June O. Leavitt
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199827831
- eISBN:
- 9780199919444
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827831.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
A belief in spiritual destiny and the existence of the soul runs through Kafka’s dream chronicles. Similarly, a thematic treatment of the soul and its transmigrations figures in some of his fiction. ...
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A belief in spiritual destiny and the existence of the soul runs through Kafka’s dream chronicles. Similarly, a thematic treatment of the soul and its transmigrations figures in some of his fiction. Two short stories Kafka wrote in 1917--“The Bucket Rider” and “The Hunter Gracchus” deal with after-life experiences. To better understand Kafka’s eschatological viewpoint which is a component of his mystical life, this chapter examines the symbols and motifs used in these two stories to portray the journey of the soul. However, Kafka’s representation of transmigration can also be understood in light of theories about post-death experiences and doctrines of reincarnation associated with certain esoteric traditions which were revived during the modern Spiritual Revival.Less
A belief in spiritual destiny and the existence of the soul runs through Kafka’s dream chronicles. Similarly, a thematic treatment of the soul and its transmigrations figures in some of his fiction. Two short stories Kafka wrote in 1917--“The Bucket Rider” and “The Hunter Gracchus” deal with after-life experiences. To better understand Kafka’s eschatological viewpoint which is a component of his mystical life, this chapter examines the symbols and motifs used in these two stories to portray the journey of the soul. However, Kafka’s representation of transmigration can also be understood in light of theories about post-death experiences and doctrines of reincarnation associated with certain esoteric traditions which were revived during the modern Spiritual Revival.
Cynthia Grant Tucker
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195390209
- eISBN:
- 9780199866670
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195390209.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Pulling the narrative strands together, this chapter describes first the Eliots' evolving perceptions of life after death, from a literal heaven of family reunions to an ongoing mystical life of ...
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Pulling the narrative strands together, this chapter describes first the Eliots' evolving perceptions of life after death, from a literal heaven of family reunions to an ongoing mystical life of spirits who visit and counsel the living, to memories and good works that live on through subsequent generations, to the natural process of human atoms being returned to the universe to recombine in new forms and to take on new missions. More central, the chapter looks at the ways the Eliots manage the distance between the living and dead by preserving mementoes, creating memorials, writing their loved one's biographies, recording their histories on tape, and embracing the pain and struggle of separation.Less
Pulling the narrative strands together, this chapter describes first the Eliots' evolving perceptions of life after death, from a literal heaven of family reunions to an ongoing mystical life of spirits who visit and counsel the living, to memories and good works that live on through subsequent generations, to the natural process of human atoms being returned to the universe to recombine in new forms and to take on new missions. More central, the chapter looks at the ways the Eliots manage the distance between the living and dead by preserving mementoes, creating memorials, writing their loved one's biographies, recording their histories on tape, and embracing the pain and struggle of separation.
Ralph Houlbrooke
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208761
- eISBN:
- 9780191678134
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208761.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, Social History
This chapter discusses religious beliefs concerning the hereafter. Christian beliefs informed and coloured what was written about the life after death by ...
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This chapter discusses religious beliefs concerning the hereafter. Christian beliefs informed and coloured what was written about the life after death by all sorts of literate lay people in media of expression as diverse as poetry, letters, diaries, epitaphs, and preambles to wills. During the Middle Ages new ideas emerged about the location and nature of heavenly space. Medieval schoolmen sought to achieve a synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian conceptions of the universe. Late antiquity and the Middle Ages also elaborated the picture of hell as a place of everlasting torment.Less
This chapter discusses religious beliefs concerning the hereafter. Christian beliefs informed and coloured what was written about the life after death by all sorts of literate lay people in media of expression as diverse as poetry, letters, diaries, epitaphs, and preambles to wills. During the Middle Ages new ideas emerged about the location and nature of heavenly space. Medieval schoolmen sought to achieve a synthesis of Christian theology and Aristotelian conceptions of the universe. Late antiquity and the Middle Ages also elaborated the picture of hell as a place of everlasting torment.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198236986
- eISBN:
- 9780191598593
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198236980.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Evidence of ‘near‐death’ experiences, parapsychology, and claims of reincarnation do not constitute very good evidence that human souls survive the death of their bodies. Nor are there good ...
