OUR CLAN ANIMAL our song
INSPIRATIONS
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) Mathematical Circles
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Pay attention, then you will know there are other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.
David Foster Wallace, Commencement Speech
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Love
alone can unite living beings so as to complete and fulfill
them... for it alone joins them by what is deepest in
themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love developing
until it embraces the totality of men and the earth."
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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"LOVE AND DO WHAT YOU WILL" St. Augustine
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Dass Guided Imagery
blogs for the week due by
11:59 PM the previous Sunday.
ETHICS GOALS
[2A2] The second goal of the required leadership/ethics flag courses -- learn to make real-life ethical choices -- is closely related to the core purpose of the University of Texas, to transform lives for the benefit of society. It is also one of the basic education requirements of U.T.: “have experience in thinking about moral and ethical problems.”
our primary approach is the oldest: ethics guided by lovingkindness; more specifically, by three nonbinary emotions: biophilia, inner peace, joie de vivre
[2A2f] To practice replacing fear and greed with love, compassion, tolerance, and the sympathetic imagination.
OTHER GOALS
[3C1] To unify the self: our goal is to maximize our potential by cultivating both sides of our brains, developing all our multiple intelligences.
2-16 Meet at the museum at 10 AM;
THE BLANTON MUSEUM ASSIGNMENT
[1] Choose an image from one part of one page of the Crusader Bible that reflects our recent exploration of the Jewish and Christian Bibles and the Koran*; our future exploration of gender; and/or our unifying themes of compassion vs domination, as it relates to nonhuman animals as well as humans. (one student per image: first come, first served)
*The Crusader Bible: A Gothic Masterpiece, an exhibition of over forty unbound pages from the one of the most celebrated French illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages... Likely created in Paris during the 1240s for King Louis IX of France—famous for building the Sainte-Chapelle and for leading two crusades-- the Crusader Bible originally had no text, [but now] bears inscriptions in Latin, Persian, and Judeo-Persian. [They] reflect how each owner used his language to lay claim to the book, appropriating its imagery for assimilation into their respective cultures. .....Alongside the Christian perspective reflected in the Morgan's manuscript, the exhibition offers Muslim and Jewish viewpoints on biblical narratives, revealed through Persian illustrations of the story of Joseph from the Metropolitan's collection and in the manuscript of Esther and Ahasuerus from the Jewish Theological Seminary's Ardashīr-nāma. Collectively, the works serve as a powerful reminder of the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and underscore the complex intersection between the politics, culture, and religion of the period.
[2] Or Choose an image of compassion, from the Crusader Bible* or from the special exhibit of the Madonnas from South America, or from the early medieval paintings in the room next to the Crusader Bible exhibit (one student per image: first come, first served). (Madonnas are obvious examples of compassion: Buddhists chose a mother's love for her only child as the best human example of compassion.)
*For example, the birth of Moses; commentary: Upper left: How, upon the birth of Moses, his mother fearing the king who had ordered that all newborn male Hebrews be killed, put him in a little ark woven of rushes on the river's bank. (Exodus 2:1–3) Upper right: How the daughter of the king had found the child, and, knowing him to be of the Hebrew's children, had compassion for him and devised that he be nursed. (Exodus 2: 5–10) Lower right: How the children of Israel, seeing Moses and hearing that God had compassion for them, leaned to the ground in worship. (Exodus 4: 29–31))
[3] Extra credit for all: visit the installation Cildo Meireles Missão/Missões [Mission/Missions] (How to Build Cathedrals)iand write your own interpretation of how it relates to our themes of domination, nonhuman animals, etc.
