Post-rational eco-communicological aporias, pre-rational eco-communicological euporias: the “magical worldview” and restoring a meaningful man-nature dialogue
This essay argues that contemporary Global Society’s biggest ‘communication challenge’ is to find ways to interface and dialogue meaningfully with its more-than-human <em>Umwelt</em>. It shows that communication strategies premised by the tenets of ‘constructivism’ and ‘realism’ do not w...
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| Published in: | Marburg Journal of Religion (Band 22) |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Journal Articles |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | PDF Full Text |
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| Summary: | This essay argues that contemporary Global Society’s biggest ‘communication challenge’ is to find ways to interface and dialogue meaningfully with its more-than-human <em>Umwelt</em>. It shows that communication strategies premised by the tenets of ‘constructivism’ and ‘realism’ do not work. Neither do ‘consiliant’ syntheses of these two approaches. Instead, it suggests that a better solution lies in emulating the communication strategies associated with the ‘magical worldview’. Specifically, it focuses on (1) why magical rationalism assumed that Nature had a voice and a language (2) how the intelligence related by this language was made a foundation and an operational component of societal values and practices and, finally, (3) why there is nothing far-fetched about embracing this rationalism, factoring it into our ideas about ‘progress’ and operationalising it as a means to negotiate an <em>entente cordiale</em> between Nature and Global Society.
This paper is one of a collection that originated in the IAHR Special Conference “Religions, Science and Technology in Cultural Contexts: Dynamics of Change”, held at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology on March 1–2, 2012. For an overall introduction see the article by Ulrika Mårtensson, also published here. |
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| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.17192/mjr.2020.22.8296 |