I wonder if Christopher Hitchens has ever read works by Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) Vico. Hitchens, the hostile, close-minded anti-religionist would then begin to understand that religion (especially Christianity and the Bible) cannot be approached as simply literal (yes or no) issues but must be considered as poetics; through poetics (and all of its figurative possibilities), one can better apprehend the sublime reality of the Bible and Christianity.
Well, I would go a step further and suggest that Hitchens is not the only one who ought to think about Vico as a way of understanding religion. Anyone whose thinking has been addled by modernity should give Vico a close look.
Well, I suspect Joyce's analysis of Vico with respect to Joyce's conclusions and attitudes about religion might be a bit different from my analysis (which is admittedly based on a slighter familiarization with Vico).
I wonder if Christopher Hitchens has ever read works by Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) Vico. Hitchens, the hostile, close-minded anti-religionist would then begin to understand that religion (especially Christianity and the Bible) cannot be approached as simply literal (yes or no) issues but must be considered as poetics; through poetics (and all of its figurative possibilities), one can better apprehend the sublime reality of the Bible and Christianity.
ReplyDeleteWell, I would go a step further and suggest that Hitchens is not the only one who ought to think about Vico as a way of understanding religion. Anyone whose thinking has been addled by modernity should give Vico a close look.
As you probably know, R.T., Joyce was a big Vico fan.
ReplyDeleteWell, I suspect Joyce's analysis of Vico with respect to Joyce's conclusions and attitudes about religion might be a bit different from my analysis (which is admittedly based on a slighter familiarization with Vico).
ReplyDelete