodern thinker to posit real "transcendence", which he calls "difference". I've read Crockett before and he is more than adequate in taking up the challenge of presenting this difficult position of Deleuze. It is a difficult text and Crockett assumes some familiarity with deleuze already. This is not an intro summary. He digs into the depth of the position and the process is demanding to the reader. I had to do some additional research on wiki so that I stayed even with the text and didn't get left behind. And I feel I have a fairly good grasp of the new left philosophy. There is a realm in the external world called the "spatium". This spiritual dimension is that realm where the interplay between the corporeal and the incorporeal takes place; on the "border of sense". After the self is driven back into the unconscious and becomes the dissolved self or elastic-self; then the process can begin for "inscribing" this intensity of meaning into the extensity of external bodily reality. In this way situation is transformed into horizon-event.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

PSYCHOLOGY OF REPRESENTATION

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Hartley is language-oriented, because of his English background ; and he insists on respecting the original meanings of Hegel's German text. But he obviously has a substantial background in philosophy as well. Hartley is wearing Zizek sunglasses when he presents his Hegelian position. That's ok; these are postmodern times and he is addressing representation from a postmodern perspective. And he gets it right! Zizek told us during his conference at Indiana university on St. Paul that his thought is situated in Hegel's psychology! Hartley takes zizek at his word and adopts this presupposition for his analysis of Hegel's doctrine of representation.


In doing this; Hartley announces the upcoming break or displacement that necessarily results: "Representation" isn't going to look the same; things are going to shift in their location, including a few tweaks to content . I didn't know what to make of this, but after digging in; I found that considering representation within the context of psychology really does change things and it also brings some interesting points to light, where you find yourself puzzled and saying: "hey, I thought I had already mastered all of this".

A major initial point to be recognized says Hartley is that "vorstellung" and "darstellung" cannot be dissolved by translating them as the same. They are different moments of the same representation-process and deserve precise translation and articulation. Another huge step in methodology is the positing of the notion as a "stepping-out" of the representation-circuit in order to establish the real.

Yes; you will have to know Hegel ahead of time, so you can understand these changes he proposes and their consequences. Construction work-spaces in subjectivity shift around. And the birth of the proposition gets articulation here as an emergence beyond , or on the far end of the realm of ideation.

Hartley has gifted insight into something we all thought was "settled" . It is not settled. He just opened it up again; and I'm glad he did.  How many stars do you give to entirely new thought? "5"

Monday, March 25, 2013

ABEYSEKARA SAYS "UN-INHERIT"

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A B E Y S E K A R A : this book is part of the Insurrection series from Columbia, which has established a very high standard of excellence. This book shares that excellence. The key to understanding Abeysekara's position is to be aware of the fact that the concepts of "democracy" and "Christianity" have reached an intersection-point of inconsistency; where they cannot proceed forward. This inconsistency is labeled an "Aporia". When we arrive at this critical point of impossible synthesis; we must entertain the possibility of actually un-inheriting, or abandoning the failing concepts; abandoning even the "name". Therefore, for the first time, we find a thinker who views postmodern "reconstruction" as part of the problem; a desperate determination to cling to these inconsistent names. In this way, the author is one of the first postmoderns to actually posit a complete "break" in the self, falling all the way back to the "abyss", not just the explored unconscious. As a example of an internal positing of an aporia in the explored unconscious; he articulates a 7-step process for 9/11 which was informative. Positing employs a triad consisting of "responsibility-community-democracy" and this triad is posited after the birth of the "free-self". When discussing the mediation of conscience, he uses the example of Tibet. This is an interesting approach. Integrating 9/11 and Tibet into the task of postmodern thinking really drove home the issues that are at stake.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

BRETON INTERPRETS THE CROSS:

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Breton's most famous work was "A radical philosophy of saint Paul", published in 2011 when his refined postmodern position was put forward. This work from 9 years prior reveals to the reader the pre-formative emergence of that postmodern thought. One of the big differences we see is the presentation of the existential emotive base to his thinking that was missing in 2011. Bultmann fills this position here and lends to additional work in the areas of articulating the feeling-percepts of the paradox of the logos of the cross; which then contribute to defining the motivational set of standing-purposes in the unconscious. Basically he says the cross calls for two judgments and two reversals to form our motivation. He even goes on to propose four standing-purposes of his own. Then transferring into consciousness leads to triad-presentations of the unity of community as: "word-spirit-purpose"; and the triad for the logos of the cross as: "being-thought-life". He presents the logic of the cross in an 8-step process to define positing. What you will find is an emerging process headed towards the neo-left stance that isn't quite "radical" yet. This book, therefore, will even satisfy conservatives. At times, he sounds like a professor at a Christian college instead of a postmodern philosopher.

Monday, March 18, 2013

GLOBAL TERRORISM SOLVED IN 30 MIN.

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SLOTERDIJK TAKES ON "RAGE" AS THE GREEK "thymos": I am approaching this work from a philosopher's perspective and not that of a political theorist. As part of Columbia'a "Insurrection" series, it addresses the postmodern neo-left wing Hegelians and their almost exclusive presentation within subjective spirit. Sloterdijk truly offers something "new"; and you should not skip this book in the series. I like his approach of taking the Greek word "thymos" and using it for the manifestation, on the side, of those victimized; and then using the same word again for that which is required on the side of those who want to posit the "true". First, please understand; if you are an American, you are "hated" - resentment towards the united states is a global problem. So this book by a well-known German philosopher , although for all Westerners, strongly applies to Americans. Victims have passed through three stages: victimization, internalization, and transformation. Transformation has passed through seven stages of its own. If you want to help and make a difference; you'll have to build a new self-model first - clean your own house first. Then you can participate in re-constructing a social-model.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

ZIZEK: 1,000 PAGES IN 30 MINUTES.

