THINKING THROUGH KIERKEGAARD'S ANTI-CLIMACUS: ART, IMAGINATION, AND IMITATION

What place do imagination and art have in Christian existence? This paper examines this question through the writings of Kierkegaard's pseudonym Anti‐Climacus: The Sickness Unto Death and Practice in Christianity. I focus on the latter work in particular because it best illustrates the importance of imagination in following after (Efterfølgelse) Christ in imitation, which Anti‐Climacus presents as the proper task of faithful Christian existence. After outlining both his critique and his affirmation of the imagination, I then consider what role the notion of ‘Christian art’ might play in his account of the imitation of Christ. Anti‐Climacus gives a severe critique of Christian art, insofar as it disposes the viewer to detached observation and admiration – rather than imitation – of Christ. However, an earlier passage in the same text gives a provocative yet cryptic indication of the sort of art that would not succumb to this danger. Taking a cue from the phenomenology of Jean‐Luc Marion, I draw out this suggestion and argue for the important role that visual art can play in imitating Christ. The final section illustrates this point briefly with three paintings: Matthias Grünewald's Crucifixion, Hans Holbein's The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb, and Albrecht Dürer's Self‐Portrait (1500).     

Should We Want God to Exist?

Whether God exists is a metaphysical question. But there is also a neglected evaluative question about God’s existence: Should we want God to exist? Very many, including many atheists and agnostics, appear to think we should. Theists claim that if God didn’t exist things would be far worse, and many atheists agree; they regret God’s inexistence. Some remarks by Thomas Nagel suggest an opposing view: that we should want God not to exist. I call this view anti‐theism. I explain how such view can be coherent, and why it might be correct. Anti‐theism must be distinguished from the argument from evil or the denial of God’s goodness; it is a claim about the goodness of God’s existence. Anti‐theists must claim that it’s a logical consequence of God’s existence that things are worse in certain respects. The problem is that God’s existence would also make things better in many ways. Given that God’s existence is likely to be impersonally better overall, anti‐theists face a challenge similar to that facing nonconsequentialists. I explore two ways of meeting this challenge.     

Looking backward at the socialist utopia

Utopia and Anti‐Utopia in Modern Times, by Krishan Kumar, Basil Blackwell, 1987, x + 506 pages, hb £24.50     

(ANTI)‐Anti‐Intellectualism and the Sufficiency Thesis

Anti‐intellectualists about knowledge‐how insist that, when an agent S knows how to φ, it is in virtue of some ability, rather than in virtue of any propositional attitudpaes, S has. Recently, a popular strategy for attacking the anti‐intellectualist position proceeds by appealing to cases where an agent is claimed to possess a reliable ability to φ while nonetheless intuitively lacking knowledge‐how to φ. John Bengson and Marc Moffett and Carlotta Pavese have embraced precisely this strategy and have thus claimed, for different reasons, that anti‐intellectualism is defective on the grounds that possessing the ability to φ is not sufficient for knowing how to φ. We investigate this strategy of argument‐by‐counterexample to the anti‐intellectualist's sufficiency thesis and show that, at the end of the day, anti‐intellectualism remains unscathed.     

On the Concept of a Game

In an essay for Brian Leiter's turn‐of‐the‐millennium The Future for Philosophy, Thomas Hurka writes:

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The heavy weight of death: how anti‐fat bias is affected by weight‐based group membership and existential threat

Anti‐fat bias is marked by a devaluation of overweight people compared with non‐overweight persons. Even though belonging to the same group, research on social identity theory (SIT) indicates that overweight people also devaluate overweight others. Merging insights from research on anti‐fat bias, SIT, and terror management theory, our study (n = 101) provides new insights on motivational aspects of anti‐fat bias by investigating the effects of existential threat on the evaluation of non‐overweight and overweight people. Results revealed that participants in the existential threat condition displayed in‐group bias: Participants perceiving themselves as non‐overweight showed more pronounced anti‐fat bias compared with participants in the non‐death threat condition. In contrast, participants perceiving themselves as overweight demonstrated less anti‐fat bias than controls.     

