tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11511673.post112679869208108528..comments2024-01-08T11:08:42.530-05:00Comments on in-fraction: Emile Cioran says: "Wake up, O sleeper!"tchittomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603445266088083067noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11511673.post-63553418662064227712022-03-02T17:19:26.691-05:002022-03-02T17:19:26.691-05:00"'Standing sentinel.' I can’t recall ..."'Standing sentinel.' I can’t recall a more incisive formulation for the way many of us may experience being online at certain times. I especially appreciate the way [Patricia] Lockwood links this to some underlying, possibly inarticulate longing for control in what are, in fact, moments of extreme flux and disorder. This impulse may spring from the misguided belief that more information will automatically lead to greater clarity about what needs to be done, almost as if the accumulation of sufficient information will perforce reveal a plan of action eliminating the need for judgment. Judgment, after all, entails a measure of risk and responsibility, neither of which are especially welcome in our time." ~ L. M. Sacsas. The Convivial Society Vol 3 No 3tchittomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603445266088083067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11511673.post-79372185133409844602010-07-07T15:53:14.350-04:002010-07-07T15:53:14.350-04:00A series of studies by researchers at York Univers...A series of studies by researchers at York University shows that it can. The researchers put volunteers in either neutral or anxiety-provoking situations and then asked them to rate the strength of their religious convictions, including whether they would die for their faith or support a war to defend it. When people were put in anxiety-producing situations (like working on a complex math problem), they became more extreme in their religious convictions. The reaction was strongest in people with “bold” personalities (eager and tenacious, with high self-esteem) who were already vulnerable to anxiety and didn’t feel empowered to achieve their daily goals.<br /><br />We shouldn’t be too surprised. Past research has shown that anxiety and insecurity can turn people to religion—and that religious conviction can act as a “buffer” against anxiety. And earlier studies by the researchers at York have shown that strong religious beliefs are linked to low activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain that becomes active when a person makes errors or experiences uncertainty. Psychologist Ian McGregor, who worked on those studies and the new one, notes in a write-up of the research that:<br /><br /><i>Taken together, the results of this research program suggest that bold but vulnerable people gravitate to idealistic and religious extremes for relief from anxiety.</i><br /><br />Full article is here: http://bit.ly/9GJ2eOtchittomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603445266088083067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11511673.post-1135396089287227362005-12-23T22:48:00.000-05:002005-12-23T22:48:00.000-05:00First, I apologize for jumping in without reviewin...First, I apologize for jumping in without reviewing more about what you are about, but I lurk Cioran references, and I love your thinking and contribution to the "Wake up" theme! Thank you for plugging me into the way Cioran entered the footnote fray we indulge on the Platonic WITHOUT AN ABSOLUTE, THE PARTICULARS ARE...MEANINGLESS. For which Kierkegaard takes a "Leap of Faith", and Sartre {I forget in which of his seven, count 'em, autobiographies) just Leaps. And Heidegger just IS. <BR/><BR/>And our generation seems to just take Drugs. That is, better sleep through better chemistry.<BR/><BR/>Do you think this -- the point of purchase with the Platonic particulars -- is what Cioran calls the dual desires of lyricism and sleep? <BR/><BR/>I am surprised. His TEARS AND SAINTS -- his starting point was the obsession of the sacred -- seems to treat desire as a many-layered thing. I see little dualism or desire in TEMPTATION TO EXIST. <BR/><BR/>And I was delighted that you appreciate how Cioran does "point the way" to freedom. <BR/><BR/>While I am not a "Christian", since I am a follower of Jesus' teachings, I really appreciate your effort to help us hear the call to awaken. I love how Apostle Paul said it, so simply, "they are only asleep". Well, forgive us then.<BR/><BR/>William Blake draws that family (I think it is Noah and his family) under the trees asleep. Even the dogs with them are down. Their instruments are hung in the trees like the Psalmist described. {Reference my Blog}. And then the family awakens, and the instruments come down and the music begins! <BR/><BR/>Good luck with your efforts. You are an excellent theologian! (Of course, there is that problem with The Absolute...!).keylawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04134596750620373075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11511673.post-1127241061499206242005-09-20T14:31:00.000-04:002005-09-20T14:31:00.000-04:00Hello! The attraction to Karl Barth's critique of...Hello! The attraction to Karl Barth's critique of religion corresponds to the attraction of law/gospel, the attraction to sola scriptura and the attraction to the exploration of various "views" of existential freedom offered by the postmodernists.tchittomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15603445266088083067noreply@blogger.com