E-SUPPLEMENT TO THE JOURNAL FOR CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS THEORY
The following is the last of a four-part series. The first can be found here, the second here, the third here. Is what Martel presents his readers only a pragmatic approach which demonstrates the utilitarian value of religion? Is religion “false” but nevertheless worth adopting because it provides a better (story) way of life?[1] Is God just another […]
The following is the third of a four-part series. The first can be found here, the second here. Beyond the question of metaphor and reality, the greatest difference between Pi’s two stories is in his attitudes towards the situation in which he finds himself. God’s name is invoked again and again in the first story. Pi […]
The following is the second of a four-part series. The first can be found here. Hasidism, which translated Kabbalah into psychological categories, was a target of Elyashiv’s criticism.[1] He likewise opposed Kabbalists active in Jerusalem, such as R. Abraham Isaac Kook and R. Yehuda Leib Ashlag, who offered sociological or nationalistic interpretations of kabbalistic notions.[2] […]
The following is the first of a four-part series. Introduction* Yann Martel’s 2001 bestselling novel Life of Pi, later released in 2012 as a prize-winning box office hit, addresses themes such as religion, faith, imagination, and their relation to psychology and human life; hope and despair; and the struggle with human nature. The author promises […]