Fall 2011 Wisdom Course Class Notes C

November 7, 2011 (17)

Estes, "Proverbs"

• p. 219: definition and properties of proverbs. "brief pungent maxim crystallizing experience" 219 a heuristic!

• Wisdom divides into "spaiental, moral, relgious" dimension in religious culture of Judaism.

• Judaic belief in natural order. p. 222

• Values/themes expressed in Proverbs -- Note how these virtues and attitudes would function in promoting group cohesion and rational expectations within a group.

• Cheerfulness --
• Contentment -- in marriage, with God, contentment leads to moderation, the discontent are tempted to do wrong,
• Decisions -- interesting connection decision making chapter in Hall; integrity, getting advice in making decisions,
• Diligence -- 20:5 -- compares well with Buddhism, Stoics, Epicureans, q. 235, "The diligent person..."
• Friendship -- 237: note integration of vertical and horizontal, 237.
• Generosity -- consider some functions of generosity: signalling commitment to group, lack of greed, reciprocity: "in 21:13: "If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."
• Humility --
• Kindness --
• Parenting -- note emphasis on training
• Purity -- Hebrew "heart" (like gen in Chinese Philosophy) - image/source of goodness of motivation
• Righteousness --
• Truthfulness --

• Note the connection and contrast of these themes with some of the other traditions we have looked at.

Proverbs

• Divides in four places, at 9.18, 22.16, and 25.1. First 10 books seem like instruction (Estes), later books full of specific proverbs. Note misogyny. Women are temptresses.

Formal Features of Proverbs

• Look at Proverb form: from Estes: contrast, enigmatic, compresses, pith, uses analogy, understood to be generalizations.

• analogies and similes: 26:7ff
• Chiasmus

Themes of Proverbs

• Wise lead orderly lives in fear of the Lord and they prosper because of it.
• Attitude of the wise is consistent and cheerful, even in the face of poverty. 15:15-17, also 19:1
• Proverbs offer integration of behavioral norms we should hold ourselves to with a vertical and transcendent moral order.
• Situations in which we should check our responses
• Issues of trust and association (important for our inquiry in this part of the course)
• Flourishing
• Mind, speech, and action
• Recall one's attention to the Lord (to vertical relationships)

• Could we write proverbs for our time?

November 9, 2011 (18)

Job

• Review story: Job, God, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu -- importance of devil's wager.
• Reminder of Problem of Evil --

• What is the lesson of Job?

• 1. Your best effort to lead a justified and upright life might not save you from profound suffering. AND
• 2. You can't blame God for it, but you don't have to blame yourself either.

• Important that God condemns the friends' approach and supports Job's

• View of Wisdom

• Key lesson of wisdom is to understand limits of understanding
• We go wrong to think that God's care for us implies that allowing suffering is unjust. Presumes we understand all the competing goals of creation. (note similarity and difference from Greeks -- you have a version of Socratic humility, but none of the aspiration toward complete knowledge.
• Wisdom involves being prepared for one's life to become Job-like.
• Fate / God

Ecclesiastes

• major theme: human existence is full of vanity and "striving after the wind". "nothing new under the sun" -- strong sense of man's insignificance

• 2 -- Speaker built great wealth and works. still didn't help.

• 2:24 -- Crucial argument -- follow

• 3 -- Positive Theory -- "For everything there is a season"

• 3 -- God gave us the idea of eternity, but also limits our knowledge. -- also resignation at futility 3:19-23

• 4 -- Beginning of proverbial advice. Review for substance and tone.

November 14, 2011 (19)

Song of Solomon

This is from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Contents. As a collection of love lyrics, this book is not easy to summarize. The poems follow no logical sequence; rather, they express the various moods of love: the joy of union, the pain of separation. There are protestations of love and fidelity, reminiscences of courtship, descriptions of each other's beauty. The mood of mutual love is sustained throughout, but a high-point is reached in 8.6–7, "Set me as a seal on your heart… ." The imagery is spontaneous and varied: gazelles and hinds, pomegranates and mandrakes, myrrh and spices, vineyards and wine. The rich use of geographical references suggests the disparate origins of the lyrics: Cedar, Engaddi, Lebanon, etc.

Interpretation. If identifying the literary structure is difficult, the interpretation of the meaning is more so. Both Christian and Jewish interpretations have agreed on a religious meaning: this book describes the love of Yahweh and Israel (or Christ and the Church) in terms of human marriage, thus continuing the theme inaugurated by Hosea (ch. 1–3) and echoed in many later prophets (Is1.21–22; 62.5; Jer 3.1–10; Ez ch. 16, 23).