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Evidence of ‘near‐death’ experiences, parapsychology, and claims of reincarnation do not constitute very good evidence that human souls survive the death of their bodies. Nor are there good philosophical arguments for the natural immortality of souls. Yet there are no natural laws connecting the existence or functioning of a soul with the existence or functioning of a body. Only an argument via some very general metaphysical theory could show what happens to a soul after death – e.g. an argument to a God who has revealed what happens.Less
Evidence of ‘near‐death’ experiences, parapsychology, and claims of reincarnation do not constitute very good evidence that human souls survive the death of their bodies. Nor are there good philosophical arguments for the natural immortality of souls. Yet there are no natural laws connecting the existence or functioning of a soul with the existence or functioning of a body. Only an argument via some very general metaphysical theory could show what happens to a soul after death – e.g. an argument to a God who has revealed what happens.
Paul Ricoeur
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226713496
- eISBN:
- 9780226713502
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226713502.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
When French philosopher Paul Ricoeur died in 2005, he bequeathed to the world a highly regarded, widely influential body of work which established him as one of the greatest thinkers of our time. He ...
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When French philosopher Paul Ricoeur died in 2005, he bequeathed to the world a highly regarded, widely influential body of work which established him as one of the greatest thinkers of our time. He also left behind a number of unfinished projects that are gathered here and translated into English for the first time. This book consists of one major essay and nine fragments. Composed in 1996, the essay is the kernel of an unrealized book on the subject of mortality. Likely inspired by his wife's approaching death, it examines not one's own passing but one's experience of others dying. Ricoeur notes that when thinking about death the imagination is paramount, since we cannot truly experience our own passing. But those we leave behind do, and Ricoeur posits that the idea of life after death originated in the awareness of our own end posthumously resonating with our survivors. The fragments in this volume were written over the course of the last few months of Ricoeur's life as his health failed, and they represent his very last work. They cover a range of topics, touching on biblical scholarship, the philosophy of language, and the idea of selfhood he first addressed in Oneself as Another. And while they contain numerous philosophical insights, these fragments are perhaps most significant for providing an invaluable look at Ricoeur's mind at work. As poignant as it is perceptive, this book is a moving testimony to Ricoeur's willingness to confront his own mortality with serious questions, a touching insouciance, and hope for the future.Less
When French philosopher Paul Ricoeur died in 2005, he bequeathed to the world a highly regarded, widely influential body of work which established him as one of the greatest thinkers of our time. He also left behind a number of unfinished projects that are gathered here and translated into English for the first time. This book consists of one major essay and nine fragments. Composed in 1996, the essay is the kernel of an unrealized book on the subject of mortality. Likely inspired by his wife's approaching death, it examines not one's own passing but one's experience of others dying. Ricoeur notes that when thinking about death the imagination is paramount, since we cannot truly experience our own passing. But those we leave behind do, and Ricoeur posits that the idea of life after death originated in the awareness of our own end posthumously resonating with our survivors. The fragments in this volume were written over the course of the last few months of Ricoeur's life as his health failed, and they represent his very last work. They cover a range of topics, touching on biblical scholarship, the philosophy of language, and the idea of selfhood he first addressed in Oneself as Another. And while they contain numerous philosophical insights, these fragments are perhaps most significant for providing an invaluable look at Ricoeur's mind at work. As poignant as it is perceptive, this book is a moving testimony to Ricoeur's willingness to confront his own mortality with serious questions, a touching insouciance, and hope for the future.
Keith Ward
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269618
- eISBN:
- 9780191683718
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269618.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, World Religions
This chapter examines the view of Judaism and Islam on human destiny. Judaism holds little interest in life after death but Jewish philosopher Maimonides has included in his list of basic beliefs ...
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This chapter examines the view of Judaism and Islam on human destiny. Judaism holds little interest in life after death but Jewish philosopher Maimonides has included in his list of basic beliefs important to Judaism a belief in the resurrection of the dead. Belief in life after death is much central central to Islam than it is in Judaism. The most fundamental motif of Islam is the feat of the Last Judgment and the Lord of the Day.Less
This chapter examines the view of Judaism and Islam on human destiny. Judaism holds little interest in life after death but Jewish philosopher Maimonides has included in his list of basic beliefs important to Judaism a belief in the resurrection of the dead. Belief in life after death is much central central to Islam than it is in Judaism. The most fundamental motif of Islam is the feat of the Last Judgment and the Lord of the Day.
