„Nomos. Czasopismo Religioznawcze” to naukowy periodyk powstały w 1991 roku (w latach 1991-2012 ukazywał się jako „Nomos. Kwartalnik Religioznawczy”), wydawany przez Instytut Religioznawstwa Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.



Redaktor naczelny: dr hab. Henryk Hoffmann, prof. UJ
Sekretarz redakcji: mgr Anna Książek

Nomos 57/58 + summaries





W numerze:
 
Marcin Baran, Rola doświadczenia w refleksji etycznej Charlesa Taylora.
 
Krzysztof Kowalik, W kierunku teologii z doświadczenia.
 
Kazimiera Mikoś, Doświadczenie religijne a przeżycie estetyczne.
 
Ewa Chomicka, Homo religiosus w świecie współczesnym: między indywidualizmem a uniwersalizmem.
 
Marek Palka, Doświadczenia religijne jako antycypacja stanów ante mortem.
 
Andrzej Migda, Zmiana w duchowości w wyniku przeżyć na granicy śmierci.
 
Agnieszka Swiderska, Przeżycia mistyczne czy objawy choroby? Sprawozdanie ze szkolenia: Religijność i duchowość w psychoterapii i pomocy psychologicznej. 
 
Stanisław A. Wargacki, Mistyczne - odmienne stany świadomości – neuroteologia.
 
Karol Tomasz Giedrojć, Psychologia doświadczenia religijnego.
 
Henryk Machoń, Doświadczenie religijne w perspektywie interdyscyplinarnej i interkulturowej.
 
Leonard J. Pełka, W pomroce kultowego ekscentryzmu i szaleństwa.
 
Tomas Bubik, Henryk Hoffmann, Międzynarodowa konferencja religioznawcza: Religia a polityka (Pardubice 3-4.10.2006).
 
Leonard J. Pełka, Profesor Mirosław Nowaczyk (24.10.1931 -26.02.2007).
 
Irena Borowik, Życie i dzieło Profesora Kazimierza Urbana (21.11.1946-05.04.2007). Wspomnienie.
 
Irena Borowik, Pożegnanie Tadeusza Doktóra (13.10.1950-20.06.2007).

SUMMARIES

Marcin Baran

                         THE ROLE OF EXPERIENCE IN THE ETHICAL REFLECTION
                                                       OF CHARLES TAYLOR

The purpose of this paper is to present the important role of experience of the good and of moral ontology in the thought of Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor. He understands the good as a moral value which motivates a person to ethical conduct and shapes his or her identity. Such a concept entails the necessity of retrieving a certain ontological status toward that good. This is also one of the goals which Taylor presents in his book Sources of the Self. In order to accomplish this task it is vital to break off from the application in the humanities of the improper epistemological paradigm based in the natural sciences, which is especially inadequate as a cognitive instrument with reference to the human agent. Rather, it would be more appropriate to put away the stance of the „uninvolved researcher” in favor of fathoming the nature of moral experience and intuition located at the basis of our action. The point at which the Canadian philosopher mostly touches upon the topic of experience is his understanding of the good. However, he does not clearly spell out its nature or its ontological status.
Instead, he tries rather to show one of its properties, which is the ability to do good, as a moral value, to attract people. At this point in his discussion, Taylor draws on an insight of Iris Murdoch, who formulates a contemporary Platonic conception of the highest idea of the good. In her grasp of the problem she is most of all interested in the propelling power of acting morally, which is evoked by interacting with the good. It is precisely this element of live contact with a „moral source” that Taylor sees as extremely important for the ethical theory. In this context, he takes a critical stance toward various ethical concepts which focus on the general external rules regarding proper ethical conduct. He also asserts that the strength of an argument based solely on pure reason is not sufficient for moral conduct. Through analysis of such philosophers as F. Nietzsche or M. Foucault, whose conclusions seem to often be contradictory with his own, Taylor presents his reflections on the topic of the attracting and inspiring force of experiencing good, which lies at the basis of human moral judgment.
In our conclusion we state that in contemporary times, we face a situation which Taylor describes as a „moral predicament”, meaning that we are forced to ground our fundamental choices primarily in personal experiences. This stems from the fact that universally accepted „frameworks” or moral horizons, along with ontological accounts which are ways of expressing them, are disappearing. People today must find their own ways to articulate the „sources of morality”. This does not mean that they are left to themselves. They are in ongoing dialogue with various narratives (those of the past and contemporary ones) but none of them is able to be imposed upon them a priori as the only true one, the one which they are not able to refuse.


