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43 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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nought-ing
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For Julian of Norwich, the action of placing wordly things at no value, allowing nothing to come between oneself and God, entering the state of nothingness. Paired with "one-ing". Julian saw writing as a form of self-negation - this allowed medieval women to be religious visionaries, because they were seen as empty vessels through which God's messages could be purely conducted.
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one-ing
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For Julian of Norwich, a process of reaching unity, wholeness, one-ness. Paired with "nought-ing"
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action hero
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A figure who lacks a place within the community for which he fights (a paradox made familiar in Western drama). Possibly insane, but it makes him good - his outsiderness contributes to his skill, he is outside of society and rationality. In Zefferelli's adaptation, Hamlet's outsider status has him always watching - giving him power over scenes. His POV is not limited, instead it gives knowledge and drives the action.
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affective piety
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For Julian of Norwich, a highly emotional religious experience. A desire to recreate Jesus's physical experience in one's own body. Based on compassion. Linked to the concept of God as the Bridegroom, in which our souls are the brides - religious experiences should be emotionally involving. (vs. the highly cerebral and emotionally distant writings of Thomas Aquinas.)
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agency
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is to action, what interiority is to thought. The possibility of committing meaningful action free of external constraints
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aletheia
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For Plato, the unhidden, unconcealed truth. "That which does not remain unnoticed." Not proven, but revealed. Emphasized in Plato's dialectic form of writing. For Augustine, aleitheia is revealed only in heaven, when earthly life is past.
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anchoress
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"Anchorite" from Greek, "to retreat". English females (like Julian of Norwich) who lived in small cells attached to the outsides of churches. During enclosure ceremonies, they were read the rites of the dead. A sort of extreme contemplation - a choice for contemplation with complete deprivation of the active life. Related to the ascetic discipline focused on developing the inner world. For Margaret Cavendish, the anchoress is a model for the ideal practice of natural philosophy - she tried to create a sort of domestic anchoritic lifestyle.
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ascesis
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A denial of pleasure and sensory experience in order to achieve a heightened spiritual awareness. Practiced by anchorites. Surfaces in Margaret Cavendish's science - sensory information is not trusted, "rational", reason-based perception over "sensitive" perception reliant on the senses.
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bios theoretikos
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bios: life, theoretikos: contemplation (theory). To Plato, the contemplative life. A precondition for true happiness
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Carthusian
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A semi-enclosed monastic order dedicated to the contemplative life. Cells arranged around a cloister. Thomas More considered joining the monastery - Carthusian spirituality formed the basis of More's model of contemplation.
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Christianization
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Adoption of classical concepts as building blocks for a Christian framework. See Rome's transformation from pagan to Christian under Constantine - the Pantheon becomes a church of the Virgin Mary. Eudaimonia becomes something known only in heaven, the Greek polis is adopted in City of God, aletheia becomes embodied and incarnated in Christ who passed into eternity. Cave parable is an influence: City of God emphasizes an upward movement from bodies/senses to the unchangeable truth. Christianization depended on building blocks in order to form a coherent philosophy, but redefined the purpose of these building blocks in the process.
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compassion
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For Julian of Norwich, co-suffering, suffering along with, not merely pity. A breaking down of boundaries to allow for total identification. Allows for "one-ing".
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dialectic
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Rooted in dialogue. Ideas are generated through give and take, question and response. Induces disorientation, forcing us to suspend faith in the see-able in order to see beyond to the aletheia. Knocks you off your pedestal to see your former ignorance. Socrates's main mode of communication. Used in Thomas Aquinas to lead readers to proper truths. (vs. The Courtier's dialogue of courtly entertainment.)
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enclosure
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Motif prominent in Julian of Norwich. Obviously, she herself is enclosed as an anchoress. But God is also enclosed within man. Defies any simple inside and outside model. Creates a nurturing sentiment.
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eudaimonia
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Supreme happiness, towards which humans are naturally inclined. A godlike, divine state in which we reach enlightenment and true fulfillment. Thoughts and actions become aligned. Achieved through contemplation. For Augustine, this happiness is also achieved through proximity to the divine, however, he believes that happiness on this earth is illusory.
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experience
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Related to the "experientia literata", the concept that we can bring literary experience into our lives. To Francis Bacon, this is in the same realm as scientific experimentation - literature can give us through experience what we hope to attain through experiment. Experience is also what we attain through our senses, which Bacon believes is subjective and unstable, needing interpretation. Experience + interpretation = knowledge.
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genre
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Margaret Cavendish's She-Anchoret: Is it romance, hagiography, natural philosophy, Platonic dialogue?
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grazia
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Definitions: 1. (of a person) grace - "ballerina" 2. favor - to be in good graces 3. mercy, pardon, to be pardoned - justice 4. grace of God. The Courtier proceeds through these definitions - Books I and II, grace is a personal quality, Books III and IV, grace is favor/social status, Book IV, grace is justice/social order, Book IV, grace is divine plenitude. From graceful behavior to good graces to a right social order informed by truth. The lady civilizes the courtier though her grace (he replaces fighting with dancing), the courtier civilizes the prince (exchange of grace), the prince civilizes the infidel (God's grace)/
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humanism
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The "studia humanitates". Natural philosophy and classical literature. Believed human nature is fulfilled through education. Saw the spread of literacy to the laity - the rise of lay administrators, counselors, and government officials (like Thomas More). A tool of social and individual betterment.
