Thursday, July 23, 2015

Excerpts from Permanence and Change, from On Symbols and Society, Ch. 7

7. “Motives Are Shorthand Terms for Situations,” in Permanence and Change, 29-36.

Life (drama) is more complex than the laboratory (science). For the one encompasses the other, while the other is a subset of the one.

Motives are patterns of experience—forms. “Duty” involves a different form than “love.” Each motive or pattern has within it a whole set of assumptions, terministic screens, if you will. Some things happen in spite of others, others because of others, and others regardless of others, and if we knew everything we’d probably get rid of “in spite of” and “regardless of.” 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Book Review: The Rhetoric of American Civil Religion

I've recently received word from Taylor & Frances Online that a book review I wrote was published in the Journal of Religious and Th...