Philosophy and Theology by Kelly Maeshiro
[Draft] An analysis of reductionism in connection with the unity of science. The paper is organiz... more [Draft] An analysis of reductionism in connection with the unity of science. The paper is organized into two parts: the first containing a logical analysis of the concepts of reduction and emergence, in both logical and ontological terms; the second containing an examination of the plausibility of reductionism.
An argument for the freedom of the will and a critique of scientific determinism.
Draft of a reflection on Einstein's special theory of relativity, by a nonspecialist. Excerpted f... more Draft of a reflection on Einstein's special theory of relativity, by a nonspecialist. Excerpted from a longer essay on modern physics.
An interpretation and critique of postmodern theory from the point of view of its theoretical con... more An interpretation and critique of postmodern theory from the point of view of its theoretical content and ideological function. Postmodernism is both the theory and ideology of postmodernity, which designates the historical period of late capitalism, and functions as a dominant framework of discourse. Considered from the point of view of its theoretical content, postmodern theory is systematically false in every single respect, and as a dominant framework of discourse introduces systematic distortions within all of the discourses in which postmodernism has been influential, including much of the humanities. But postmodernism is not simply a theoretical mistake; it is among other things the ideology of a definite historical period. As an ideology of late capitalism, postmodern theory expresses, but does not comprehend, the condition of its own alienation -- which in turn explains its systematic falsity. An expression of this alienation, it is too deeply imbricated in the forms of consciousness proper to its own historical period to form an adequate conception of that period, or of itself. That is in turn because postmodern theory itself is a postmodern artifact, the commodity-form of theory in the period of late capitalism, and represents the wholesale commodification of theory itself. Postmodernism thus stands to be criticized on at least three grounds. As a framework of discourse, it is systematically distorted. As a theory of postmodernity, it is false. And as an ideology, it is complicit in the social reproduction of capital. This presents in turn a twofold problem, at once theoretical and practical. Theoretically, it must be refuted. Practically, it must be resisted. In both cases, it must opposed, if possible, eliminated.
Unfinished essay on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit.
A theological critique of capitalism as a form of religion, corresponding to a definite historica... more A theological critique of capitalism as a form of religion, corresponding to a definite historical form of idolatry, which should be destroyed, with discussions of secularism, alienation, Marx's anthropology, commodity fetishism, and idolatry.
As scholars have begun to recognize, capitalism exhibits many of the features of traditional reli... more As scholars have begun to recognize, capitalism exhibits many of the features of traditional religious systems (beliefs, practices, institutions, symbols, etc.). The Capitalist religion is an expression of the alienation implied in the capitalist mode of production, which in turn represents a definite historical form of idolatry.
Our subject is the dialectic of God, our contention, that God reveals Godself through the element... more Our subject is the dialectic of God, our contention, that God reveals Godself through the element of the finite, that the development of modern theology, the general movement of which is characterized above all by its descent from the misty realms of dogmatic metaphysics into the human sphere, not only recapitulates the Christian logic of Incarnation, God's own self-movement from heaven to earth, but also -a much stronger claim -that the development of modern theology is this self-movement, its philosophical and theological expression, and that the development of modern theology is as such God's self -revelation, the mode of this self-revelation through the finite and fallible theoretical constructions of finite and fallible creatures. This essay, then, affirms the fundamental project of modern liberal theology, for all of its flaws, as a genuinely Christian expression. In this sense, it is a defense, at least implicitly, of the overall project of liberal theology against its critics, and against the oft-repeated, often sloganistic, and facile criticisms of it. I do not reject the charge that liberal theology stresses God's immanence, but rather see this development as given, if only in contradictory form, in Christianity itself, not least in its narratives of Incarnation and Crucifixion, and its emphasis on God's finitude -only the idea is expressed in contradictory form here and must be worked out theoretically into self-conscious form, which is the task to which all theology -but of particular interest for us, modern theology -is devoted. If, in other words, liberal theology stresses God's immanence, the identity of divine and human nature, that is in large part because the Christian scriptures themselves do, and modern theology is simply