WELL, NIETZSCHE WAS THE FIRST
TO TALK ABOUT THE DEATH OF GOD
IN THE GAY SCIENCE, AND IT
MEANS, ACCORDING TO NIETZSCHE,
THAT A CERTAIN
UNDERSTANDING OF GOD
NO LONGER HAS A
GRIP ON THE CULTURE.
THERE ARE STILL
PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE
IN GOD, BUT FEWER AND FEWER.
IT DOESN'T ORGANIZE
THE CULTURE THE WAY
IT ONCE DID WHERE CATHEDRALS
WERE THE CENTER OF THINGS
AND WHERE READING THE
BIBLE ENABLED PEOPLE
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO.
AND THE QUESTION IS, WHAT
HAPPENS IN A CULTURE LIKE OURS
THAT HAS BUILT
EVERYTHING ON THE IDEA
THAT THERE IS ONE CREATOR GOD,
THAT A COMBINATION OF PLATO'S
NOTION OF THE GOOD, WHICH IS THE
SOURCE OF ALL INTELLIGIBILITY,
AND THE HEBREW CHRISTIAN
NOTION OF JEHOVAH,
THE CREATOR GOD, THE
SOURCE OF EVERYTHING,
AND THE GIVER OF
COMMANDMENTS TO PEOPLE.
IN THIS AMAZING CULTURE,
THESE TWO GREW TOGETHER,
AND SAINT AUGUSTINE STARTING
PUTTING PLATO AND THE BIBLE
TOGETHER, INTO AN AMAZINGLY
UNIFIED MONOTHEISTIC GOD,
AND EVERYTHING IN THE
CULTURE WAS BUILT INTO IT,
AS NIETZSCHE SAID, SO THAT
IF THAT SHOULD COLLAPSE,
LOTS OF OUR ETHICS AND
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
IT IS TO BE A HUMAN BEING
WILL COLLAPSE WITH IT.
AND THAT, WHAT HEIDEGGER
CALLS THE ONTOTHEOLOGICAL VIEW
OF GOD, NAMELY THE
GOD WHO IS A BEING WHO
IS THE CAUSE AND
GROUND OF ALL BEINGS.
THAT'S THE GOD THAT'S
BECOME IMPLAUSIBLE.
IT'S NOT JUST THE CHRISTIAN GOD.
IT WOULD BE THE PHILOSOPHERS'
GOD, NIETZSCHE SAYS.
ANY SENSE THAT THERE
IS THIS UNIFIED GROUND
OF INTELLIGIBILITY IN
ETHICS AND MEANING.
WHEN THAT GOES, WHERE
ARE WE IN THE CULTURE?
WELL, THERE ARE
SEVERAL THINGS THAT
CAN HAPPEN THAT INTEREST ME.
WHEN I TEACH ABOUT THIS, I TEACH
KIERKEGAARD AND DOSTOYEVSKY
AS THE TWO PEOPLE WHO TRIED
TO SAVE THE ESSENTIAL MESSAGE
IN CHRISTIANITY BY
DISENTANGLING IT
FROM PHILOSOPHY
AND FROM SCIENCE.
AND IT STARTS WITH PASCAL SAYING
THE GOD OF THE PHILOSOPHERS
IS NOT THE GOD OF
ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB.
HE'S ALREADY TRYING TO
GET CHRISTIANITY AWAY
FROM THIS ONE SOURCE, CREATOR,
GROUND OF EVERYTHING GOD.
BUT IT ONLY GETS WORKED
OUT IN KIERKEGAARD
WHERE IT TURNS OUT
THAT WHAT MATTERS
IS HAVING AN
UNCONDITIONAL COMMITMENT.
AND WHOEVER YOU HAVE THIS
UNCONDITIONAL COMMITMENT FOR
IS YOUR SAVIOR,
BECAUSE THEY ENABLE
YOU TO GET YOURSELF TOGETHER
AND NOT BE IN DESPAIR.
AND JESUS IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE JESUS
IS THE SAVIOR, THAT IS, HE'S
THE FIRST PERSON WHO SHOWED US
HOW TO MAKE UNCONDITIONAL
COMMITMENTS,
AND GOD THE FATHER JUST DROPS
OUT, THE ONTOTHEOLOGICAL GOD.
