THE CRY FOR THE OTHER: THE BIOCULTURAL WOMB OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT |
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| Authors: | James B Ashbrook |
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| Institution: | James B. Ashbrook is Senior Scholar and Emeritus Professor of Religion and Personality at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60201, and is also an advisory member of the graduate faculty, Northwestern University. |
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| Abstract: | Abstract. The human experience of meaning-making lies at the roots of consciousness, creativity, and religious faith. It arises from the basic experience of separation from a loved object, suffered by all mammals, and, in general terms, from the experienced gap between ourselves and our environment. We fill the gap with transitional objects and symbols that reassure us of basic continuity in ourselves and in the world. These objects and symbols also serve the neurognostic function of demonstrating what the world is like. Thus, humanity lives by faith, as manifested in its pattern-making capacity, and not by literal sight. |
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| Keywords: | cognitive imperative consciousness religious imagination separation cry symbolization transitional space |
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