Krzysztof Kowalik

                                  TOWARD THE THEOLOGY OF EXPERIENCE

The position and function of experience in theology along with the theology from experience is the subject of this article. According to the teachings of the Church and the opinions of theologians, experience as one of the sources of cognition did not receive appropriate attention throughout many centuries. In fear of allowing the individual to have subjective experiences of faith, a strict rationalism and objectivism was enforced to prevent any subjective experiences of faith. Modernism attempted to bring the role of experience to the forefront, but this was recognized by the Magisterium Ecclesiae only after the Second Vatican Council. Toward this end, but not without clear inspiration from the theologians who were rooted in the Reformation, the category of experience has been embraced by an increasing number of Catholic theologians. This enthusiasm, however, was not confirmed by creating some new theories and concepts in theology. It turns out that the greatest obstacle was and still is the notion of experience itself. Its multiple meanings make it difficult to use it adequately in academic/theological discourse. Some theologians (e. g., Schillebeeckx) paradoxically acknowledge these difficulties as a favorable circumstance for the re-formulation of theology in such a way that it would become less academic but more connected to „everyday life”. According to these opinions, theology must wholeheartedly relinquish typical academic and scholarly aspirations. Experience then, as the closest subject to theology (along with God, Revelation and Magisterium) would become the universal category allowing every believer to refer to him/herself as a theologian. This article poses questions instead of providing conclusions. Nonetheless, it appears that experience is and will continue to be considered a priority even though theories formulated by utilization of experience will lose some of their impact.


Kazimiera Mikoś

                        RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE AND AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE

This paper deals with the types of experiences which are usually described as parareligious, quasi-mystical or other similar terms and whose classification generally causes great difficulty. Our attention is drawn to scholars from the natural sciences since in this environment such experiences seem to be most common. Special consideration is given to Albert Einstein by reference to Richard Dawkins’ recent, widely-discussed book – The God Delusion – in which the author in his analysis portrays Einstein’s „religion” as a pattern of the faith of scientists. Dawkins’ analysis is further deepened by pointing out to the fact that the „religious” experiences of the great physicist should rather be included in a particular type of aesthetical experience. In this way Dawkins’ deliberations are significantly enhanced. In conclusion we stress that in the religious analysis of para-religious experiences it is important to consider both historic and interdisciplinary perspectives since this fosters their proper recognition.
Results of similar analyses may be used not only in psychology of religion, dealing as it traditionally does with the phenomenon of religious experience, but also with other branches of religious and non-religious studies. Close ties between some para-religious experiences and aesthetic experiences are for obvious reasons the subject of the study of aesthetics. In addition, they are relevant to the interests of sociologists of religion and sociologists of science who study the world-views of scientists, and lately have been attracting broader attention.


Ewa Chomicka

                               HOMO RELIGIOSUS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD:
                                 BETWEEN INDIVIDUALISM AND UNIVERSALISM

Current reality is to a high degree imbued by skepticism regarding its foundations and established values. This skepticism takes roots in present-day awareness of fortuitousness and deficiency of all narrations, including previous – largely unquestioned – metanarrations, one of which is the concept of God. The lack of the idea of ‘wholeness’ and ‘completeness’ in the perception of the world influences an individual’s religiosity and creates a great challenge for the formation of a human being’s identity. This article investigates the image of the contemporary person and his or her spiritual identity in the context of the decay of religious metanarration, thus, in the face of postmodern cultural pessimism, plurality of meanings and social differentiation. It sets the theory of decline of religion at defiance and shows that humans are religious creatures who – in spite of the cultural and social changes which may occur – still manifests their spirituality, and manifest it in many different ways. The crisis of identity discussed in this paper, constituting as it does a condition for the postmodern persons in a global sense, is observed especially in the postsocialist countries experiencing a time of political and social trnsition. The term ‘permanent transition’ can be understood as a metaphor for the contemporary age with its existential anxiety, social instability, and variety of forms of spirituality. Today’s sacrum does not appear merely in churches; a person does not need the Church as a mediator for contact with the sacred. The current sphere of the sacred follows a moral path mediated by the difference and is based on the idea of caritas. Moreover, it proclaims a return to the mystical modes of thought evoking the totality of all things, or takes the shape of religious nationalism or fundamentalism. New forms of religious expression become the new gods of contemporary times, new conceptions of the sacred, which do not necessarily have to relate to supernatural entities. Comprehension of the sacrum, at present, in the face of the scarcity of presumption of religious decrees and norms, appears to be a sphere that is reinterpreted and open for variations. As a result, the contemporary person’s expressions of religiousness are balanced between tradition and modernity, dogmatism and relativism, closure and openness.