KIERKEGAARD USES JESUS'
QUOTE, "HE WHO HAS SEEN
ME HAS SEEN THE
FATHER," AND SAYS,
WE DON'T NEED WE
DON'T HAVE ACCESS
ANYMORE TO THAT KIND
OF ONTOTHEOLOGICAL GOD.
WE GOT THE INCARNATION,
AND THE INCARNATION
SHOWS US THE
UNCONDITIONAL COMMITMENT.
THEY'RE ALL INCARNATION PEOPLE.
THAT'S THE FIRST WAY
YOU GET OUT OF IT.
PASCAL SAYS, WE HAVE JESUS.
JESUS SHOWS US HOW TO BE A
HUMAN BEING WITHOUT DESPAIR
AND WITHOUT PRIDE,
AND HOW TO LIVE
IN OUR CONTRADICTORY NATURE,
AND BE MOST ALIVE TO IT.
FOR PASCAL, YOU CAN'T
BE HAPPY, I DON'T THINK.
THE POINT ISN'T TO BE HAPPY.
IT'S TO BE DEEPLY ALIVE TO
WHAT IT IS TO BE A HUMAN BEING
AND NOT DESPAIRING OR PROUD.
IN KIERKEGAARD, JESUS
SHOWS US THE POSSIBILITY
OF UNCONDITIONAL COMMITMENTS.
IN DOSTOYEVSKY, AGAIN, HE'S
GOTTEN RID OF THE GOD CREATOR.
IT SHOWS UP IN THE BROTHERS
KARAMOZOV IN A VERY FUNNY WAY
THAT I DON'T THINK
ANYBODY ELSE HAS NOTICED.
FOR PLATO, GOD WAS THE SUN.
AND THAT WAS THE
METAPHOR FOR THE GOD.
GOD WAS CLEAR.
GOD WAS THE SOURCE OF
ALL LIGHT, AND LIGHT
WAS LIKE INTELLIGIBILITY.
BILLY
IN DOSTOYEVSKY, WHENEVER
HE TALKS ABOUT GOD,
HE ALWAYS SAYS,
WHAT I LOVED MOST
WAS THE SLANTING RAYS
OF THE SETTING SUN.
THE RAYS ARE WHAT'S
IMPORTANT, NOT THE SUN.
AND THE RAYS ARE THE
SYMBOLS OF THE CONNECTEDNESS
OF ALL CREATURES.
AND THE DEEP TRUTH
IN CHRISTIANITY
THAT JESUS SHOWED US WAS
THAT WE SHOULD LOVE EVERYBODY
AND WE SHOULD FEEL
RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYBODY,
AND ASK FORGIVENESS
FROM EVERYBODY.
THIS IS ALL WORKED OUT
IN THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
BUT THE IMPORTANT
THING TO DOSTOYEVSKY
IS THAT IT'S A WAY OF
LIFE, CHRISTIANITY.
NAMELY, THIS WAY OF LIFE
OF LOVE AND CONNECTEDNESS.
AND IT'S NOT A RELATION TO
SOME BEING LIKE THE SUN,
SORT OF OUTSIDE THE WORLD
THAT GIVES EVERYTHING MEANING.
AND, FOR DOSTOEVSKY,
ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING
IS THAT YOU HAVE TO
SAVE CHRISTIANITY
FROM PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY.
KIERKEGAARD DIDN'T
HAVE THAT PROBLEM.
SO, DOSTOYEVSKY'S VERY
CLEAR THAT YOU CAN RESTATE--
AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING
IN THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV--
ALL THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS
OF BAPTISM, CRUCIFIXION,
RESURRECTION, INCARNATION.
ALL OF THEM GET EXPLAINED IN
EXISTENTIAL TERMS IN SUCH A WAY
THAT THEY DON'T CONFLICT
WITH THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
AND CHEMISTRY.
AND DOSTOYEVSKY EVEN CONSIDERS
NEURONS, WHICH HAVE JUST
BEEN DISCOVERED, AND
SUPPOSE EVERYTHING
WE DID WAS CAUSED
BY THE WIGGLING
OF THE TAILS OF
THESE LITTLE NEURONS.
