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Revision as of 22:04, 12 December 2010
, 22:04, 12 December 2010→The Humanities
These transitions include discussion of the influence of Central Asian shamanism, Manichean ideas about the soul in light and darkness, and Neo-Platonic theurgy, 'working-on-god-within'. Sections on the medieval period are concerned with the rediscovery of magical practices and occult doctrines from Roger Bacon to Francis Bacon, the adaptation of Neo-Platonic and esoteric ideas in the medieval Christian mystics, and the survival of these ideas mixed with natural science in the works of von Helmont, Leibniz and Goethe.
These transitions include discussion of the influence of Central Asian shamanism, Manichean ideas about the soul in light and darkness, and Neo-Platonic theurgy, 'working-on-god-within'. Sections on the medieval period are concerned with the rediscovery of magical practices and occult doctrines from Roger Bacon to Francis Bacon, the adaptation of Neo-Platonic and esoteric ideas in the medieval Christian mystics, and the survival of these ideas mixed with natural science in the works of von Helmont, Leibniz and Goethe.
*'''''[http://www.archive.org/details/naturemunroe00emerrich Nature]'''''
[[File:Emerson_Nature.jpg|right|frame]]
Nature is an essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published anonymously in 1836. It is in this essay that the foundation of transcendentalism is put forth, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. Recent advances in zoology, botany, and geology confirmed Emerson's intuitions about the intricate relationships of Nature at large. A visit to the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris inspired a set of lectures delivered in Boston and subsequently the ideas leading to the publication of Nature.
Many scholars identify Emerson as one of the first writers (with others, notably Walt Whitman) to develop a literary style and vision that is uniquely American, rather than following in the footsteps of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and others who were strongly influenced by their British cultural heritage. "Nature" is the first significant work to establish this new way of looking at The Americas and its raw, natural environment. In England, all natural things are a reference to layers of historical events, a reflection of human beings. However, in America, all of nature was relatively new to Western Civilization with no man-made meaning. With this clean slate, as it were, Emerson was enabled to see nature through new eyes and rebuild nature's role in the world.
Henry David Thoreau had read "Nature" as a senior at Harvard College and took it to heart. It eventually became an essential influence for Thoreau's later writings, including his seminal Walden.
Emerson followed the success of this essay with a famous speech entitled "The American Scholar". These two works laid the foundation for both his new philosophy and his literary career.
===Religion===
===Religion===
*'''''[http://www.ashgatepublishing.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&title_id=5107&edition_id=7943 Holiness, Speech, and Silence: Reflections on the Question of God]'''''
[[File:Holiness,_speech,_silence.jpg|right|frame]]
[[File:Holiness,_speech,_silence.jpg|right|frame]]
Nicholas Lash shows how the main contours of the Christian doctrine of God may be mapped onto principal features of our culture and its predicaments.
Nicholas Lash shows how the main contours of the Christian doctrine of God may be mapped onto principal features of our culture and its predicaments.
After an introductory chapter on 'The Question of God Today', Nicholas Lash considers - in chapters entitled 'Globalization and Holiness', 'Cacophony and Conversation' and 'Attending to Silence' - three dimensions of our contemporary predicament: globalization, a crisis of language, and the pain and darkness of the world, in relation to the doctrine of God as Spirit, Word, and Father.
After an introductory chapter on 'The Question of God Today', Nicholas Lash considers - in chapters entitled 'Globalization and Holiness', 'Cacophony and Conversation' and 'Attending to Silence' - three dimensions of our contemporary predicament: globalization, a crisis of language, and the pain and darkness of the world, in relation to the doctrine of God as Spirit, Word, and Father.
===Spirituality===
===Spirituality===
*'''''[http://www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk/bookdetails.asp?ISBN=9781853117503 Prayer]'''''
[[File:Prayerabishishkananda.jpg|right|frame]]
[[File:Prayerabishishkananda.jpg|right|frame]]
First published nearly forty years ago and having been translated into numerous languages, this classic text is written by a Benedictine monk whose Christianity was profoundly enriched by his encounter with Hindu spirituality.
First published nearly forty years ago and having been translated into numerous languages, this classic text is written by a Benedictine monk whose Christianity was profoundly enriched by his encounter with Hindu spirituality.