Thank you Morgan & all,
"balance is the goal"
"the middle way"
Kathryn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Caroline Tully" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 11:35 PM
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Theater and Magic(k)
> I really like Dawkins. He helps liberate us from superstition.
>
> ~Caroline.
>
>
> >>People like Dawkins, who push their view on others on the basis that
it's
> scientific and that that in of itself makes it inherently superior to any
> other view, drive me crazy... He's a fundamentalist scientismist. He makes
> people laugh at the academy. Ok, now I am ranting...<<
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Morgan Leigh
> Sent: Thursday, 18 December 2008 6:08 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Theater and Magic(k)
>
> The Enlightenment myth that science is (a) totally objective and that
> (b) it can do every thing, answer every question, fill every void is
> well past its
> use by date IMHO. Science is not inherently objective. This is because
> it is done by humans, who are inherently subjective. How do we put
> ourselves outside of our humanity to interpret the data we obtain
> scientifically? We can, and should, recognise the importance of seeking
> objectivity. But to presume we can attain it every time we undertake a
> research endeavour is ludicrous. Not that I am ranting or anything...
>
> People like Dawkins, who push their view on others on the basis that
> it's scientific and that that in of itself makes it inherently superior
> to any other
> view, drive me crazy... He's a fundamentalist scientismist. He makes
> people laugh at the academy. Ok, now I am ranting...
>
> /me takes a deep breath
>
> I think we are here to DO subjectivity, but I see that this is
> contingent on the existence of objectivity. We need both. To see the
> balance we need to understand and cherish subjectivity. Just as we can't
> attain perfect objectivity, we can't totally transcend our inherently
> subjective nature. The present state of enquiry in academia is out of
> balance. The balance is the goal. The middle way.
>
> Regards,
>
> Morgan Leigh
> PhD Candidate
> School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics
> University of Queensland
> religionbazaar.blogspot.com
>
>
> jason winslade wrote:
> > Should we really assume that "objectivity" and science are unassailable
> > discourses? That they are the norm from which experiential data
> > deviates? This is a whole other can of worms, but attaching 'scientific'
> > to scholarly discourse makes a whole other set of assumptions that are
> > just as flawed as subjectivity.
> > jlw
> >
> > --- On *Mon, 12/15/08, Shaz Dair /<[log in to unmask]>/* wrote:
> >
> > From: Shaz Dair <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Theater and Magic(k)
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Date: Monday, December 15, 2008, 4:54 PM
> >
> >
> > As scholars we have a duty to be objective and scientific.
> > As to the limits of scientifically studying personal human
> > experience, we can still step back from our current persona and
> > connect with other people in an attempt to share honestly our
> > experience and knowledge as well as our uncertainties. Cultural
> > Anthropology is an excellent field for just this type of immersion
> > in the pool of our subject matter and then the time of sitting
> > beside the pool drying off.
> > As Socrates said, "the unexamined life is not worth living."
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 8:09 AM, Arild <[log in to unmask]
> > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
> >
> > > performances that incorporated spiritual discourse and
embodied
> > > experience, especially at conferences; the SIEF conference
> > "Liberating
> > > the Ethnological Imagination," in Derry, N. Ireland last June
> had
> >
> > As a folklorist, I should say that in that case, SIEF has come a
> > long way in
> > the last 10 years. During my couple of decades in the Ethnology
> > and Folklore
> > Departement at the University of Bergen, this wold've been far
> from
> > happening. But so much the better!
> >
> > Arild
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
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