THAT WOULDN'T CHANGE
ANYTHING IN OUR WORLD,
OF THE HUMAN WORLD WHERE LOVE
AND FORGIVENESS, AND EVERYTHING
IS THE MEANINGFUL THING.
SO THE FIRST HOPE
IS THAT YOU MIGHT
BE ABLE TO SAVE
CHRISTIANITY BY STATING IT
IN A NON-PHILOSOPHICAL,
NON-ONTOTHEOLOGICAL, AND
NON-SCIENTIFIC
WAY, AND JUST SAVE
THE EXISTENTIAL TRUTH IN IT.
BUT IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, THEN
THE NEXT FALLBACK POSITION,
WHICH MELVILLE, FOR
INSTANCE, HAD IN MOBY DICK,
IS TO REDISCOVER
POLYTHEISM, WHERE
THERE WAS, FOR HOMER,
A PLURALITY OF GODS.
AND GODS WEREN'T SORT OF
REAL-- HOW WILL I PUT IT?
WELL, LET'S SAY WHAT THEY WERE.
WHEN APHRODITE WAS
AROUND, YOU WERE
IN A WORLD SUFFUSED
BY EROTIC LOVE,
AND THINGS SHOWED UP FOR YOU
AS ATTRACTIVE OR UNATTRACTIVE.
WHEN APHRODITE WAS
AROUND, HELEN RAN OFF
WITH AN ATTRACTIVE FOREIGNER,
PARIS, AND LEFT MENELAUS.
WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER
AND SHE CAME BACK,
AND PRESUMABLY HERA, THE
DOMESTIC GODDESS WAS IN CHARGE,
NOBODY BLAMED HER FOR ANYTHING.
THEY SAID, WELL,
THAT WAS APHRODITE,
SHE WAS IN THE
WORLD OF APHRODITE.
BUT NOW WE'RE ALL IN
THE WORLD OF HERA,
AND SHE WAS A GRACIOUS
HOST, AND A GOOD HOSTESS,
AND A GOOD WIFE, AND
SERVED GREAT DINNERS
TO VISITING PEOPLE
LIKE ODYSSEUS.
AND THERE WAS A
PLURALITY OF WORLDS.
AND IN EACH WORLD,
PEOPLE HAD AN IDENTITY.
SEE, THE PROBLEM IS
TO AVOID MEANINGLESS.
IF THE CHRISTIAN GOD GOES, IT
MAY LOOK LIKE EVERYTHING IS UP
FOR GRABS, NOTHING
HAS AUTHORITY FOR US,
AND WE HAVE NO IDENTITIES
THAT WE CAN COUNT ON ANYMORE,
BECAUSE IF WE CAN'T MAKE
UNCONDITIONAL COMMITMENTS
ANYMORE, IF WE DON'T BELIEVE IN
THAT KIND OF ETERNITY ANYMORE,
THEN IT LOOKS LIKE THE
MEANING OF OUR LIVES
IS CONSTANTLY UP FOR GRABS,
AND RE-INTERPRETATION.
BUT FOR THE GREEKS, WHEN
YOU'RE UNDER APHRODITE,
THERE WAS AUTHORITY, NAMELY WHAT
WAS IMPORTANT WAS EROTIC LOVE.
OR WHEN YOU'RE UNDER
HERA, WHAT'S IMPORTANT
IS DOMESTIC LOVE.
OR WHEN YOU'RE UNDER APOLLO,
WHAT COULD BE IMPORTANT WAS,
I DON'T KNOW,
INTELLECTUAL CLARITY,
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
YOU CAN LIVE IN
THESE VARIOUS WORLDS.
IN EACH WORLD, THERE IS
MEANING, AND IN EACH WORLD
YOU HAVE AN IDENTITY.
AND IN EACH WORLD, THE GOD
HAS A KIND OF AUTHORITY.
AND THE QUESTION MAYBE ONLY
LEFT IS SORT OF, WHAT IS A GOD?