working out this idea into more self-conscious form. In order to somewhat restrict the scope of our dialectical inquiry, I limit it to tracing out the self-becoming of Christianity in the development of modern theology with respect to only one theme, the knowledge of God, and to the issuesmetaphysics, epistemology, dialectics, God's relation to human beings -which are strictly related to it, and only insofar as they are strictly related to it, further restraining this inquiry to the few thinkers whose work bear directly on our topic, and deal with their work only insofar as it is strictly related to it. We thus deal almost exclusively with Kant, Schelling, and Hegel in the course of this essay, and especially with Kant and Hegel. Here we find that Kant's Copernican revolution in philosophy, his turn toward the subject, from dogmatic metaphysics to epistemology, recapitulates God's movement from heaven to earth, and God's own embodiment in the form of a human subject in Christ. But Kantian idealism is predicated on a Cartesian metaphysical dualism of subject and object which shows itself to be problematic in its own way, and while it represents a descent from the misty realm of dogmatic metaphysics, it is stuck with a residue of heaven, the noumenal in-itself, which holds the divine apart from the human and prevents Kant's philosophy from assuming its life as a philosophy of this world . It is thus left to Hegel, following Schelling, to work out an immanent metaphysics of absolute knowing, which takes a further step from heaven toward the earth by dispensing with that residue of heaven, the noumenal in-itself, thus collapsing the distinction between the human and divine in the Absolute, from which point it is necessary to postulate human cognition, including not only Hegelian philosophy but also the whole development of modern theology, as divine cognition, as God's self-consciousness through human subjects, or the Absolute's awareness of itself as the Absolute in greater or lesser degrees of self-consciousness. Hegel's philosophy, in collapsing the distinction between thought and being, the noumenal and the phenomenal, the divine and the human, through a transcendental deduction of the Absolute, thus brings consciousness to a point where it can recognize it's own thoughts as the self -consciousness of the Absolute. This in turn brings us to a point where we can recognize the whole development of modern theology, from Kant to Hegel and beyond, as God's self -revelation, from which it follows that the secularization of theology which characterizes its development is the mode of God's self-revelation, i.e., that the secularization which characterizes the development of modern theology does not just structurally recapitulate the logic of Incarnation, but rather that God reveals Godself in the element of the secular, and that, consequently, the secularization of modern theology is the very manner in which God reveals Godself to the world. Here, then, we we begin with Kant.
A paper written a while back, in December 2014, for a course on A.J. Heschel with Cornel West at ... more A paper written a while back, in December 2014, for a course on A.J. Heschel with Cornel West at Union Theological Seminary. The paper explores some of the themes with which I have been principally occupied: alienation, modernity, capitalism, nihilism, meaning, the holy, and the relations between all of these. It examines the problem of nihilism as in part an effect of the alienation implied in capitalist civilization, and the effects this has had on our relation to the transcendent.
Among the most pressing and fundamental facts of modern existence is nihilism, the death of god, the collapse of our structures of meaning, an eclipse of hope, a spiritual blackout. The reason this threat appears so particularly ominous to us is that it seeks to rob us of our ability to be pious, to connect with a source of meaning larger than our petty selves, to be in communion with a transcendent dimension of meaning and a holy dimension of existence with which come our ability to experience grace, to experience life as miraculous, with awe and wonder and radical amazement. The old metaphysical center, this transcendental signified, provided humanity with a structure of meaning which mediated its relation to the dimension of the holy. It was through this structure of meaning that humanity was able to cultivate and nurture its connection to this external source of meaning and value, far exceeding the bounds of the self, and there is a time, we are told, in which piety was as common as knowledge of the multiplication table is today. But we live in a different world today. With the advent of late modernity, with the bombing of Hiroshima and the genocide of Auschwitz, and so many other events of which these two are characteristic, the center could no longer hold, and the words of Nietzsche’s madman proved prophetic. God died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. It was spiritual blackout in the wasteland of modernity. And in the metaphysical void which the old structure of meaning left in its collapse came a new, vicious god, Capital, whose depredations have only exacerbated the nihilistic threat of late modernity. This is the spiritual situation of the modern individual. The question is whether not there is a way out, a way above.