As Parable or Allegory. In detail, this interpretation is worked out as a parable, or as an allegory. The parabolic view is presented by D. Buzy, who claims that the work as a whole deals with the covenant relationship under the guise of human marriage. One should not press the details here; they serve to create the marriage atmosphere and to carry on the theme. Others argue that the Song is an allegory; the details have each a transferred meaning, referring to various aspects of Yahweh's dealings with Israel. This approach was first given a strong philological and exegetical basis by P. Joüon, and it has been supported by the method of style anthologique, applied by A. Robert. The "anthological style" refers to the Biblical practice (e.g., in Prv ch. 1–9, Sir, Wis) of composing a work in phrases and diction borrowed from earlier Biblical works; presumably the allusions to the previous books betray the intention of the writer of this book.

As Cultic Songs. Another interpretation, by such scholars as T. Meek, M. Haller, H. Ringgren, H. Schmökel, finds in this book cultic songs of the pagan myth of Tammuz and Ishtar. Presumably these could have been sung in the temple (e.g., during the reign of Manasseh) and might later have entered the Passover liturgy. But the contacts that are pointed out between the Song and the myth are not sufficient to establish this interpretation. Nor can one easily imagine that Israel would have glossed over such origins in eventually accepting the poems into the canon. Any similarity is more easily explained by the influence that popular beliefs might have had on the love poetry and the wedding imagery of the Israelites themselves.

As Extolling Human Love. In recent times several Catholic scholars have criticized both the allegorical and parabolic approach. The principal reason for this criticism is that the obvious meaning of the Song is human love. When human love is used in the prophetical writing as referring to Yahweh and Israel, the explanation of the symbolism is always given. Hence we may not presume that the intent of this book goes beyond the obvious and direct meaning. The use made by the prophets is usually in terms of Israel as the adulterous spouse (Hos 2.18–22; Is 62.5; etc. are clear exceptions), but the Song presents a picture of idyllic love. The elaborate use of anthological style by A. Robert and A. Feuillet has not convinced many, especially for the reason that there is no indication in the Song of alleged mercy toward an unfaithful spouse.

There is a strong trend among recent Catholic scholars to agree with many of their Protestant colleagues (H.H. Rowley, W. Rudolph, etc.) that the literal sense of this book is the extolling of love and fidelity between man and woman; so say J. P. Audet, A. Dubarle (at the Louvain journées bibliques of 1963), M. van den Oudenrijn, and others. Comparison of this book with the love poems of the ancient Near East, especially Egypt, shows a common atmosphere and similarity of theme. The Song would be the "voice of the bridegroom" and the "voice of the bride" mentioned in Jer 7.34 (Audet). Such praise of love is entirely consonant with inspiration, since God himself is the author of that love (Gn 1.27).

In line with this deeper understanding of love, these scholars also allow that a higher sense, fuller or typical, can be found here. Human love is a participation in divine love, to which it is oriented; the family reflects the people of God. Here exegesis would join the age-old interpretation that sees in the Song the description of the love between God and his People. Christian tradition has developed this theme, already found in the NT (Eph5.23–25, marriage compared to the relationship between Christ and his Church). The famous medieval writers, such as St. Bernard, and the mystical writers, such as St. John of the Cross, have exploited the richness of this interpretation.

[R. E. MURPHY]

Basics on Islam

Use the Islam Wiki page or other reference site to get some particulars on the following:

• Conception of God in Islam
• Revelation in the Koran
• Five Pillars

1. Recognition of God (Shahadah [1])
2. Prayer (Salah)
3. Fasting during Ramadan (Sawm)
4. Alms giving (Zakat)
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Wisdom from the Koran

Review the quotations from the Koran on the Islamic Research Foundation web page in your packet. What different aspects of "life pragmatics" do these statements address? How do they compare with other traditions and proverbial expressions we have read and discussed?

Frager, Ch 6 Mind of Islam

• Dualist psychology -- mind and soul(ruh) -- soul connected with heart -- ego (nafs) is a problem for realizing spritual nature.
• Human Nature - ruh insani - essentially spiritual.
• Stations of humanity corrrespond to different levels of "nafs" (note sagehood model, p. 101). Also, note how stages define border of community.
• Story of the Saint and the Scholar -- example of model of sagehood in Islam.
• p. 108: 14th century Sufi Poet Hafiz (Hāfez-e Šīrāzī) on desire.

