tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post1436426054197277924..comments2024-03-28T18:32:05.933-04:00Comments on bensozia: Weston La Barre, "The Ghost Dance: the Origins of Religion"Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-23160438312129196332022-08-04T11:17:44.932-04:002022-08-04T11:17:44.932-04:00There's some of what I'm talking about in ...There's some of what I'm talking about in Buddhism, at least the sort of popularized, vulgarized form that it comes to Americans in. What's the point of that Zen koan about smashing the precious Ming vase? Not "reality is an illusion," but "can you figure out what will earn the master's respect"? It occurs to me an answer I might respect is "Fuck you, it's pretty. If you don't want it, I'll take it."Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-32073199292514237532022-08-04T10:57:01.599-04:002022-08-04T10:57:01.599-04:00On the issue of Freudians and your last paragraph ...On the issue of Freudians and your last paragraph specifically, I sometimes get the impression that the Freudian answer to "what’s the point? Is spirituality only a sort of psychic toughness? . . . Why would we want to do that?" is, intentionally or not, "to earn the respect of the therapist." Be tough and face reality, and your therapist/father will approve of you. I don't mean this to suggest some sort of corruption or pure narcissism on their part. I actually wonder if this bent of Freudianism doesn't reflect a particular version of a larger strain in the European response to the death of God in the nineteenth century. If we have no God, what is life's meaning? Answer: to earn the respect of the substitute father figure. FWIW, I always sense a subtext in Nietzsche of, "are you good enough for me not to subject you to my capacity for critique"? There's even a bit of that in Marx. "Have you escaped commodity fetishism? If so, Engels and I will respect you."<br /><br />I wonder if this answer bears the stamp of its origin in ninetenth-century German academia. The idea is to get good marks. Weston La Barre gives good marks to the Greeks. Especially with the Freudians, I get the impression that, deep in their heart of hearts, their beau ideal of a cured patient is a person who builds a long resume of important papers published in peer-reviewed journals.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456987412710878404noreply@blogger.com