Marek Palka

         RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES AS THE ANTICIPATION OF ANTE MORTE STATES

This article touches upon the question of the relationship between specific trans-ecstatic religious experiences, and the attitude of people towards the perspective of approaching death. Thus we introduce various points of view of these two phenomena by comparing their formal and substantive aspects, intellectual and emotional as well as physiological and psychological. In the course of our research we were able to delineate two points: 1) analysis of empiricallyobserved data of these two phenomena, seen as a starting point for 2) deliberations based on a hermeneutical understanding of religious discourse present in accounts of both religious and near-death experiences. The aim of such a juxtaposition was to comprehend the meaning of religious experience in the context of death in a non-reductionist way. In conclusion we state that religious experiences may feasibly influence a person’s attitude to death and this happens as a result of identity changes caused by these experiences. Due to these changes fear of death is lessened and the meaning of being in the world is felt more sharply.


Andrzej Migda

          CHANGE IN SPIRITUALITY AS A RESULT OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

Based on an interview the author describes changes in the spiritual life of a young Pentecostal after a near-death experience (NDE). This is preceded by a short presentation of the history of studies of the clinical death phenomenon. By reviewing the pioneering work of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and Raymond Moody we introduce the reader into the circle of researchers who created the framework of thanato-psychology. One of them was Michael Sabom, MD whose book Recollections of Death: A Medical Study, published in 1982, became a landmark in the field of scientific studies of NDE and led to the establishing of the International Association of Near Death Studies. The paper also mentions the Polish beginnings of thanato-psychology. The first PhD thesis in this area dates from 1981, and one of the renowned thanato-psychologists in Poland is Rev. Prof. Józef Makselon from the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow. However, the chief representatives of this branch of psychology are from the United States and they are clustered around the professional quarterly „Omega. The Journal of Death and Dying”. Next, we describe the life of the sensitive young man who after a number of difficulties and spiritual experiences decided to convert. In 1991 he suffered deadly carbon monoxide poisoning and underwent clinical death. This traumatic experience caused permanent changes in his psyche and led to religious conversion. He accepted his new way of life and, among others things, gave a new meaning to his love of his parents. In the analysis of the case the author drew on the works of K. Horney, E.H. Erikson, Ch. Ulman and P. Riccards.


Agnieszka Świderska

                             MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES OR DISEASE SYMPTOMS?
             REPORT OF THE TRAINING ENTITLED: „RELIGIOSITY AND SPIRITUALITY
                             IN PSYCHOTHERAPY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE”

The article contains some reflections arising from specialist training for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and other health-care workers entitled „Religiosity and spirituality in psychotherapy and psychological care”. The training was organized by Agnieszka Świderska and Jacek Prusak, SJ, PhD students from the Institute of Psychology of Jagiellonian University and the Development Department of Dr. J. Babiński Hospital in Cracow under the patronage of Prof. Halina Grzymała-Moszczyńska. Malopolska local government authorities funded the project. The general attitudes of trained clinicians toward religious material in the therapy of psychotic patients are exemplified by observations from discussion of clinical cases. The author advances the thesis that observed difficulties result rather from fear of transgressing the clinician’s area of competence and of unintentionally making the patient’s psychic state worse, than from negative attitudes toward religiosity or spirituality.


Stanisław A. Wargacki

        MYSTICAL – ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS – NEUROTHEOLOGY

The primary aim of this paper is to present mystical – altered states of consciousness (ASC) in the context of neurotheology, which is an emerging neuro-psychological discipline that focuses on examining of biological mechanisms within the brain underlying religious and mystical experiences. In the introduction we direct our discussion to shamanism, which is believed to be the oldest form of mysticism and the original progenitor of ecstatic (ASC) behavior. For the purpose of this study the expression „ASC” will be used interchangeably with mystical states. Such states are known in all human societies where they are understood and utilized in various ways depending on social context and cultural meaning. In the first part, we delineate some of the major means of inducing ASC which generally are attained through psychological, ritualistic and pharmacological attempts. Some attention is given to endogenous opioids known as endorphins which play an important role in occurrences of ASC. Despite the great diversity among various ASC we can see that they share a number of distinctive features which allows as to conceptualize ASC as elated phenomena and this is being discussed in part two. In the third part we focus on mystical experience in the context of neurotheology. Our primary attention is given to shamanism which plays a central role in elucidating neurotheology. This is because shamanism constitutes humanity’s first theological and spiritual system. Further, we show that neurotheology may serve as a basis for development of metatheology and megatheology both of which go beyond the theology of particular religious traditions while complementing them and which also open up the opportunity for some new, more universal theologies. In conclusion, we point to the significant difference between ASC attained for religious and for recreational purposes, with the latter usually being associated with drug use.


Translated by Stanisław A. Wargacki
 

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