IS A GOD SOME SPECIAL, KIND OF
MAGICAL THING OUTSIDE THE WORLD
THAT CREATES THE WORLD?
NO, GODS, THIS IS
HEIDEGGER THINKS,
GODS ARE BEAMS IN THE WORLD
THAT FOCUS THE WORLD, AND SHINE,
AS HEIDEGGER WOULD SAY,
WITH SUCH A RADIANCE
THAT WE CAN ACT IN THEIR LIGHT.
SO LET'S SUPPOSE, TO
TAKE A FUNNY EXAMPLE,
THAT MARILYN MONROE WAS
A GODDESS IN HER TIME.
PEOPLE SAY THAT, A
SEX GODDESS, BUT THEY
DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS.
IT MEANS THAT SHE WAS THE
PARADIGM OF A CERTAIN STYLE
OF BEING A WOMAN, AND THAT WOMEN
COULD UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES
IN THE LIGHT OF MARILYN MONROE,
AND SEE HOW THE WORLD WOULD
SHOW UP FOR THEM
IN A CERTAIN WAY,
AND THEY WOULD SEE
CERTAIN POSSIBILITIES.
SO A GOD, OR A GODDESS,
WAS A PARADIGM CASE,
OR A MANIFESTATION OF
A CERTAIN WAY OF BEING,
AND A CERTAIN STYLE,
AND A CERTAIN WORLD THAT
WAS SO CLEAR AND SO RADIANT
THAT PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND
THEIR LIVES IN THE LIGHT OF
THAT PERSON, OR THAT THING.
I MEAN, HEIDEGGER
THINKS IN HIS EXAMPLE
THAT THE GREEK TEMPLE DID THIS.
IT FOCUSED A WORLD,
IN HIS LANGUAGE,
IT FOCUSED THE WORLD
FOR THE PEOPLE,
FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
THESE GODS AREN'T ETERNAL,
AND THEY AREN'T CREATOR GODS,
AND THEY DON'T SORT OF
EXPLAIN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE.
BUT THEY DO SAVE PEOPLE
FROM MEANINGLESSNESS,
BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS-- IF YOU
WERE IN A POLYTHEISTIC CULTURE,
YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE IN THE
REALM OF SOME GOD OR OTHER,
AND IN THAT REALM, IN THE
LIGHT OF THAT FIGURE, WHO
COULD BE A HUMAN BEING
LIKE MARILYN MONROE.
OR COULD BE SOME,
FOR THE GREEKS,
SORT OF MORE IDEAL BEING,
LIKE APOLLO OR APHRODITE,
AS LONG AS YOU'RE IN
THE LIGHT OF THAT,
YOUR LIFE WILL HAVE MEANING,
AND YOU WILL HAVE DIRECTION.
SO IT SEEMS TO ME POLYTHEISM
IS A POSSIBLE THING
THAT OUR CULTURE MIGHT COME
BACK TO, AND THE HINTS OF IT,
I THINK, ARE IN THIS INTEREST
PEOPLE HAVE IN ANGELS.
ANGELS ARE SORT OF
INTERESTING, IN THAT
THEY'RE NOT LIKE THIS
ONTOTHEOLOGICAL, ONE
UNIFIED CREATOR GOD.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ANGELS.
I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO
READ BOOKS ABOUT ANGELS.
BUT I HAVE A FEELING THAT
IT'S A KIND OF CONFUSED GROPE
FOR A NEW KIND OF
SPIRITUALITY, IN WHICH THERE
WILL BE INDIVIDUAL BEINGS,
THEY COULD BE HUMAN BEINGS.
THEY WILL BE HUMAN BEINGS,
REALLY, WHO FOCUS WORLDS
AND GIVE MEANING TO
PEOPLES' LIVES FOR A WHILE.
FOR A WHILE, ONE, WHILE THE
PEOPLE ARE IN THEIR WORLDS,
AND TWO, WHILE THESE
GODS HAVE POWER,
AND THEY WILL LOSE POWER, LIKE
DIFFERENT GENERATIONS OF GODS
IN HOMER HAD POWER, AND THEN
SOME NEW GENERATION CAME ALONG,
AND IT HAD POWER.