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Here are some examples taken from the complete Crusader Bible in the Metropolitan collection (we have only forty pages):
our relationship with nonhuman animals:
The First Day: Light is divided from the darkness. As a chorus of angels praises the Lord, Lucifer and the rebel angels are cast from Heaven. Immediately, the traitors assume the forms of hideous beasts. (Genesis 1:1–5) The Fifth Day: the Lord brings forth all of the creatures of the skies and seas. For the first time, birds take wing in the open firmament of the heavens, the waters teem with fish, and great whales roam the oceans. "Increase and multiply," the Lord commands, "fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth." (Genesis 1:20–23);The Sixth Day On the sixth day, the Lord forms man in his own image. As a sign of their special relationship, He grasps Adam's arm and, before the assembled creatures of the earth, charges him with dominion over the world and all of its inhabitants. (Genesis 1:24–31) The Sacrifices of Cain and Abel; Cain Murders His Brother The Lord is pleased with the ram Abel has brought as a sacrifice, but Cain meets with no such favor for the sheaves he presents at the altar. Furiously jealous, Cain later slays Abel with a hatchet. (Genesis 4:3–8) ; Noah Builds an Ark The Lord is distraught at the wickedness of men and orders a great flood to eliminate them from the earth. Only Noah finds grace in the eyes of God. In obedience to the Lord, Noah builds an enormous ark for the salvation of his family and the world's creatures. (Genesis 6:13–17);Joyous Landing Soon the ark comes to rest on Mount Ararat, where Noah, his family, and the animals descend to land as the birds happily escape through the ship's open windows. (Genesis 8:18–19) A New Beginning The Greatest of TestsThe Lord has decided to test Abraham by ordering him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Before Abraham can carry out this order, an angel of the Lord catches the tip of his sword and instructs him to offer a ram in the boy's place. Isaac appears twice in this illustration in a gold tunic, carrying firewood for his own sacrifice and again on the altar. (Genesis 22:9–13) ; A Sacrifice and a SignGideon requests a sign from the angel of the Lord, confirmation that he has found favor in His sight. As a companion shakes corn in a winnowing-fan, Gideon offers a sacrifice of lamb and broth to the Lord. The angel touches this offering with his staff, and it bursts into flames, assuring Gideon of the Lord's favor. (Judges 6:11–21)
gender:
Deborah, a ProphetessFollowing Ehud's death, the sins of the Israelites again displease the Lord. The people are made to suffer under the rule of Jabin, king of the Canaanites, for twenty years. Finally, the prophetess Deborah summons Barak to lead an attack against the Canaanite army. Deborah, riding side-saddle on a dappled charger, commands Barak and the Israelite forces. The exhausted and terror-stricken enemy offers no resistance even as its king receives his death blow. (Judges 4:8–16) Jael, a HeroineSisera, captain of the Canaanite army, has escaped the vengeance of the Israelites. He arrives at the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, a former ally of his king, Jabin. The thirsty Sisera is given milk to drink and promised protection from his pursuers. As he sleeps, Jael quietly approaches with a hammer and a nail from the tent. Softly, she places the nail on Sisera's forehead and then, strikes. Instantly, he passes from deep sleep to death. In a little while Barak arrives, searching for his enemy, only to discover that Jael has already dealt with this opponent. (Judges 4:17–22)Jephthah's Despair Once more, the Israelites have forgotten the blessings of the Lord and turned to the worship of idols. The people are sold into the hands of the Philistines and the Amorites and remain enslaved for eighteen years. Jephthah, the son of Gilead, is selected by the elders to lead the people out of bondage. If the Lord will bring him victory over Ammon, Jephthah vows, he will offer as sacrifice the first to come forth from his house upon his return. After the victory, he returns home, only to be greeted by his daughter, who merrily plays a timbrel. (Judges 11:30–35) Mourning in the Mountains Although filled with dread and sorrow, Jephthah's daughter accepts the vow her father has made to the Lord. She requests only that she and several companions might be granted two months to lament in the mountains. (Judges 11:36–38) Victory's Awful Price Two months have passed, and Jephthah's daughter bravely returns so that her father might fulfill his vow. Before a group of grieving women and an altar, Jephthah prepares to sever the neck of his daughter, whose wrists have been bound. (Judges 11:39–40)Reprehensible Demands While the Levite and his wife are at table, their host is called away to his door. Men of Gibeah demand that the old man surrender the Levite so that they might rape and murder him. Rather than suffer this fate, the Levite turns over his wife so that they might use her in his stead. (Judges 19:22–24) Gibeah's Crime The rapists deal wickedly with the Levite's wife. (Judges 19:25) Death of the Levite's Wife With her remaining strength, the Levite's wife crawls to the door of the house where her husband is lodged. In the morning, the Levite and his host discover her unconscious on the threshold. (Judges 19:25–27)
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LOOKING AHEAD: Obstacles to Compassion: the Need for Domination
2-18 Sadism: 1st half b&w; QUIZ; LEADER: WOLF
2-23 Fowler 1: pairs B and W; QUIZ; LEADER: BLACK BEAR 338-341 Kingsolver, Fowler review
2-25 Fowler 2: 2nd half b&w; QUIZ; LEADER: DEER
3-1 Fowler 3: 1st half b&w;QUIZ; LEADER?
3-1 P3 critiques due by midnight