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imitatio
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In The Courtier, the doctrine of imitation. You read books for examples to model yourself after - reading becomes a form of self-improvement. We attempt to emulate the heroic deeds we read about. The purpose of education is to perfect our performances.Echoes Cicero's doctrine of living life to get esteem.
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interiority
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is to thought, as agency is to action. The condition of the inner self, necessary for meaningful thought. In Hamlet, a refuge from the conditions of surveillance in Denmark's police state.
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interpretation
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Not quite admitting the reliability of what is seen. Acknowledging the break between sensory information and knowledge - what we see must be filtered, processed and tested. Estrangement + cognition. Demonstrated in Bacon's use of qualifiers. Mimics God's creation process (College of Six Days Work) - taking raw material and imposing form/meaning. Experience + interpretation = knowledge.
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Jesus as Mother
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In Julian of Norwich, Jesus's self-sacrifice is painted as motherly. In medeival times he was associated with the pelican, thought to nourish its young with its own blood. We are born when converted - Jesus birthed us through his suffering at crucifixion. Can be read as a feminist concept, a powerful image to women - or, conversely, can be read as detracting from human motherhood.
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kathekon
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Appropriate behavior in accordance with nature, fulfilling human nature through reason. Morality has origins in nature. Appropriate action is aligned with nature. (vs. "duty", acting in accordance with social expectations.) From Stoic philosophers.
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laity
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Not a part of the clergy. Received education with the spread of humanism.
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love
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For Julian of Norwich, love on earth with fellow Christians is a heavenly experience, an approximation of heavenly bliss and eternity/oneness. Love is a peaceful encounter with the divine, and the ultimate end of contemplation.
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natural philosophy
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For Margaret Cavendish, imagination rather than sensory information is key to the practice of natural philosophy.
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negotium
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For Augustine, not "otium" - not peace, unleisure. A disturbed perversion of the ideal state. Embodied in the active life. For Thomas More, the business life of negotiation, which leads to the loss of "the self".
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Oedipus complex
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Boys subconsciously want to kill their fathers and marry their mothers. In Olivier's adaptation, Hamlet is unable to kill Claudius because he identifies with him. A young actress plays Gertrude. and she is filmed as an object of desire. Her bed is the center of the castle, and Hamlet seems to express an excessive anger towards her.
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otium
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For Augustine, leisure and finding peace. In The Courtier, Urbino can be read as a court of "otium", where the arts of war have been adopted as modes of leisurely entertainment.
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point of view
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In Olivier's Hamlet, point of view directs the eye of the camera. This influences how we experience the characters' world. In the movie, point of view also emphasizes the bounds of perspective - a paranoid awareness that there is something unknown.
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polis
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City- City of God (eternal) vs City of Man(impermanent)
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prudence
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For Cicero, a social virtue - doing the right thing in daily life, in order to win esteem and align with society. "The good" is society's good opinion. Influences Castiglione's portrayal of the court culture of self-advancement.
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representation
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Creating conditions different from reality. In Hamlet, anxiety about representation is expressed through a negative attitude towards women and cosmetics - there is an anxiety about the disparity between inside and outside.
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rhetoric
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Political standing depends on rhetorical skills. Truth has to be presented in the right way. Persuasion. From Cicero' De Oficiis.
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rhetoric
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Eloquence used to persuade. According to Cicero, our lives should be crafted rhetorically to win esteem. Linked to an election-based political system. In the courtier, used to win favor of the prince. Francis Bacon despises rhetoric.
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representation
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Front for who you actually are. Women= representation in Hamlet. Women use makeup as a false image. Hamlet uses antic disposition as representation.
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royal society
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Mid-17th century society dedicated to experimental natural philosophy. Based on Bacon's New Atlantis. Members included Sir Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle. The founding institution for modern science. Criticized by Margaret Cavendish.
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science fiction
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Conditions: presence/interaction of estrangement and cognition (making the familiar unfamiliar), an imaginative framework alternative to the empirical. A mode of romance. Approaches mystery/wonder through large symbols (space/time).
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scientia
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Knowledge. Its two branches: science and literature
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self
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Thomas More presents 2 kinds of self: Active vs contemplative self. All work= no self. All leisure= all self.
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sprezzatora
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Making art look natural, making effort look effortless, making culture look like nature. A social art - imitating nature to produce esteem. Trying so hard that it looks like you're not trying.
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wonder
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"broken knowledge", as opposed to God's "perfect knowledge". A condition of not knowing that spurs us to learn more. Something we don't know that produces awe (wonder cabinets). A willingness to approach the unknown with awe and pleasure. The core of early modern science, utilized in Bacon's "science fiction".
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