Phenomenology, Religion and Violence
Keynote by Dr. Michael Staudigl, University of Vienna:
On making transcendence together.
Toward a phenomenology of religious violence
In this talk I will argue that phenomenology offers us a viable framework to productively think through the relation between religion and violence. I hypothesize that this correlation needs to be reconsidered in a threefold perspective (religio triplex) in order to avoid our all too well known reductionist conceptions of "religious violence." With this desideratum in mind, I argue for distinguishing between a) the originary violence of revelation, "absolute affection," shaking transcendence (mysterium tremendum et fascinans), etc.; b) the violent implications of concrete socio-topologies of the sacred and the profane; and c) the violent potentials transmitted in the narrative semantics of religious traditions. In order to properly distinguish these three layers and to shed light on their complex dynamism and interplay, I will draw upon Schutz's theory of "multiple realities," Merleau-Ponty's "phenomenology of embodiment," and Ricoeur's "poietics of the possible God." In conclusion, this will lead me to conceptualize religion in terms of "making transcendence together"—-a conceptualization that explicitly avows an intrinsic correlation of religion and violence but also stresses the perfect contingency of "religious violence."
Programme
Conference programme Friday February 2, 9:30 am - 5:15 pm
When & where?
Keynote lecture:
Thursday, February 1, 20:00
Faculty of Philosophy, room Omega
Rest of the programme:
Friday, February 2, 9:30 - 5:15
Van Swinderenhuys, Club Lounge
Fee, book
Conference fee: € 25,00; for students € 10,00
All participants will receive a copy of the presented book
| Last modified: | 12 June 2023 8.25 p.m. |