Anti-Individualism, Content Preservation, and Discursive Justification

Most explorations of the epistemic implications of Semantic Anti‐Individualism (SAI) focus on issues of self‐knowledge (first‐person authority) and/or external‐world skepticism. Less explored has been SAI's implications for the epistemology of reasoning. In this paper I argue that SAI has some nontrivial implications on this score. I bring these out by reflecting on a problem first raised by Boghossian (1992) . Whereas Boghossian's main interest was in establishing the incompatibility of SAI and “the a priority of logical abilities” ( Boghossian 1992 : 22), I argue that Boghossian's argument is better interpreted as pointing to SAI's implications for the nature of discursive justification.     

Mitigation system threat partially mediates the effects of right‐wing ideologies on climate change beliefs

Research consistently shows that right‐wing ideological adherents are more likely to deny climate change. However, less is known about how right‐wing ideological subtypes are uniquely related to climate change denial, as well as what explains these relationships. This study examines whether threat to the socioeconomic system in the form of climate change mitigation policies, referred to as Climate Change Mitigation Threat (CCMT), mediates the relationships between Right‐Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) subtypes and four forms of climate change denial (existence denial, human cause denial, impact denial and climate science denial). U.S. participants (N = 334; M_age = 34.70, SD = 5.98) were recruited via Amazon MTurk. When shared variance in the predictors was accounted for, we found that: (a) Conventionalism (RWA‐C) positively predicted all forms of climate change denial; (b) Dominance (SDO‐D) positively predicted existence denial; (c) Anti‐Egalitarianism (SDO‐E) positively predicted both human cause and impact denial; and (d) Aggression (RWA‐A) negatively predicted existence denial. All significant direct relationships were partially mediated by CCMT, except for the direct paths between SDO‐D and existence denial, and RWA‐A and existence denial. These findings suggest that right‐wing adherents who conform to societal norms and prefer unequal social systems may deny climate change partly due to a perception that mitigation strategies proposed to combat climate change threaten the existing socioeconomic system.     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Delbert Burkett, An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity Jenny Read‐Heimerdinger, The Bezan Text of Acts: A Contribution of Discourse Analysis to Textual Criticism Paula Fredriksen and Adele Reinhartz (eds), Jesus, Judaism and Christian Anti‐Judaism: Reading the New Testament after the Holocaust Pauline Allen and Bronwen Neil (eds), Maximus the Confessor and his Companions: Documents from Exile Eric Plumer (ed.), Augustine's Commentary on Galatians: Introduction, Text, Translation and Notes Aidan Nichols OP, Darton, Discovering Aquinas: An Introduction to his Life, Work and Influence Edward Howells, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila: Mystical Knowing and Selfhood Amanda Porterfield (ed.), American Religious History Jeanne Halgren Kilde, When Church Became Theatre: The Transformation of Evangelical Architecture and Worship in Nineteenth‐Century America Dale P. Andrews, Practical Theology for Black Churches: Bridging Black Theology and African American Folk Religion Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence, Captain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism Paul Gifford (ed.), 2000 Years and Beyond: Faith, Identity and the Common Era Clive Marsh, Christianity in A Post‐Atheist Age Stephen T. Davis, Daniel Kendall, SJ, and Gerald O’Collins, SJ (eds), The Incarnation: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Incarnation of the Son of God Catherine Keller, Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming David Willis, Notes on the Holiness of God Tatha Wiley, Original Sin: Origins, Developments, Contemporary Meanings Natalie K. Watson, Introducing Feminist Ecclesiology John G. Stackhouse Jr, Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today Alister McGrath, A Scientific Theology: Reality Stephen Darwall, Virtue Ethics Stephen Darwall, Consequentialism Stephen Darwall, Contractarianism / Contractualism Stephen Darwall, Deontology Charles E. Curran (ed.), Change in Official Catholic Moral Teachings Noreen L. Herzfeld, In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit Werner G. Jeanrond and Lisa Sowle Cahill (eds), Religious Education for Boys and Girls     

Book review

The Coherence Theory of Truth: Realism, Anti‐Realism, Idealism, R. C. S. Walker, 1989. London, Routledge, 247 pp., £35.00     

