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 Umwelt. It shows that communication strategies premised by the tenets of ‘constructivism’ and ‘realism’ do not work. Neither do ‘cons...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bennett, Fionn (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Fachgebiet für Religionswissenschaft im Fachbereich 11, Philipps Universität Marburg [2020]
In: Marburg journal of religion
Year: 2020, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-35
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Human being / Environment / Biological systems / Communication strategy / Magical thinking
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AF Geography of religion
AZ New religious movements
NCG Environmental ethics; Creation ethics
Further subjects:B cosmonomy
B Ethology
B magical
B global society
B incantatory magic
B cosmodicy
B Religion
B archaic Hellenic
B Enchantment
B hieroglossia
B environmental affordance
B song culture
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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 Umwelt. 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 entente cordiale 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.
ISSN:1612-2941
Contains:Enthalten in: Marburg journal of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17192/mjr.2020.22.8296