Experience, Body, and Authority
Paula M. Cooey
Harvard Theological Review July 1, 1989 DOI: 10.1017/s0017816000016230 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the degree to which emotion is granted independence from cognition determines whether religious experience is viewed as a means of freeing oneself from culture or as a product of culture, and that this choice shapes both how much integrity is granted to a subject's account of experience and whether experience serves as a relative consequence or an authoritative starting point in theological method. |
Abstract
Understanding the role played by emotion in relation to culture and nature is relevant to theories of religion and to issues of theological method. The extent to which one grants emotion independence from cognition may well determine whether one views religious experience as an avenue available to free one from culture or simply as the product of culture. In theories of religion the role played by emotion may determine both the integrity granted the subject's account of her or his experience and the appropriate methods for interpreting the general significance of the account. In regard to theological methodology, the role played by emotion will likely indicate whether experience is viewed as a relative consequence of construction and critique or the authoritative starting point for construction and critique.