Predictors of Protest Among Anti‐Globalization Demonstrators1

Anti‐globalization protest is analyzed as a function of ideological opposition to social hierarchy and identification with the social movement. Demonstrators (N = 145) at the Summit of the Americas in Québec City in April 2001 completed measures of social dominance orientation (SDO), social identification with the anti‐globalization movement, and the likelihood of engaging in various protest behaviors. Results supported the hypothesis that social identification mediates the link between SDO and inclinations toward 2 forms of collective action (anti‐globalization protest and indirect protest), whereas non‐normative protest tended to be endorsed most strongly by male demonstrators. These relationships inform theoretical perspectives on politicized collective identity and the social psychology of social movement participation.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Hermann Gunkel, An Introduction to the Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel James H. Morey, Book and Verse: A Guide to Middle English Biblical Literature James A. Herrick, The Radical Rhetoric of the English Deists: The Discourse of Skepticism, 1680–1750 Jean‐Louis Quantin, Le Catholicisme classique et les pères de l'église David Jasper, The Sacred and Secular Canon in Romanticism: Preserving the Sacred Truths David Torevell, Losing the Sacred Albert L. Blackwell, The Sacred in Music R. Scott Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence and Reconciliation Garrett Green, Theology, Hermeneutics and Imagination: The Crisis of Interpretation at the End of Modernity Alar Laats, Doctrines of the Trinity in Eastern and Western Theologies A. J. Cardinal Simonis, Our Father: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer A. D. Lee, Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity: A Sourcebook Sarah Boss, Empress and Handmaid: On Nature and Gender in the Cult of the Virgin Mary Robert Dodaro and George Lawless (eds), Augustine and his Critics: Essays in Honour of Gerald Bonner Bernard Hamilton, The Leper King and his Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem Michael Costen, The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade David A. Flory, Marian Representations in the Miracle Tales of Thirteenth‐Century Spain and France Herbert L. Kessler and Johanna Zacharias, Rome 1300: On the Path of the Pilgrim Megan Holmes Fra Filippo Lippi: The Carmelite Painter Translated by members of the Language Department of the School of Economic Science, London, The Letters of Marsilio Ficino: Volume 4 (Liber V) The Letters of Marsilio Ficino: Volume 5 (Liber VI) The Letters of Marsilio Ficino: Volume 6 (Liber VII) Helga Robinson‐Hammerstein (ed), European Universities in the Age of Reformation and Counter‐Reformation Gauvin Alexander Bailey, Art on the Jesuit Missions in Asia and Latin America, 1542–1773 David Gentilcore, Healers and Healing in Early Modern Italy Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester and Gareth Roberts (eds), Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe: Studies in Culture and Belief David D. Hall (ed), Witch‐hunting in Seventeenth‐Century New England: A Documentary History, 1638–1693 Gilbert Geis and Ivan Bunn, A Trial of Witches: A Seventeenth‐Century Witchcraft Prosecution Robert Rapley, A Case of Witchcraft: The Trial of Urbain Grandier Susan Thorne, Congregational Missions and the Making of an Imperial Culture in Nineteenth‐Century England Deborah Gorham, Vera Brittain: A Feminist Life Hagar Salamon, The Hyena People: Ethiopian Jews in Christian Ethiopia James L. Fredericks, Faith among Faiths: Christian Theology and Non‐Christian Religions Darrell Jodock (ed), Catholicism Contending with Modernity: Roman Catholic Modernism and Anti‐Modernism in Historical Context Thomas G. Weinandy, Does God Suffer? Mark Wynn, God and Goodness: A Natural Theological Perspective C. Stephen Evans and Merold Westphal (eds), Christian Perspectives on Religious Knowledge Georg Luck, Ancient Pathways and Hidden Pursuits: Religion, Morals and Magic in the Ancient World Richard King, Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought Jan Joseph Santich, Missio Moscovitica Julia Annas Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction Anthony Kenny (ed), The Oxford History of Western Philosophy S. Sara Monoson, Plato's Democratic Entanglements: Athenian Politics and the Practice of Philosophy Mark L. McPherran (ed), Recognition, Remembrance and Reality: New Essays on Plato's Epistemology and Metaphysics William W. Fortenbaugh and Eckart Schütrumpf (eds), Demetrius of Phalerum: Text, Translation and Discussion     