Tracing through the development of materialist philosophy via Hegel, Feuerbach, and Marx, the pap... more Tracing through the development of materialist philosophy via Hegel, Feuerbach, and Marx, the paper conceives of communism of the sort that Marx imagined as a constructive moment in the dialectic of the Absolute. In one sense, the aim is to formulate the broad outlines of a synthesis between Hegel's idealism and Marx's materialism. Drawing on Marx contra Hegel, I argue that the Absolute cannot realize itself through the free conscious activity of human beings within the framework of the bourgeois state, but only within the framework of communism of the sort that Marx envisioned. But I also argue that Marx's materialism is a good deal more consistent with the framework of Hegel's idealism than he, on account of what I believe is a misreading, probably supposed. If this is true, Marx's materialism represents an expression of the Absolute which does not recognize itself as such.
Drawing on Plato as paradigmatic philosopher and, to a large extent, the intellectual architect o... more Drawing on Plato as paradigmatic philosopher and, to a large extent, the intellectual architect of subsequent Western philosophy, the essay examines the definite limits of philosophical discourse and explores the conditions of its legitimacy. Taking Plato's treatment of the poets in the Republic as an example, the essay argues that poetry and philosophy are autonomous discourses, "separate magisteria"; that rational foundations are the conditions of meaningful philosophical discourse; and that poetic discourse is a form of dramatic wisdom which becomes meaningful precisely at the point at which philosophical discourse breaks down.
The alienation implied in the capitalist mode of production represents a form of idolatry in the ... more The alienation implied in the capitalist mode of production represents a form of idolatry in the biblical sense (an objectification, projection, and externalization of one's own essential nature), and explains: (1) spiritual anxiety (meaninglessness) as the specific historical form of anxiety which corresponds with capitalism as a definite historical form of production; and (2) the emergence of what Tillich calls secular "quasi-religions," including the Capitalist religion, with its own beliefs, practices, symbols, myths, institutions, and so on.
On the basis of a simplistic theological misdiagnosis of an historical problem, Barth maintains a... more On the basis of a simplistic theological misdiagnosis of an historical problem, Barth maintains a philosophically problematic, unbiblical, and ultimately idolatrous conception of the relation between God and humanity.
An interpretation of Martin Luther King, Jr., as the greatest liberal theologian of his generatio... more An interpretation of Martin Luther King, Jr., as the greatest liberal theologian of his generation and leading proponent of a politically radical Hegelian idealism.
Political Economy by Kelly Maeshiro
The nature and conduct of U.S. foreign policy is not difficult to understand. It is in fact quite... more The nature and conduct of U.S. foreign policy is not difficult to understand. It is in fact quite simple. A modicum of common sense is all that is necessary. What employment of common sense reveals is exactly what one would expect on any minimally rational assumptions: the foreign policy of the United States reflects the interests of the business community which largely formulate state policy. While various sectors of internationally-oriented private capital have diverse material interests, they converge on the need for access to the markets and resources of the world. The overarching principle of U.S. policy, which reflects these shared class interests, is therefore to sustain an overall framework of order in which American capital is ensured access to the markets and resources of the world, as well as a favorable investment climate. All of these priorities are stated explicitly in the internal documentary record, as are the corollary principles, which include consistent support for authoritarian regimes, opposition to freedom, democracy, and human rights, as well as systematic opposition to independent development. In cases where states pursue a course of independent development (as in Iran, Guatemala, the Congo, Iran, Brazil, Nicaragua, and so on), the United States predictably intervenes to restore “stability” which means a favorable business climate, usually achieved through harsh repression. The “communist threat” is then invoked as a pretext for intervention and aggression. Since no communist threat actually exists, even in cases where communists are present, policymakers are forced to consciously fabricate a threat to justify intervention. These are the basic outlines of U.S. foreign policy, obvious once considered, demonstrably accurate when weighed against the facts.