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ARE YOU READY TO BRING THE KNIFE DOWN? Zizek is being tortured! He's upset about that. The language-game of philosophical discourse has been thrust upon him and it has been his tortured enclosure. He is an artist, a poet, a movie-goer, an attender of plays. His response therefore, is to torture this philosophy- language "back". He does this with the torsion-drive of a generic concept of "aesthetics". And he asks you to take your offspring of conceptual language (code-name Isaac) and put it on the altar before proceeding with his manuscript. Take the knife in your hand and prepare to sacrifice. Zizek is not difficult to understand. He is brilliant and accessible. But, he is a "slow-slow-slow-slow" read. That's to the 4th power. This 1,000 page book could have probably been reduced to 100 pages of conceptual presentation if you subtracted out the 900 pages of representative "thought-pictures" from the area of aesthetics he uses for illustration. You must (mandatory) have read and understood Badiou's "Being and Event"(2005) before taking on this manuscript. Zizek and Badiou have many similarities and mutually respect each other. Zizek lists his specific differences in the last section, but, by taking up Badiou's point of view, I felt these objections didn't hold much strength. Personally, I agree almost entirely with Zizek's position, so I just gained a lot of reinforcement a good part of the time. But I'm a "conceptual" kind of thinker; just "give me the facts";

Sunday, March 10, 2013

BADIOU EXPLAINS SET THEORY:

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BADIOU: SOMEONE LIKE PLATO OR HEGEL AMONG US.


Now I understand why Zizek holds Badiou in such high regard. It is because of this book from 2005; most assuredly. I have read approximately "8" postmodern thinkers from France and Italy thus far; and all of them begin with a fundamental presupposition: the announce that they will presume "set-theory". This preface does qualify any writer at least in the realms of externality and the unconscious. Only during re-construction do we see the differences emerge. Now I realize that Badiou Is the foundational source of all neo-left postmodern philosophy. This book is already being hailed as a Masterpiece; and a turning-point in European philosophy. I can see why. I've studied Badiou before, but this manuscript has much more logical and in-depth presentation. This manuscript presents Badiou's "set-theory", from alpha to omega. It takes set-theory to its eventual conclusions in every area of subjectivity and objectivity. Nothing is excluded. He uses triads for a few of the more difficult areas, which is helpful . You will finally understand the finer points of postmodern thought that others only touched on. This is the adventure - actually "seeing", for the first time, the thought behind the postmodern movement in France


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

VATTIMO - unique postmodern theology

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We might ask: if we already understand the neo-left post-modern position; why is another source acceptable or necessary. The answer: only if it  offers genuine new content!! Vattimo does just that and should not be ignored or simply integrated into a summarized stance on postmodern thought. He is the first to address the unexplored unconscious and offer the correct emotional undertones of the postmodern movement: Freud’s understanding of the unconscious; Hegel’s overwhelming influence in offering the incarnation as god’s self-emptying process (yes, finally, a postmodern admits that it is Hegel in the background all along. Of course; they don’t like his ontology, but vattimo admits his significant influence. And the 3rd emotive contribution is the disintegration of the colonized nations dominated by a Christian influence (the Zeitgeist thing). All of these three set up an emotional unconscious base. In deconstruction; we are to deconstruct literal interpretation of the bible and deconstruct violence. His reconstruction finally addresses what other postmoderns have assumed but not articulated: the language triad of sign-concept-metaphor.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

THE POSTMODERN "RIGHT"

if you want a balanced perspective concerning theology today ; you must also examine the postmodern "right", represented by milbank in 2009.  40 min.

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http://www.mediafire.com/?q77cew4tjdtkk4c

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013

THE POSTMODERN SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

Stanislas Breton of France, in his book on st. Paul became the founder of postmodern theology today.  every postmodern thinker gives him credit for establishing its starting-point.  he died in 2005, but left us his book, "the radical theology of st. paul.  you won't want to ignore this book.  it shook the globe the same way that Moltmann shook the world with "theology of hope".

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http://www.mediafire.com/?055ahkrsxlppw83

Friday, February 15, 2013

Monday, February 11, 2013

ST. PAUL - POSTMODERN INTERPRETATION

indiana university in 2005 ran a roundtable on postmodern interpretations of paul.  a leftist eschatological framework emerged.

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http://www.mediafire.com/?g4m1cn4b1au53ih

only 20 min.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

THEOLOGY MUST INFORM DEMOCRACY

Robbins tells us that theology informs democracy's content through three generic concepts:  1.  "death of god" (post-modern style); 2.  "universality"; and 3.  "eschatological force".  he is another who has benefitted from moltmann's work over the years. 

http://www.mediafire.com/?pst8qcrsj334x56

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Saturday, February 2, 2013

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

heidegger's strange interpretation of hegel's psychology:

IN RUBENTEIN'S "STRANGE WONDER"

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After returning out of Moltmann’s "differentiation", how deeply should we internalize the result and the re-emergence????? Perhaps deeper than Hegel proposed!!!!!!!

http://www.mediafire.com/?yvb14vnmoe8ia62

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

FIRST TIME EVER: Moltmann's hermeneutics

John Caputo, in 2007, presented the first Hegelian hermeneutic that functions as a Moltmann hermeneutic, being eschatological in nature.   FIRST EVER TO DO SO.

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http://www.mediafire.com/?hk1gma61l1d56fe

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Catherine Malabou borrows moltmann's "Tendency"

Malabou presents her version of Deconstructionism and the Hegelian left as "plasticity"

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http://www.mediafire.com/?gsspdo872da7254