Do You Have the Heart to Come to Faith? A Look at Anti‐Climacus' Reading of Matthew 11.6

In Practice in Christianity, Søren Kierkegaard's pseudonym, Anti‐Climacus enters into an extended engagement with Matthew 11.6, ‘Blessed is he who takes no offense at me’. In so doing, he comes to an understanding that ‘the possibility of offense’ characterises the ‘crossroad’ at which one either comes to faith in Christ's revelation or rejects it. Such a choice, as he is well aware, cannot be made from a neutral standpoint, and so he is led to propose that it is ‘the thoughts of the heart’ (i.e. a person's disposition) that constitute the pivotal factor in determining whether or not God will reconcile a person into the Christian faith. In this paper, I discuss Anti‐Climacus' interpretation of Mt. 11.6 and consider his reasons for interpreting a person's predisposition as being so decisive for faith.     

A Big Five facet analysis of a psychopath: The validity of the HDS mischievous scale of sub‐clinical psychopathy

Around 5,700 British adults completed the NEO‐PI‐R, which measures the Big Five Personality factors at the Domain and the Facet level, as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS); measure of Anti‐Social Personality Disorder called Mischievous. Previous work in this field has used clinical measures of psychopathy and either student or patient samples. This sought to validate this measure by comparing NEO facet correlational results with other studies. The Mischievous score from the HDS was the criterion variable in the correlations and multiple regressions. Mischievous people were Disagreeable, Stable, Extraverts, lacking in Conscientiousness. Facet analysis showed them high on Excitement‐seeking but low of Straightforwardness, Anxiety and Deliberation. Limitations are of the study are discussed.     

Between Reason and Common Sense

This essay is intended as a companion‐piece to my article, “Reality in Common Sense: Reflections on Realism and Anti‐Realism from a ‘Common Sense Naturalist’ Perspective.” (Philosophical Investigations, Vol. 25, No. 4 (October 2002). It explores the epistemological dimension of the Common Sense Naturalism that I developed in that earlier, predominantly metaphysical essay; a position that combines the views of David Hume, Thomas Reid, and the Wittgenstein of On Certainty. My ultimate aim is to produce a comprehensive philosophy of common sense, one that with future installments, will come to include an ethical and social‐political philosophy as well. “Between Reason and Common Sense” offers a common sense naturalist reply to the skeptic. My basic argument is that the skeptic makes a Rylean category mistake, when he applies the concept of warrant to epistemologically basic beliefs, such as the belief in the external world or in the continued and distinct existence of bodies. He misidentifies these beliefs as being ordinary, when they are really a part of the framework that make the practices of believing and justifying possible. As a result, they are not themselves open to confirmation or disconfirmation. I also try to characterize the nature of the necessity carried by framework beliefs, in a way that avoids the charge that the common sense naturalist is simply a closet foundationalist.     

The Rise of the Machines: Deleuze's Flight from Structuralism

In this paper, I offer an account of the conceptual shift that occurs between the work completed by Gilles Deleuze prior to 1969 and his later work with Félix Guattari, beginning in 1972 with Anti‐Oedipus. Against previous interpretations, which have concentrated on the developments initiated by Deleuze, I argue for the primary importance of Guattari's influence, especially his insistence on a theory of “machinic processes.” The importance of these processes is made manifest in Deleuze and Guattari's move away from theories of structuralism. In order to carry out this task, I offer a close reading of Guattari's essay “Machine and Structure.” This essay was first written as a review of Deleuze's acclaimed work in Difference and Repetition and Logic of Sense and formed the basis for Deleuze and Guattari's first meeting. In the concluding sections of the paper, I show how the integration of the concept of the machine allows Deleuze and Guattari to develop a theory of the unconscious that operates outside of the boundaries traditionally set by structuralist analysis.     

