Nature's Religion

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Summary: Phenomenology of the Sacred
Review: "Nature's Religion" is a further development of Robert Corrington's "ecstatic naturalism." This is a "post-Christian," non-theistic (in the traditional sense), but deeply religious worldview in which the human consciousness finds itself separated from and yet mysteriously encountered by the primordial energies of its origins. Corrington communicates his vision of reality by combining a thoroughly poetic phenomenology with psychoanalytic theory, enfolding the whole project in a sophisticated semiotic sensibility that rejects the often simplistic reductionism of so much "postmodern" philosophy. Readers who recognize the kinds of experiences Corrington describes--epiphanies of numinous powers, self-transcending and overwhelming--will find those experiences articulated here with a singular passion, acute insight, and disturbing accuracy.

Rating:
Summary: Nature's Linchpin
Review: "Nature's Religion" is Corrington's keystone work. In it, he explores the very heart of that which clears the way for the movement he terms "ecstatic naturalism." Neither the spirit nor the semiosis of (Corrinton's) Nature can be conceived properly apart from the sacred issuing he outlines here. Written between the lines of psychoanalytics and semiotics, the work asserts the intrinsically "religious" approach of nature naturing / nature natured. Via a masterful reappropriation of Tillich's ground-breaking insights, Corrington delves into "the abyss opened by the ontological difference -- the unruly ground of the not yet." Here he finds a sacred fold/interval/ground/spirit that calls every self (even Nature-Itself) to "religious goals" beyond the intentions of any mere autonomy. The driving force of this eternal re-calling is, for Corrington, the very dis-position of Nature's ground/abyss. The use of language here is careful and clear. But, when approaching something as metaphysically encompassing as Corrington's subject, the novice can easily get lost in the sheer magnitude and multiplicity of the forces at play. Yet, as the most central of Corrington's writings, "Nature's Religion" serves nicely as both a well-positioned point of entry and as a profound exposition of the linchpin concerning his greater work.

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Summary: Reconciling Semiotic Tensions
Review: On the horizon of philosophical theology rests a brilliant display of ordinal phenomenology. While acknowledging Pierce's sign system, Corrington advances the theory by articulating the selving, or self-othering, process of signs. He recognizes the dialectic tensions caused by a god trying to reconcile its position within the orders of the nature it has created. The use of metaphors animates a discussion of the human process, communities and world hood which moves the reader through an understanding of the struggle interpreting signs cause as they move past their origins into a position of signification. The theories presented display the brilliance and genious with which Corrington attempts to reconcile the tensions caused by competing signification and interpretation. Corrington is a must for anyone interested in semiotics, ordinal phenomenology or philosophical philosophy.