Susan Starr Sered
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195104677
- eISBN:
- 9780199853267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195104677.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
One of the standard categories used by historians of religion to evaluate religions is “this-worldly” versus “other-worldly.” This-worldly religion emphasizes life in the here and now, relationships ...
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One of the standard categories used by historians of religion to evaluate religions is “this-worldly” versus “other-worldly.” This-worldly religion emphasizes life in the here and now, relationships between people, and the alleviation of suffering in this world during this lifetime. Other-worldly religion focuses attention on life after death, future redemption, and mystical truth. Although no religion is totally this-worldly or totally other-worldly, many scholars find that this terminology is useful in showing us where particular religions invest the most energy, thought, and time. Other-worldly religions may be less ritually rich, or may direct their rituals toward self-perfection and future salvation. Women's religions, attentive to alleviating suffering in the here and now, are characterized by a this-worldly orientation. It is of interest to compare Buddhism to the women's religions that are situated in Buddhist societies. Women's religions in Buddhist societies challenge the other-worldly inclination of Buddhism.Less
One of the standard categories used by historians of religion to evaluate religions is “this-worldly” versus “other-worldly.” This-worldly religion emphasizes life in the here and now, relationships between people, and the alleviation of suffering in this world during this lifetime. Other-worldly religion focuses attention on life after death, future redemption, and mystical truth. Although no religion is totally this-worldly or totally other-worldly, many scholars find that this terminology is useful in showing us where particular religions invest the most energy, thought, and time. Other-worldly religions may be less ritually rich, or may direct their rituals toward self-perfection and future salvation. Women's religions, attentive to alleviating suffering in the here and now, are characterized by a this-worldly orientation. It is of interest to compare Buddhism to the women's religions that are situated in Buddhist societies. Women's religions in Buddhist societies challenge the other-worldly inclination of Buddhism.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198237983
- eISBN:
- 9780191598548
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198237987.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
A final goal that a good God would have in creating would be to create creatures who could know, interact with, and worship their holy creator. He will thus sometimes answer their petitionary ...
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A final goal that a good God would have in creating would be to create creatures who could know, interact with, and worship their holy creator. He will thus sometimes answer their petitionary prayers, and give them the opportunity to discover and love him or to fail to do so, before giving to those who take that opportunity to enjoy the Beatific Vision of himself in life after death.Less
A final goal that a good God would have in creating would be to create creatures who could know, interact with, and worship their holy creator. He will thus sometimes answer their petitionary prayers, and give them the opportunity to discover and love him or to fail to do so, before giving to those who take that opportunity to enjoy the Beatific Vision of himself in life after death.
Kevin Ohi
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816654932
- eISBN:
- 9781452946313
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816654932.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter discusses the words hover, torment, and waste that resurface in a series of late Henry James’ writings—his introduction to Rupert Brooke’s Letters from America; A Small Boy and Others; ...
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This chapter discusses the words hover, torment, and waste that resurface in a series of late Henry James’ writings—his introduction to Rupert Brooke’s Letters from America; A Small Boy and Others; Is There a Life after Death?, a letter to Robert S. Rantoul for the 1904 Hawthorne centennial; and his preface to The Tempest. Hover, torment, and waste present different modes of self-subtraction through which author and reader meet. The chapter examines James’s description of Brooke’s early death in the context of the relationship between art and life, and text and world.Less
This chapter discusses the words hover, torment, and waste that resurface in a series of late Henry James’ writings—his introduction to Rupert Brooke’s Letters from America; A Small Boy and Others; Is There a Life after Death?, a letter to Robert S. Rantoul for the 1904 Hawthorne centennial; and his preface to The Tempest. Hover, torment, and waste present different modes of self-subtraction through which author and reader meet. The chapter examines James’s description of Brooke’s early death in the context of the relationship between art and life, and text and world.
Clive D. Field
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198799474
- eISBN:
- 9780191839740
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198799474.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Belief in the supernatural remained strong, especially among women, albeit a hybrid of orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and folklore, individually or communally customized in a ‘pick-and-mix’ of convictions ...
