Vergelijkende Studie van Religies Comparative Study of religions

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Vergelijkende Studie van Religies/ Comparative
Study of religions

• Academiejaar 2005-2006
• Docent Lieve Orye

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Practical matters

• English?
• From 13u till 14u15 ? from 13u till 15u
• 28/10 lecture by Ingold (possibly his views on
  Latour, science and religion)
• 11/11 no lecture, holiday
• 18/11 no lecture, docent absent
• Spreekuur/ consulting hour after lecture
• 15u till 17u
• Only if one has send previously an e-mail with
  questions, remarks, proposals etc.
• Room 01.08
• possibility discussion time apart from lectures
  (december/januari)
• Discussion of questions presented by students

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Course content

• Not a comparison of several religions, nor of
  certain aspects of several religions
• Main emphasis
• Latours anthropology of the sciences and its
  implications for
• Comparative sciences of cultures
• Comparative study of religions
• http//www.ensmp.fr/latour/

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Course material

• Science in action/wetenschap in actie. Latour,
  Bruno (1987/1988/1995)(optional, but highly
  recommended)
• War of the Worlds. What about Peace? Latour,
  Bruno, Prickly Press (2002) (website)
• Discussie tekst F. Apffel-Marglin From Science
  to Ritual An Andean Narrative
• "Religion, Society, Identity from Claims to
  Scientific Categories." (Orye, L. 2004, in
  Culture and Politics Identity and Conflict in a
  Multicultural World. Pinxten, R. Longman, C.
  Verstraete, G. (eds.), Oxford, New York Berghahn
  Books, pp. 21-48.) (optional)
• lectures
• Texts on Latours website http//www.ensmp.fr/la
  tour/
• http//cultuur.ugent.be/cursusLO/2005-2006/

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Papers part I

• Write a short scientific essay (3-4pages) in
  which you
• Trace out and discuss briefly an important
  theoretical claim in Latours work
• Discuss its importance and relevance for one of
  the following options
• For the study of religion
• For ones own dissertation
• Final date 20th of januari through Minerva as
  well as a paper version at the secretariat !!

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Papers Part II

• Final date idem One of the following options
• Pick a topic of the day concerning religion
  (through media such as newspapers, magazines,
  internet) and discuss briefly whether and in what
  way Latours anthropology of the sciences can
  lead to a different/a critical perspective on it.
  (3pages)  
•   Collect 3 to 4 short articles on this topic in
  newspapers, magazines, internet sources which do
  not overlap in terms of their central thesis
  (minimally 250 words and attach these to your
  paper version)
•   Give a short introduction of this topic (half
  a page maximally) and discuss it on the basis of
  Latours work
•   Possible topics the headscarf - creationism
  versus Darwinism -... 

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Papers Part II

• Choose one text from Science, Religion, and the
  Human Experience (ed. James D. Proctor, 2005) and
  discuss it critically on the basis of Bruno
  Latour's anthropology of the sciences and other
  course material (3pages)  
• Book can be found in L51, number Ba. 457 
• text by Latour cannot be chosen, but can
  nevertheless be used as material to criticize the
  chosen text 
• Recommended text by James Proctor, Michael
  Ruse (Ingold's work can be used in this paper),
  Pascal Boyer (Idem), Alan Wallace  
• Students who want to suggest another scientific
  article concerning religion and science to
  discuss in this paper can submit the article for
  approval by the docent.     
•  Example of another useful text  
• The Naturalness of Religion and the
  Unnaturalness of Science. MCCauley, R. (2000)
  (see pdf Minerva) 

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Papers part II

• Write a short critical review of the following
  proposal for peace and dialogue Dialogue of
  Civilizations door Vigdis Finnbogadottir
•     Who is Vigdis Finnbogadottir?
  http//www.wic.org/bio/finnboga.htm
• What is the text part of?
  http//www.unu.edu/dialogue/programme.htm

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option

• Handing in a personal reflection on this course
  (content, the way it was given and received, its
  effects) will be appreciated.
• (cf. paper 2, 1e lic)

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Papers Practical matters

• To be handed in through Minerva as well as a
  paper version at t he secretariat not either
  or but and and
• Final date friday 20th of januari
• For those who do not have access to Minerva
  digital version through e-mail, ask for
  confirmation!
• Oral exam Discussion of papers
• Students can keep these papers in mind when
  asking questions and participating in
  discussions, propose examples for discussion etc.
  
• Interest in a forum? (in English?)/question and
  discussion sessions in december?

