Literalism Again
I’m writing a book. And it’s getting serious because I have till mid 2006 to finish it and now I’m going to have to do some work.
I thought it would mean I post less but I think I have found a way to post more. I will subtly and imperceptibly point this blog in the direction of my work and possibly garner some fresh insights or even (whisper) some heated debate.
The book is kind of political, something I have studiously avoided here, but in an academic kind of way so it’s allright. Basically it is an outlining of a certain social phenomena that is increasing in virulence, what I term a ‘literalist’ tendency, contrasting it with a ‘metaphoiric’ mindset.
The argument is that the ‘metaphorics’ are the mystics and magicians of history and they can only convey their experience through analogy, stories or parables. As they find a certain ‘truth’ in this manner it obviously attracts those who are not of their mindset - the ‘literalists’ and, naturally, these - being literalists - misinterpret those ‘truths’ and this is the genesis of structured and hierarchical religion and ‘schools’.
The book is an outline of these two mindsets throughout history and at the same time an examination of their interaction today. The argument is that there is no such thing today as a ‘religious fundamentalist’ or ‘extremist’, there are only literalists and moreover, that the perception of this non-existent ‘fundamentalism’ is i itself a misinterpretation by literalists.
Thus the ‘battle’ (such as it is) in this period of time, now that (as we are constantly told) ‘the rules have changed’, is not in fact between fundamentalists and moderates but between literalists (Christian, Islamic, atheist and whoever else) and those of a more metaphoric frame of mind (Christian, Islamic, atheist and whoever else). In fact it has always been this way.
I shall probably post the synopsis later this week or maybe some bits of some chapters and perhaps it might be worth a discussion or two.
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