November 16, 2011 (20)

Sufism -- Mysticism in Islam

• Term -- associated with purity, rough wool, "first row" deveotees of Mohammed,
• Sufis practice simple life.
• Process of sufi devotion: Devotion, Service, remembrance (of the name of God), meditation and contemplation.
• Note proverbs on p. 83.
• Follow the psychology of the Nafs on p. 84 - 88.
• "Adab" -- right action.

Hall, Ch 9, Altruism, Social Justice, Fairness, and the Wisdom of Punishment

• Hall's point about the wisdom of Solomon (from beginning and end of chapter) -- implication for theory.

• Problem of altruism

• from Darwin, then from Hamilton and Trivers "reciprocal altruism" and "kin selection"
• Research by Ernst Fehr -- behavioral studies of subjects in Prisoner's Dilemma situations (digress on Prisoner's Dilemma), bias toward cooperation.
• 2002 finding by Rilling -- mutual cooperation stimulates learning and pleasure responses. (Later, on p. 161, same is true for punishment.)

• Ultimatum Game

• Interpretation of Ultimatum Game regularity (25% or less gets rejection). Example of NFL revenue sharing. (NBA today!)
• Alan Sanfey's work on neural response in ultimatum game -- areas for emotion and disgust "light up" on low offers.
• Fehr research using TMS --- respondents accepted unfair offers.

• Public Goods games and punishment

November 28, 2011 (22)

Wilson, The Secular Utility of Religion

3 Examples of how Religious Practice involves adapative behaviors

• The Water Temple System of Bali

• analysis of the practical and metaphysical sides of the system.
• Evidence of effectiveness -- 129-130.

• Judaism -- wants to look at the adaptive characteristics of Judaic thought

• injunction to "go forth and multiply"
• treatment of in/out group members. "double standard" typical. (similar point as Hall makes about Solomon)
• isolationism in judaic culture has distinctive features and may account for some characteristics of judaic communities (low crime rate, etc.)

• Christianity

• Fragility of social conditions in 1st 2nd century -- example of Antioch -- Roman female infanticide distorted m/f ratios, underpopulation
• Expectations in Christianity - fidelity, kids, disallowed infanticide, abortion, and non-reproductive sex.
• Early church particularly attractive for women. historical evidence of this.
• Christian response to plagues/illness, provision of social services. Led to longer life expectancy for Christians. (from tomb inscriptions)

Haidt Chapter 9: Divinity with or without God

• Flatland
• Speculative hypothesis: 183: In addition to relationship and status, we perceive/experience "divinity" as a kind of "moral purity". A theory of relationship and culture.
• Research on disgust. Why do we experience disgust? 186
• Psychological anthropologist Richard Shweder, U Chicago: Haidt worked with him on research in morality in India: "Shweder's research on morality in Bhubaneswar and elsewhere shows that when people think about morality, their moral concepts cluster into three groups, which he calls the ethic of autonomy, the ethic of community, and the ethic of divinity." 188 -- evidence on diff. distribution over class. Note observations on research in India. Link bt. purity/divine.
• Cites Eliade, The Sacred and Profane -- perceiving sacredness universal among humans.

Elevation and Agape

• Looking for a name for the emotions that we experience when we observe morally outstanding deeds. "Elevation" (ex. Greg Mortensen talk)
• Jefferson onto it. Experience of aesthetic value triggers physical changes in the body and recognizable feeling of elevated sentiments.
• 196: wants to see if elevation is a kind of happiness. research with student Sara Algoe, results seem to separate out different responses: moral elevation vs. response to non-moral excellence like basketball player.
• initial research documents elevation as response. Unclear how moral/non-moral triggers work.
• Vagus Nerve theory -- operation of vagus nerve, relationship to oxytocin. Since oxcytocin causes bonding rather than action, this theory might explain the lack of evidence in an earlier study that elevation leads to action.
• Lactating moms study 198
• Letter from religious person distinquishing two kinds of tears in church. compassion/celebration
• Latter like agape : objectless love

Awe and Transcendence

• cites Darwin / Emerson, idea of elevation from exp of nature.
• Drugs - -entheogens. reports old experiment with mushrooms and religion.
• Awe: "As we traced the word "awe" back in history, we discovered that it has always had a link to fear and submission in the presence of something muchgreater than the self." 202
• Emotion of awe: "Keltner and I concluded that the emotion of awe happens when two conditions are met: a person perceives something vast (usually physically vast, but sometimes conceptually vast, such as a grand theory, or socially vast, such as great fame or power); and the vast thing cannot be accommodated by the person's existing mental structures." 203
• Story of Arjuna Pandava from Gita. Gets a cosmic eye. Extreme case, but Haidt implies this is a model for how we describe spiritual transformation.
• Maslow's work on peak experiences. Side note on clash about the nature of science in psychology. Maslow is considered a founder of humanistic psych.
• Mark Leary, Curse of the Self: Self as obstacle to -- mental chatter -- self as obstacle to vertical development . Read p. 207.