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Belief in the supernatural remained strong, especially among women, albeit a hybrid of orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and folklore, individually or communally customized in a ‘pick-and-mix’ of convictions and habits, often only loosely connected with institutional religion. Sample surveys shed some light on this world. Belief in God exceeded three-quarters, but support for a personal God diminished. Likewise, belief in Jesus Christ was steady at four-fifths, but His divinity was increasingly doubted. Belief in an afterlife was less pervasive, held by about one-half, with hell dropping out of, and reincarnation coming into, fashion. Some paranormal beliefs appealed to one in two people, others to only one-tenth, although more paid lip-service than believed, especially when it came to practising superstitions or reading horoscopes. Alternative beliefs notably attracted the young. A minority of the population claimed to have had a ‘religious’ experience, usually just once or twice, and often not obviously religious.Less
Belief in the supernatural remained strong, especially among women, albeit a hybrid of orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and folklore, individually or communally customized in a ‘pick-and-mix’ of convictions and habits, often only loosely connected with institutional religion. Sample surveys shed some light on this world. Belief in God exceeded three-quarters, but support for a personal God diminished. Likewise, belief in Jesus Christ was steady at four-fifths, but His divinity was increasingly doubted. Belief in an afterlife was less pervasive, held by about one-half, with hell dropping out of, and reincarnation coming into, fashion. Some paranormal beliefs appealed to one in two people, others to only one-tenth, although more paid lip-service than believed, especially when it came to practising superstitions or reading horoscopes. Alternative beliefs notably attracted the young. A minority of the population claimed to have had a ‘religious’ experience, usually just once or twice, and often not obviously religious.
Julia Meszaros
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199659289
- eISBN:
- 9780191764752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199659289.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion
This article examines the connection between self-sacrifice and human selfhood. It sets out with the observation that while certain manifestations of self-sacrifice must rightly be condemned as ...
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This article examines the connection between self-sacrifice and human selfhood. It sets out with the observation that while certain manifestations of self-sacrifice must rightly be condemned as destructive of the self, self-sacrifice cannot be rejected as a whole. Doing so, it is argued, only engenders new risks and compromises our understanding of what it means to be a relational human being in the face of finitude and sin. Against this background, and with particular recourse to the thought of Gabriel Marcel, the main argument of the article is developed. This consists in the development of a criteriology for when and why self-sacrifice does in fact have the potential to build up and fulfil, rather than undermine, the self. The proposed founding criteria for self-sacrifice include an intersubjective anthropology, the dependency of self-sacrifice on love and desire, and an affirmation of life after death.Less
This article examines the connection between self-sacrifice and human selfhood. It sets out with the observation that while certain manifestations of self-sacrifice must rightly be condemned as destructive of the self, self-sacrifice cannot be rejected as a whole. Doing so, it is argued, only engenders new risks and compromises our understanding of what it means to be a relational human being in the face of finitude and sin. Against this background, and with particular recourse to the thought of Gabriel Marcel, the main argument of the article is developed. This consists in the development of a criteriology for when and why self-sacrifice does in fact have the potential to build up and fulfil, rather than undermine, the self. The proposed founding criteria for self-sacrifice include an intersubjective anthropology, the dependency of self-sacrifice on love and desire, and an affirmation of life after death.
Robert Horton
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231167437
- eISBN:
- 9780231850568
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231167437.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This introductory chapter seeks to identify the timeless cult (with all its religious overtones) appeal of the Frankenstein story, particularly for children, as it is captured in cinema via the 1931 ...
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This introductory chapter seeks to identify the timeless cult (with all its religious overtones) appeal of the Frankenstein story, particularly for children, as it is captured in cinema via the 1931 film of the same name. At the elemental level, Frankenstein is a story of birth—and of “giving birth”, even as it addresses the realisation of death, and the possibility of life after death—both of which would doubtless appeal to and appease childhood anxieties. Additionally, belief systems generally invent an afterlife, or reincarnation, and so does Frankenstein's Monster, as it keeps returning, even after his many deaths, to go about his usual business. The cinema itself is a defiance of death, a graveyard where viewers can re-live past experiences, hear the voices of the dead, and see people long gone. The Frankenstein Monster is the perfect leading man for this ritual.Less
This introductory chapter seeks to identify the timeless cult (with all its religious overtones) appeal of the Frankenstein story, particularly for children, as it is captured in cinema via the 1931 film of the same name. At the elemental level, Frankenstein is a story of birth—and of “giving birth”, even as it addresses the realisation of death, and the possibility of life after death—both of which would doubtless appeal to and appease childhood anxieties. Additionally, belief systems generally invent an afterlife, or reincarnation, and so does Frankenstein's Monster, as it keeps returning, even after his many deaths, to go about his usual business. The cinema itself is a defiance of death, a graveyard where viewers can re-live past experiences, hear the voices of the dead, and see people long gone. The Frankenstein Monster is the perfect leading man for this ritual.
