Gerard Naddaf (York University, Canada) Sacred Texts: From Inspiration to Philosophy and Allegory The transition from myth to reason, muthos to logos, marks the birth of philosophy. Much has been written about this ³miracle.² But how did the proponents of myth respond? They fought back with mutho-logia, that is, with a logos about myth. This ³rational² approach invoked the same logos as that associated with philosophia. In fact, philosophia and mythologia were at times so intimately connected that it was difficult to distinguish between them. This is due to the ³spell² of myth, particularly Greek/Homeric myth, or to be more precise, because of the allegorical interpretation of Homeric myth. The practice of allegorical interpretation preserved the notion that the ³first² poets were divinely inspired men with access to ³divine² secrets about the universe. In this lecture, I will begin with Homer and Hesiod, turn to the origin of philosophy, move on to the first quarrel between philosophy and poetry, and then review the birth of the practice of allegorical interpretation. I will give an overview of the role allegory played in the philosophic, religious, and even scientific traditions from this period to at least the Enlightenment. I will also endeavour to show how believers practiced allegorical interpretation in relation to the Torah, the Christian Bible, and later the Qur¹an. In doing so, I will show that, although there has always been a struggle between the literal and allegorical interpretations of sacred texts, the practitioners of allegory commonly viewed both religious and philosophical texts as emanating from the same divine source that is, as inspired by God. I will end with some reflections on the interpretative clashes between competitive ³inspired² texts. Gerard Naddaf is a specialist in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly the origins of philosophy, the Presocratics and Plato. He is a lecturer in Philosophy in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at the University of York, Ontario, Canada. When: Friday, 11th November 2011, 6:00-8:00 pm Where: New Law School Lecture Theatre 101, Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney, Camperdown Cost: Free R.S.V.P. Paul McMullen <[email protected]>
Dr. David Macarthur Senior Lecturer Philosophy Department University of Sydney, 2006, Australia Ph: +61-2-9351-3193 http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/philos/staff/profiles/dmacarthur.shtml
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