In this illustrated study Richard Buxton analyses Greek literary narratives and visual representations of the metamorphosis of humans and gods, as evidenced from Homer to Nonnos. Such tales have become familiar in their Ovidian dress, as in the best-selling translation by Ted Hughes; Buxton explores their Greek antecedents. He investigates such issues as: How do different contexts shape the way in which metamorphosis is narrated? How do the assumptions of commentators about 'strangeness' affect how metamorphosis is interpreted? How far should an interpreter allow 'contextual charity' to render more acceptable a belief such as that in metamorphosis? What are the implications of the notions of 'astonishment' (Greek: thambos) in a range of narratives about transformation? Throughout Forms of Astonishment Buxton draws comparisons between the Greek evidence and data from other religious traditions, ancient and modern; he also introduces comparative material from the sciences, from modern painting and literature, and from the cinema and computer graphics. In investigating metamorphoses of gods Buxton revisits the concept of anthropomorphism, arguing that the fact that Greek divinities were believed to change shape does not undermine the fundamentally humanlike form of Greek divinity. He also examines certain strands of Greek tradition, particularly among the philosophers, which called metamorphosis into question, whether in relation to the gods or to humans. Individual chapters deal with transformations into the landscape and into plants or trees—in the latter case transformation stories are set against a background of cultural beliefs about 'seminal' substances such as blood and tears. Overall, Forms of Astonishment raises issues relevant to an understanding of broad aspects of Greek culture, and illuminates issues explored by anthropologists and students of religion.

An illustrated study of a number of Greek myths about the transformations of humans and gods. Richard Buxton poses the question of how seriously the Greeks took these tales, and in doing so also illuminates issues explored by anthropologists and students of religion.

This is an illustrated study of a number of Greek myths about the transformations of humans and gods. Richard Buxton poses the question of how seriously the Greeks took these tales, and in doing so also illuminates issues explored by anthropologists and students of religion.

Charts the history of a Spiritual Baptist community from the passing of the Prohibition Ordinance in 1917 until the lifting of the ban in 1951.

This book brings together the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jacques Lacan around their treatments of ‘astonishment,’ an experience of being struck by something that appears to be extraordinarily significant. Both thinkers have a central interest in the dissatisfaction with meaning that these experiences generate when we attempt to articulate them, to bring language to bear on them. Maria Balaska argues that this frustration and difficulty with meaning reveals a more fundamental characteristic of our sense-making capacities –namely, their groundlessness. Instead of disappointment with language’s sense-making capacities, Balaska argues that Wittgenstein and Lacan can help us find in this revelation of meaning’s groundlessness an opportunity to acknowledge our own involvement in meaning, to creatively participate in it and thereby to enrich our forms of life with language.

All societies are shaped by arts, media, and other persuasive practices that can awe, captivate, enchant or otherwise seem to cast a spell on the audience. Likewise, scholarship itself often is driven by a sense of wonder and a willingness to be open to what lies beyond the obvious. This book broadens and deepens this perspective. Inspired by Stephen Tyler’s view of ethnography as an art of evocation, international scholars from the fields of aesthetics, anthropology, and rhetoric explore the spellbinding power of elusive meanings as people experience them in daily life and while gazing at works of art, watching films or studying other cultures. The book is divided into three parts covering the evocative power of visual art, the immersion in ritual and performance, and the reading, writing, and interpretation of texts. Taken as a whole, the contributions to the book demonstrate how astonishment and evocation deserve an important place in the conceptual repertoire of the human sciences.

Science can reveal or conceal the breathtaking wonders of creation. On one hand, knowledge of the natural world can open us up to greater love for the Creator, give us the means of more neighborly care, and fill us with ever-deepening astonishment. On the other hand, knowledge feeding an insatiable hunger for epistemic mastery can become a means of idolatry, hubris, and damage. Crucial to world-respecting science is the role of wonder: curiosity, perplexity, and astonishment. In this volume, philosopher William Desmond explores the relation of the different modes of wonder to modern science. Responding to his thought are twelve thinkers across the domains of science, theology, philosophy, law, poetry, medicine, sociology, and art restoration. Introduction --Paul Tyson The Dearth of Astonishment: On Curiosity, Scientism, and Thinking as Negativity --William Desmond Preparing to Paint the Virgin's Robe --Spike Bucklow Cultivating Wonder --Steven Knepper The Astonishment of Philosophy: William Desmond and Isabelle Stengers --Simone Kotva Astonishment and the Social Sciences --Paul Tyson Curiosity, Perplexity, and Astonishment in the Natural Sciences --Andrew Davison Scientism as the Dearth of the Nothing --Richard J. Colledge The Determinations of Medicine and the Too-Muchness of Being --Jeffrey Bishop Attending to Infinitude: Law as in-between the Overdeterminate and Practical Judgment --Jonathan Horton Life's Wonder --Simon Oliver Being in Control --Michael Hanby Wondering about the Science/Scientism Distinction --D. C. Schindler Basil and Desmond on Wonder and the Astonishing Return of Christian Metaphysics --Isidoros C. Katsos The Children of Wonder: On Scientism and Its Changelings --William Desmond