November 30, 2011 (23)

Gintis, "Towards Unity of the Human Behavioral Sciences"

• Recall some features of game theory:

• showed that sometimes the most rational way to think about your preferences yields a less than optimal outcome.
• reiterative game theory -- looks more like social life. creates "reputation," enables delayed reciprocity.
• evolutionary game theory -- begins with insight that phenotypic variation introduces a strategic (non-parametric) dimension to human thriving. It includes game theoretic hypotheses about "evolutionarily stable strategies," but also a way of thinking about how strategies for thriving are influenced by environmental conditions, as well as how we may have acquired, through selection, cognitive structures and biases that condition our thought and responses in adverse ways relative to our current environment. (And wisdom may require counteracting or modifying "legacy" cognitive architecture, such as in group / out group response.)
• Gintis claims that game theory and gene/culture coevolution (see p. 104) fit within a biological paradigm for explaining culture. Cultural beliefs, including religious beliefs, can be thought of as "doing cultural work."
• Sociological evidence, such as that which shows cultural variation in the Ultimatum Game and the Public Goods Games (review) support the idea that social conditioning plays a significant role in modifying preferences.

Gintis' general argument is that the time is right to right to unify diverse theoretical models for explaining human behavior. this includes game theory, behavioral game theory, evolutionary game theory, rational actor theory, and gene / culture coevolution. By unifying these models, he thinks we might start to explain "norm internalization" as a complex social process. (That would allow for something like a social theory of wisdom!)

Wilson, "Introspection and Self-Narratives"

• Introspection -- flashlight metaphor -- Freud's metaphor: archaeology

• Wilson doesn't support these metaphors, seems sceptical that we get such clarity, thinks evidence supports a different view:

• "Introspection is more like literary criticism in which we are the text to be understood. Just as there is no single truth that lies within a literary text, but many truths, so are there many truths about a person that can be constructed." 162

• Do we introspect too much?

• Real Estate story -- Do we know or show what we want?
• Analytic methods vs. Intuitive or behavioral

• People are "too good" at giving reasons for their feelings, but not necessary accurate when they do. They rarely say, "I don't know why I feel this way..."

• Major Claim -- Somtimes we use faulty information to decide what our reasons for our feelings are. Then, using faulty reasons, we actually may alter our feelings.

• Study in which subjects in one condition analyze their relationships and in a control condition others don't. Analyzed condition showed greater change in feeling. Also, weeks later, subjects cite very different reasons for how they feel. It's as if a story were being retold rather than objective reasons being located. "availability bias"

• Which is the real you? The analyzed or unanalyzed? Wilson is saying that you shouldn't assume the analyzed is.

• Poster satisfaction study

• Wilson's advice isn't to act on impulse, but to delay rational analysis, in some situations, let yourself say "Not sure how I feel" -- gather external information and perceptions. Those in the poster study who knew a lot about art didn't experience a change in satisfaction.

• "The trick is to gather enough information to develop an informed gutfeeling and then not analyze that feeling too much." 172

• Wilson's advice: try to become aware of implicit feelings.

• Schultheiss and Brunstein study -- determined implicit feelings (such as need for power or affiliation) and then asked subject to predict their happiness in being in a situation that is geared to stimulate those needs. Subjects don't accurately predict impact of the experience (they are strangers to themselves). "Consistent with many studies that find that people are not very aware of their implicit motives, people who were high in the need for affiliation and power did not anticipate that the counseling session would make them any happier or feel more engaged than other participants." 174 But "goal imager" and "prefeeling" changed that.

• Rumination -- definition 175 -- increases depression in depressed.

• Pennebaker Study -- subjects write about negative experiences from their lives and it makes them happy? How to explain this? How is it different from rumination? -- Wilson claims that it's because writing involves construction of a meaningful narrative.

• [One lesson from the chapter: Be careful of the reasons and stories you use to narrate your experience. You might actually conform your experience (feelings) to the narrative. But the positive side of that . . . ? Could you prime someone to write a wise narrative?]