Browsing by Author "Lawrie, Douglas G."

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    Nietzsche and our discourses on identity
    (AOSIS, 2021) Lawrie, Douglas G.
    Through his views on perspectivism and the will to power, Nietzsche indirectly influences many current discourses on identity. This article places these themes in the broader context of Nietzsche�s thought. Firstly, it is indicated how difficult it is to speak of someone�s identity by showing how many �Nietzsches� appear in his writings, notebooks and letters and the accounts of his contemporaries. Such comparative readings, although they may cast new light on Nietzsche�s philosophy, are rare in Nietzsche scholarship. Next, his views on identity are briefly explored, paying attention to his rejection of the centred subject, equality and morality and his view on hierarchy, creativity and power struggles. Finally, it is argued that Nietzsche confronts our discourses on identity with challenges regarding the ubiquity of power struggles, the role of ressentiment, the possibility of communication across boundaries, the importance of the individual and the problem of affirmation. Discourses on identity, although fashionable, are often confusing. Instead of offering solutions, this article uses Nietzsche�s life and philosophy to identify some causes of confusion and indicates where crucial decisions regarding our presuppositions have to be taken. Its aim was not to produce knowledge but, in line with Nietzsche�s practice, to �produce ignorance�, to question the terms we use confidently, without fully considering their meaning or implications.
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    Old ideas: wisdom, virtue and moral formation
    (Stellenbosch University, 2013) Lawrie, Douglas G.
    The wisdom writings of the Old Testament may be regarded as largely a repository of �old ideas� that were preserved across cultures and ages because they generally served human life. To study the material from this angle, focusing less on reconstructing the past and more on serving the present, will require several adjustments to usual scholarly approaches. Comparisons going beyond Israel�s Umwelt will also be fruitful. Comparisons with the teachings of Confucius and Aristotle may be particularly helpful. Such studies have to be respectfully critical, taking the sages of the past seriously as interlocutors while recognizing the limits of their vision.
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    Rhetorical appeal and the uncertainty of hope
    (Stellenbosch University, 2013) Lawrie, Douglas G.
    The article examines an article that Dirk Smit wrote about rhetoric and theology against the background of other of his articles, particularly about the Confession of Belhar. It argues that Smit�s article is �judiciously sceptical� about rhetoric because he is committed not only to faith, but also to the uncertainty of hope. This commitment is, it is argued, compatible with rhetoric, but only with a certain type of rhetoric. Such a hopeful rhetoric, which does not accept the closure of tragedy, reaches out to others across tragic divisions as the Confession of Belhar did. The final section examines how Smit�s article is itself a rhetorical act and tries to identify the particular appeal he makes on readers.
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    Where is wisdom to be found � now that we have stopped looking for it?
    (SUN, 2017) Lawrie, Douglas G.
    Ancient scribal culture had two faces. After arduous and largely impractical training, scribes were admitted to an elite circle and became custodians of a cultural tradition. But scribal teachers were also credited with opening the eyes of their students and �forming humanity� in them. Scribal writers created and challenged tradition. Both faces are still evident in modern �scribal culture�. Nietzsche, who occupies an ambiguous position in this regard, is used to illuminate aspects of tension between the two �faces�, which, given the world situation, seems relevant to the future of the academic enterprise. Finally, it is suggested that ancient wisdom still has something to tell us about these matters. The article is dedicated to Hendrik Bosman in view of his abiding interest in scribal culture, wisdom literature and ???? ???