Reinhold Niebuhr was a titanic thinker. Judged by the power, depth, and scope of this thought, he... more Reinhold Niebuhr was a titanic thinker. Judged by the power, depth, and scope of this thought, he was arguably "the greatest American theologian of the twentieth century," as Gary Dorrien suggests. He was an astute theological critic, a shrewd theorist of power, a discerning 1 political psychologist, and a tremendous apologist for the Christian faith in the modern world. He was also an incredible writer. He painted a sweeping portrait of human life, at once full of endless possibilities, but also tragic and fragmentary, full of cruelty and sin and egoism. His contributions to theology, social ethics, and politics were immense. He elaborated an organic and dynamic relationship between religion and politics, provided a rational justification for social ethics as an autonomous discourse, and creatively reinterpreted the doctrine of original sin in a way that united his own theology and politics under the banner of a single, coherent realist vision. As a theological critic, he constructed an elaborate typological system by means of which he was able to set Christianity into a sprawling dialogue with major worldviews within the western tradition, and articulated a sophisticated and compelling alternative to Barthian "neo-orthodox" theology. As a political thinker, he formulated a powerful critique of the ethical attitudes of the privileged classes, still relevant today with little need for qualification, and in many ways the most impressive aspect of his early writings on politics.
A brief essay, written in March 2014, in which I lay out a basic argument in favor of socialism i... more A brief essay, written in March 2014, in which I lay out a basic argument in favor of socialism in the form of economic democracy.
As the title suggests, this extended essay is a critique of mainstream economic theory (neoclassi... more As the title suggests, this extended essay is a critique of mainstream economic theory (neoclassical and neo-Keynesian), which serves the function of a theology for the Capitalist religion -- a rationalization and legitimization of capitalist accumulation. The economics faculty constitute a secular priesthood with its own arcane form of self-referential theological discourse. The essay examines the discursive and institutional practices which systematically distort genuine understanding of the economic system in a way that rationalizes capitalist production.
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Philosophy and Theology by Kelly Maeshiro
Among the most pressing and fundamental facts of modern existence is nihilism, the death of god, the collapse of our structures of meaning, an eclipse of hope, a spiritual blackout. The reason this threat appears so particularly ominous to us is that it seeks to rob us of our ability to be pious, to connect with a source of meaning larger than our petty selves, to be in communion with a transcendent dimension of meaning and a holy dimension of existence with which come our ability to experience grace, to experience life as miraculous, with awe and wonder and radical amazement. The old metaphysical center, this transcendental signified, provided humanity with a structure of meaning which mediated its relation to the dimension of the holy. It was through this structure of meaning that humanity was able to cultivate and nurture its connection to this external source of meaning and value, far exceeding the bounds of the self, and there is a time, we are told, in which piety was as common as knowledge of the multiplication table is today. But we live in a different world today. With the advent of late modernity, with the bombing of Hiroshima and the genocide of Auschwitz, and so many other events of which these two are characteristic, the center could no longer hold, and the words of Nietzsche’s madman proved prophetic. God died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. It was spiritual blackout in the wasteland of modernity. And in the metaphysical void which the old structure of meaning left in its collapse came a new, vicious god, Capital, whose depredations have only exacerbated the nihilistic threat of late modernity. This is the spiritual situation of the modern individual. The question is whether not there is a way out, a way above.
Political Economy by Kelly Maeshiro
Among the most pressing and fundamental facts of modern existence is nihilism, the death of god, the collapse of our structures of meaning, an eclipse of hope, a spiritual blackout. The reason this threat appears so particularly ominous to us is that it seeks to rob us of our ability to be pious, to connect with a source of meaning larger than our petty selves, to be in communion with a transcendent dimension of meaning and a holy dimension of existence with which come our ability to experience grace, to experience life as miraculous, with awe and wonder and radical amazement. The old metaphysical center, this transcendental signified, provided humanity with a structure of meaning which mediated its relation to the dimension of the holy. It was through this structure of meaning that humanity was able to cultivate and nurture its connection to this external source of meaning and value, far exceeding the bounds of the self, and there is a time, we are told, in which piety was as common as knowledge of the multiplication table is today. But we live in a different world today. With the advent of late modernity, with the bombing of Hiroshima and the genocide of Auschwitz, and so many other events of which these two are characteristic, the center could no longer hold, and the words of Nietzsche’s madman proved prophetic. God died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. It was spiritual blackout in the wasteland of modernity. And in the metaphysical void which the old structure of meaning left in its collapse came a new, vicious god, Capital, whose depredations have only exacerbated the nihilistic threat of late modernity. This is the spiritual situation of the modern individual. The question is whether not there is a way out, a way above.