Sacrifice, Conflict and the Foundation of Culture
Svenungsson, Jayne LU
(2008)
In Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie
50.
p.330-341
- Abstract
- In the wake of the geo-political development in recent years, the question of sacrifice has come to the fore in the contemporary philosophical discussion. Does sacrifice merely sharpen conflicts between cultures, or should it be seen as an inevitable part of their foundation? This article addresses the question from the perspective of the biblical view of sacrifice, expressed paradigmat- ically in the story of the Akedah. The author picks up Merold Westphal’s argument - developed in extension to Kierkegaard - that the biblical view of sacrifice rather implies an unsettling of human culture, by pointing to a God whose transcendence disrupts and relativises every human culture. However, although Westphal’s appeal for transcendence is... (More)
- In the wake of the geo-political development in recent years, the question of sacrifice has come to the fore in the contemporary philosophical discussion. Does sacrifice merely sharpen conflicts between cultures, or should it be seen as an inevitable part of their foundation? This article addresses the question from the perspective of the biblical view of sacrifice, expressed paradigmat- ically in the story of the Akedah. The author picks up Merold Westphal’s argument - developed in extension to Kierkegaard - that the biblical view of sacrifice rather implies an unsettling of human culture, by pointing to a God whose transcendence disrupts and relativises every human culture. However, although Westphal’s appeal for transcendence is greeted, a more discriminating approach to transcendence, involving phenomenological and hermeneutical questions, is pleaded for. The author seeks to outline such an approach by combining Emmanuel Levinas’ critical reading of the Akedah with René Girard’s argument that the Bible ultimately reveals an anti-sacrificial logic. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8768367
- author
- Svenungsson, Jayne
LU
- publishing date
- 2008
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Sacrifice, Akedah, Kierkegaard, Levinas, Girard, culture
- in
- Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie
- volume
- 50
- pages
- 330 - 341
- publisher
- De Gruyter
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:61449558002
- ISSN
- 0028-3517
- DOI
- 10.1515/NZST.2008.023
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- fb6a30fa-8251-46b5-896a-ff4ca8413515 (old id 8768367)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 12:15:44
- date last changed
- 2024-01-08 14:08:53
@article{fb6a30fa-8251-46b5-896a-ff4ca8413515,
abstract = {{In the wake of the geo-political development in recent years, the question of sacrifice has come to the fore in the contemporary philosophical discussion. Does sacrifice merely sharpen conflicts between cultures, or should it be seen as an inevitable part of their foundation? This article addresses the question from the perspective of the biblical view of sacrifice, expressed paradigmat- ically in the story of the Akedah. The author picks up Merold Westphal’s argument - developed in extension to Kierkegaard - that the biblical view of sacrifice rather implies an unsettling of human culture, by pointing to a God whose transcendence disrupts and relativises every human culture. However, although Westphal’s appeal for transcendence is greeted, a more discriminating approach to transcendence, involving phenomenological and hermeneutical questions, is pleaded for. The author seeks to outline such an approach by combining Emmanuel Levinas’ critical reading of the Akedah with René Girard’s argument that the Bible ultimately reveals an anti-sacrificial logic.}},
author = {{Svenungsson, Jayne}},
issn = {{0028-3517}},
keywords = {{Sacrifice; Akedah; Kierkegaard; Levinas; Girard; culture}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{330--341}},
publisher = {{De Gruyter}},
series = {{Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie}},
title = {{Sacrifice, Conflict and the Foundation of Culture}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/NZST.2008.023}},
doi = {{10.1515/NZST.2008.023}},
volume = {{50}},
year = {{2008}},
}