Paul F. Snowdon
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198719618
- eISBN:
- 9780191788703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198719618.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Here the focus is on non-dissociation arguments against animalism. A number of such arguments drawn from the writings of Lynne Rudder Baker are considered and rejected. Eric Olson’s argument, based ...
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Here the focus is on non-dissociation arguments against animalism. A number of such arguments drawn from the writings of Lynne Rudder Baker are considered and rejected. Eric Olson’s argument, based on the fact that it seems that brains and heads can be counted as thinking, is also considered and rejected. Although there is no proof that there are no good non-dissociation arguments it is concluded that the known ones are not cogent. The question then is what implications animalism has. It is argued that it is a metaphysical thesis which is of intrinsic interest to us, and so its relevance does not depend on external implications. It is argued though that if true it does not imply anything like the correctness of vegetarianism, nor that the notion of humanity is a basic notion in moral thinking. It creates problems for the idea of life after death. However, there is some chance that it will illuminate our thinking about what is good in human life, when we recognize our fundamental animal nature.Less
Here the focus is on non-dissociation arguments against animalism. A number of such arguments drawn from the writings of Lynne Rudder Baker are considered and rejected. Eric Olson’s argument, based on the fact that it seems that brains and heads can be counted as thinking, is also considered and rejected. Although there is no proof that there are no good non-dissociation arguments it is concluded that the known ones are not cogent. The question then is what implications animalism has. It is argued that it is a metaphysical thesis which is of intrinsic interest to us, and so its relevance does not depend on external implications. It is argued though that if true it does not imply anything like the correctness of vegetarianism, nor that the notion of humanity is a basic notion in moral thinking. It creates problems for the idea of life after death. However, there is some chance that it will illuminate our thinking about what is good in human life, when we recognize our fundamental animal nature.
Martha C. Nussbaum
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199777853
- eISBN:
- 9780190267612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199777853.003.0026
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter reviews the book Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe: An Intellectual Biography (2004), by Bart Schultz. If social good for all or most people is to be achieved, it will be because ...
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This chapter reviews the book Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe: An Intellectual Biography (2004), by Bart Schultz. If social good for all or most people is to be achieved, it will be because somehow or other the selfish decisions of many people combine to produce it. Such Utilitarian ideas, however, are but an amputated limb of the radical philosophy that once went by that name. For the three great British Utilitarians—Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sidgwick—the proper social goal was the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Sidgwick domesticated Utilitarianism and made it both academically and socially respectable, in the process smoothing its rough edges. Unlike Bentham and Mill, Sidgwick wanted badly to believe in conventional religion. He tried to prove the existence of a life after death scientifically, co-founding the Society for Psychical Research and devoting a great part of his later life to experiments that tested the claims of mediums, clairvoyants, and hypnotists. Sidgwick was also profoundly unconventional in matters of gender and sexuality.Less
This chapter reviews the book Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe: An Intellectual Biography (2004), by Bart Schultz. If social good for all or most people is to be achieved, it will be because somehow or other the selfish decisions of many people combine to produce it. Such Utilitarian ideas, however, are but an amputated limb of the radical philosophy that once went by that name. For the three great British Utilitarians—Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sidgwick—the proper social goal was the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Sidgwick domesticated Utilitarianism and made it both academically and socially respectable, in the process smoothing its rough edges. Unlike Bentham and Mill, Sidgwick wanted badly to believe in conventional religion. He tried to prove the existence of a life after death scientifically, co-founding the Society for Psychical Research and devoting a great part of his later life to experiments that tested the claims of mediums, clairvoyants, and hypnotists. Sidgwick was also profoundly unconventional in matters of gender and sexuality.
