Introduction to two essays on prayer.Two landmarks in the study of consciousness - Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams and William James' Varieties of Religious Experience - appeared at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Freud understood dreams ("the language of the night") as a type of language whose complex associations of symbols yield meaning to the skilled analyst who can penetrate a dream's confusing con·fuse v. con·fused, con·fus·ing, con·fus·es v.tr. 1. a. To cause to be unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence or understanding; throw off. b. manifest content man·i·fest content n. The content of a dream, fantasy, or thought as it is remembered and reported in psychoanalysis. manifest content . James too brought an analytic attitude to matters neglected by his scientific contemporaries. He bravely initiated the investigation of areas of human experience subsumed under the label "religion." Consider his words on the topic of prayer: The conviction that something is genuinely transacted in this [prayerful prayer·ful adj. 1. Inclined or given to praying frequently; devout. 2. Typical or indicative of prayer, as a mannerism, gesture, or facial expression. ] consciousness is the very core of living religion. As to what is transacted, great differences of opinion have prevailed ... It may well prove that the sphere of influence in prayer is subjective exclusively, and that what is immediately changed is only the mind of the praying person. But however our opinion of prayer's effects may come to be limited by criticism, religion in the vital sense ... must stand or fall by the persuasion PERSUASION. The act of influencing by expostulation or request. While the persuasion is confined within those limits which leave the mind free, it may be used to induce another to make his will, or even to make it in his own favor; but if such persuasion should so far operate on the mind that effects of some sort genuinely do occur. Through prayer, religion insists, things which cannot be realized in any other manner come about... Almost a century later, prayer remains a controversial area of study, its "effects" still disputed. The two papers presented here take distinctly different approaches, neither claiming to yield conclusive Determinative; beyond dispute or question. That which is conclusive is manifest, clear, or obvious. It is a legal inference made so peremptorily that it cannot be overthrown or contradicted. answers, but each certainly provoking pro·vok·ing adj. Troubling the nerves or peace of mind, as by repeated vexations: a provoking delay at the airport. pro·vok further valuable questions. In considering prayer in linguistic terms (as Hamlet Hamlet Tragic hero who tarries and broods over revenge and suicide. [Br. Lit.: Hamlet] See : Indecision Hamlet introspective, vacillating Prince of Denmark. [Br. Lit. speculated: "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below / Words without thoughts never to heaven go"), Speech Act and other communication theorists have far to go. They need to ask what constitutes a prayerful communication act. Who speaks and who does the speaker address? What rules of dialogue and response apply? Ultimately, to what degree can we indicate the appropriate limits of observation and participation? |
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