Blog #3: What is supernatural?- Cole Guinther

 As I was reflecting on the various concepts and specific assignments that we've worked on throughout the year, one assignment that always comes to mind is the discussion of the supernatural and how that plays into our own world. The definition of this term is something that is commonly adjusted as our concept of the "supernatural" changes with new discoveries/ As quoted by Tolkien in On Fairy Stories, “supernatural is a dangerous and difficult word in any of its senses, looser or stricter”. By saying this, Tolkien states that the term itself is so subjective and confusing to determine because it varies along different people and their personal experiences with the "supernatural". This statement was very fascinating to me especially because there is no constancy in the understanding of the supernatural; the stereotypes may be similar, but there is no interaction with the supernatural that is the same as another.


As I thought about this more, I noticed how imagination also shows some similarities with the supernatural as well. The biggest difference between each is that imagination represents the hypothetical ideas created by the mind, but the supernatural "exists" outside of our own thought. On the other hand, they can be confused with one another and can make it hard to tell apart. For example, someone may think they had an interaction with the supernatural (ghosts, demons, etc.) but it could've just been their own imagination. This connection between imagination and supernatural is a discussion that I believe can be discussed more in depth to find more correlations.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog #13 Dr. Weston’s Philosophy of Life

In Lewis’ Out of A Silent Planet a certain physicist, Dr. Weston kidnaps Ransom and takes him aboard his spaceship headed towards Malacandra. Once Ransom awakes from his slumber and realizes that he is in a spaceship he begins to question the estranged physicist. With little resistance Weston begins to explain his philosophy of life. Ransom responded, “ you hold all the cards, and I must make the best of it. I consider your philosophy of life to be raving lunacy. I suppose all that stuff about infinity and eternity means that you think you are justifiable in doing anything–absolutely anything–here and now, on the off chance that some creatures or other descended from man as we know him may crawl about a few centuries longer in some part of the universe.” Weston responded, “ Yes–anything whatsoever”. Weston resembles one of the great evils of mankind. That being the telos of evolution or in other words survival of the fittest. That is the basic idea the it is a means to an end and not ...
Read more

Experience vs encounter and its implications

 To experience something is notably different from encountering something. I may experience a bear at a zoo, or dangerously encounter one in a forest. One implies perceiving, and the other implies communion (which could be good or bad). Our discussion of these concepts in class got me thinking, "Does our the interconnectedness of the internet create a culture of experience but not encounter?" I know that questions includes a lot, so let me unpack it. The internet fundamentally changes the way humans being relate to one another. I myself, having being basically raised on the internet have now gotten to the age where I realize my experience of childhood, was very different from the rest of the history of the world. I believe has created a reality in which anyone can experience almost anything, although mediated. I can watch as many cute dog videos as I want, but those dogs in the video will never watch me. I think because of this, a renewed appreciation for the embodied, the sa...
Read more

3/15/2023- The Perfect Sacrifice: Questions about Psyche and Ungit

  I was struck by the scene in which the priest of Ungit describes the reason that Psyche must be sacrificed to Ungit in order to avert the various calamities which befell the nation of Glome. He waxes poetic about the nature of the gods, and that they demand nothing less than the best in order to appease their wrath. He states “That is not enough, King. And you know it. We must find the Accursed. And she (or he) must die by the rite of the Great Offering. What is a thief more than a bull or a man? This is not to be a common sacrifice. We must make the Great Offering.” This sounds a great deal like Christ’s sacrifice within Christian theology. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice- the “Great Offering” made to cleanse the sins of the world. However, the difference between the two lies in the satisfaction of the wrath of the gods. For Psyche’s tale, her supposed sacrifice is not enough to quell the wrath of the gods, however, the divine nature of Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to overcome ...
Read more