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Title: Visions, secular and sacred.: An article from: The Hastings Center Report
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| Visions, secular and sacred.: An article from: The Hastings Center Report by Hastings Center Sensible, Moderate, and Delightful | Midgley is something of a marvel - a true common-sense philosopher. I'm a bit baffled as to why she doesn't circulate more than she does.
I strongly recommend purchasing this brief article - it's dirt cheap, and a good introduction to her meatier and more thorough books such as _Evolution_as_a_Religion_ (a defense of what Evolution really is, as well as what it means for the stories we tell of ourselves and our world: it is not a proposal to turn evolution into a religion or an attack on evolutionary theory, only an attack on some of the dramas that slip in under the aegis of that legitimate scientific theory, distorting the theory and perverting human nature as a result) and _Science_and_Poetry_. You really ought to buy both.
I've known for some time that "religion" is not equivalent to Protestant fundamentalism, but is a dimension of anthropology, rather than some kind of "idea-virus" or "meme" that operates as something additional and superfluous to the fullness of our humanity (the bogus science and metaphoric underpinnings of Dawkins' "meme" is addressed in both of Midgley's books that I mentioned above: it is not addressed in this article). I've also been aware that the dramas and metaphors that are used by many who champion "reason" against "superstition" are themselves dependent upon and indebted to the dramas and categories inherited from their chosen enemies ("the children of light" vs. "the children of darkness," anyone?). I've also noticed that they seem a bit preoccupied with Protestant fundamentalism, and rhetorically equate that with Christianity. How irritating and conversation-stopping for the rest of us.
However, I'd never really considered at length the mythology (I do not use that word pejoratively or derogatively - I'm quite comfortable talking about my own) of those who live through the peculiar drama of "scientism," or the actual symbolic world they live in. Midgley shows us what that is, and compares it with some of the parallel elements she finds unfavorable in other traditions/mythologies. She is not simplistic. She recognizes the complexity of this kind of dramatic/religious/symbolic phenomenon, and yet speaks about it rather simply, in a manner that any literate person can grasp.
Highly recommended. If you are limited on time, at the very least read it together with _Evolution_as_a_Religion_. | | Visions, secular and sacred.: An article from: The Hastings Center Report by Hastings Center Product Description | This digital document is an article from The Hastings Center Report, published by Hastings Center on September 1, 1995. The length of the article is 6461 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Visions, secular and sacred.
Author: Mary Midgley
Publication: The Hastings Center Report (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1995
Publisher: Hastings Center
Volume: v25 Issue: n5 Page: p20(8)
Distributed by Thomson Gale |
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