Reviews

Books reviewed: Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility. By Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizabeth Beaumont, and Jason Stephens. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey‐Bass Publishers, 2003. xx + 332 pages. ISBN 0‐7879‐6515‐4. $30.00
Reviewed by Victor J. Klimoski
School of Theology, Saint John's University Engaging Large Classes: Strategies and Techniques for College Faculty. Edited by Christine A. Stanley and M. Erin Porter. Bolton, Mass.: Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2002. xxiv + 353 pages. ISBN 1‐882982‐51‐7. $39.95.
Reviewed by Robert M. Royalty, Jr.
Wabash College Christianity in the Academy: Teaching at the Intersection of Faith and Learning. By Harry Lee Poe. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2004. 208 pages. ISBN 0‐8010‐2723‐3. $19.99.
Reviewed by Roger P. Ebertz
University of Dubuque The Student Assessment Handbook: New Directions in Traditional and Online Assessment. By Chris Morgan, Lee Dunn, Meg O’Reilly, and Sharon Parry. New York, N.Y.: RoutledgeFalmer, 2004. xiv + 305 pages. ISBN 0‐415‐33530‐2. $49.95.
Reviewed by Johannes Strobel
University of Missouri‐Columbia Faith and the Life of the Intellect. Edited by Curtis L. Hancock and Brenden Sweetman. Washington, D.C. Catholic University of America Press, 2003. xxii + 269 pages. ISBN 0‐8132‐1311‐8. $29.95.
Reviewed by John J. Carey
Agnes Scott College Learning and Teaching Where Worldviews Meet. Edited by Rosamund Sutherland, Guy Claxton, and Andrew Pollard. Stoke on Trent, UK and Sterling, Va.: Trentham Books Limited, 2003. vii + 285 pages. ISBN 1‐85856‐248‐1. $29.95.
Reviewed by S. Brian Stratton
Alma College Team‐Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups. Edited by Larry K. Michaelsen, Arletta Bauman Knight, and L. Dee Fink. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002. xi + 288 pages. ISBN 0‐89789‐863‐X. Paper $24.95.
Reviewed by Steven C. Ibbotson
Prairie Bible College     

Reviews of Texts for Classroom Use

Books reviewed: Dianne Oliver, Book and Resource Review Editor
University of Evansville Daoism: A Short Introduction. By James Miller. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003. xviii + 174 pages. ISBN 1‐85168‐315‐1. $17.95.
Reviewed by John M. Thompson
Christopher Newport University The Protestant Reformation: Beliefs and Practices. By Madeleine Gray. Portland, Ore.: Sussex Academic Press, 2003. 262 pages. ISBN: 1‐903900‐11‐5. $22.50.
Reviewed by Jason E. Vickers
Hood Theological Seminary True Religion. By Graham Ward. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. 168 pages. ISBN 0‐63122174‐3. $20.95.
Reviewed by Debra Mubashshir Majeed
Beloit College Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Religion, and Culture. Edited by Jolyon Mitchell and Sophia Marriage. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2003. xv + 407 pages. ISBN 0‐567‐08867‐7. Cloth $115.00. ISBN 0‐567‐08807‐3. Paper $34.95.
Reviewed by Richard S. Ascough
Queen's Theological College     

Deleuze and Guattari's Absent Analysis of Patriarchy

Feminist philosophy has offered mixed opinions on the collaborative projects of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. But although there has been much discussion of the political expediency of what Deleuze and Guattari do say about sexual difference, this article will outline what is absent from Anti‐Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus (the two volumes comprising Capitalism and Schizophrenia). Specifically, I will argue that though Deleuze and Guattari offer a historical account of a range of power structures—most notably capitalism, but also despotism, fascism, and authoritarianism—they give no such account of the development of patriarchy. Secondarily, this article will argue that Deleuze and Guattari's analysis of contemporary power relations could be improved by adding an accompanying analysis of the institution of patriarchy. After offering a detailed account of the technical vocabulary used by Deleuze and Guattari for the analysis of political institutions, I will argue that what their work requires is an account of how patriarchy is historically produced by an “abstract machine” of masculinity. This article will finish with some suggestions for the way that such an account could be given via an analysis of the abstract machine of phallusization.