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Short version

• Changing glasses from an a-symmetrical to a
  radical symmetrical approach
• The implications of studying science
  anthropologically
• Smart Smith Ingold Latour
• Towards a Radical Symmetrical anthropology
• Discussion of science in the making
• Old framework in new light how we peopled the
  world with irrational minds
• relevance of anthropology of the sciences
  findings for human science studying non-science

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Short version

• From Science to Ritual
• Case-study peopling of the world with irrational
  minds in practice collision of worlds
• Historical perspective how and why of the
  a-symmetric framework?
• Apffel-Marglin
• Latour
• Smith Ingold
• Apffel-Marglins mistake symmetry without
  radical element
• Discussion of War of the worlds

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Changing glasses from an a-symmetrical to a
radical symmetrical approach
Latour, Bruno anthropology of the
sciences Ingold, Tim anthropology of
hunter-gatherers

• Anthropological material that allowed
• to lay bare the kind of glasses we wear
• to start aswering why we have come to look
  through those glasses
• to develop a different perspective on humans and
  human activity

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Glasses we wear A-symmetrical
Humans and human activity
Knowledge Rationality Science Scientist
Belief Irrationality Religion/tradition/ritual
Hunter-gatherer
World
Mind/Map
Science
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Ripple effect Ichanges in discussions about
science, human science, science and society
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Notions of science in discussions about the
study of religion

• In discussions about the discipline, methodology
  
• Can we have a scientific study of religious
  persons or should it be humanistic/theological/pos
  tmodern?
• ? identity crisis in discipline
• Is human science fundamentally different or not
  from natural science?

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Notions of science in discussions about the
study of religion

• In extra-scientific goal theory interference
  (1e lic)
• ? a reductionist science leaves something out,
  something specifically religious, something
  specifically human to get this something more
  into the picture again a different methodology is
  argued for. Reductionist science is held
  responsible for many shortcomings of our society
  and through a different form of science in which
  the something more usually meaning is
  given a prominent place, contributions can be
  made to a better society.

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To be or not to be scientific is not the
question

• Latours view
• Long debates over the scientificity of our
  discipline - whether it should imitate the
  natural sciences, define itself separately, limit
  itself to hermeneutic circles or recast itself as
  travel literature - imply that science consists
  of a body of method and rigor that exists
  entirely off camera. (Latour, 19961)
• But the cameras have been turned on, resulting
  in a fundamental modification of the definition
  of scientific practice, clarifying what it means
  to be scientific in quite new ways how can we
  construct good facts?
• (See text Minerva)

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Ripple effect IIchanges in perspective on
humans and human activity
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Latours and Ingolds new glasses
Humans and human activity
Knowledge Rationality Science in the
making Scientist
Belief Irrationality Religion/tradition/ritual?
Hunter-gatherer
World
Mind/Map
Radical symmetrical approach
Science
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A first look
Science-made
World
Mind/Map
Human activity
Mind Mind
Body World
Construction processes
Skill - enskilment Relationism
Science-in-the-making
Radical symmetrical approach
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Deconstructinga-symmetry

• Many attempts, many failures Smart Smith
• Anthropologizing science different results
• Not a matter of Latour having more brillant mind
• Ninian Smart versus Bruno Latour
• Smart a problematic symmetrical solution
  within an a-symmetrical framework
• Latour anthropologizing science leads to
  fundamental shifts in perspective
• First attempt simple symmetry
• Second attempt radical symmetry

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Smarts incomplete solution within the asymmetric
framework
Everybody is religious, has a world- view
Science Not to be explained away ito
social/psychological/ factors
Religion Not to be explained away ito
social/psychological/ Factors, not irrational

• BUT unlike science
• softer more porous
• rounded view
• Not abstract

Science-made
World
Mind/Map
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Smart versus Latour

• Similar projects a decent study of
  religion/science ? a decent study of humans
• ? decent a rounded view
• Global, symmetrical study not only them, us as
  well
• A-symmetry principle problematic
• Difference?
• Smart gives pseudo-solution within a limited
  framework, uses a classical notion of science,
  only rounded view for religion
• ? stuck in old discussions/problems
• Latour develops rounded view on science ? allows
  him to redraw the analogy between science,
  religion etc. very differently

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A rounded view on science

• Social studies of science and philosophy of
  science tend to be abstract or to deal with
  well-known historical events or remote examples
  that bear no relationship to what occurs daily at
  the laboratory bench or in the interactions
  between scientists in the pursuit of their
  goals. (LL.1986)
• Latour not participate in abstract discussions
  about concerning science
• Looks at science in concreto, in the lab

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Deconstructinga-symmetry

• Many attempts, many failures Smart Smith
• Wilfred Cantwell Smith/Tim Ingold/Bruno Latour
• Radical symmetrical approach outside the old
  framework point out relationship between content
  of notions recent developments in Western
  societies (collectivities)
• Smith belief religion But
  theological/religious discourse
• Ingold technology, language, intelligence
• Latour science

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Specificity of science technology
HUMAN SCIENCES
Ingold
Language technology
Externalisation Dissociation human-world
Latour
Science
Smith
Religion/belief
Now particular, constructed society

• Radical symmetrical Anthropology
• the of (non-modern) modern

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