Ritva Palmén - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ritva Palmén
Chapter 14 Hope as a Social Emotion in Late Medieval Philosophical Theology
De Gruyter eBooks, Nov 21, 2022
Artikkelini kasittelee Jari Kaukuan monografiaa ’Self-awareness in Islamic Philosophy’. Kommentei... more Artikkelini kasittelee Jari Kaukuan monografiaa ’Self-awareness in Islamic Philosophy’. Kommenteissani pohdin ensimmaisen persoonan tematiikkaa ja ensimmaisen persoonan kokemusta keskiajan filosofiassa, seka keskustelen lyhyesti Avicennan kuuluisasta lentavaa miesta koskevasta argumentista. Taman lisaksi esittelen latinalaisen keskiajan perinteen parissa kaytya tematiikkaa niin sanotusta kristillisesta sokratismista. Tassa yhteydessa kysyn, onko islamilaisessa perinteessa vastaavia nakemyksia siita, miten ihmisen itseen suuntautuva tutkimus voi toimia lahtokohtana Jumalan ymmartamiselle. Antamani esimerkit ja paralleelit sijoittuvat 1100-luvun latinalaiseen mielenfilosofiaan. Toisena artikkelini teemana on tata laajempi mielenfilosofinen kysymys minan rakentumisesta. Erityisen kiinnostava on Kaukuan teoksessa usein toistuvat itsensa tunnistamisen tai tunnustamisen teema. Arvioin tata aihetta suhteessa klassisiin ajattelijoihin seka lantiseen keskiajan mielenfilosofiaan. Lantisessa ...
Book review. John Marenbon, Pagans and Philosophers : The problem of paganism from Augustine to Leibniz. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2015
Recognition Theory and Agreement in Conflict: The Case of Peter Alfonsi’s Dialogus contra Iudaeos
Rencontres de Philosophie Médiévale
Uskonto ja kamppailu tunnustamisesta
Tunnustaminen, historia ja nykypäivä
Guarding the Inner City of the Soul
Studia Patristica. Vol. CV - Papers presented at the Eighteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2019, 2021
In this chapter, we will discuss the idea that social recognition requires natural resources, and... more In this chapter, we will discuss the idea that social recognition requires natural resources, and examine its natural, ecological, or environmental aspects. We argue against a view, which would conceptualize social recognition (respect, esteem, trust etc) as conceptually and ontologically independent of its natural basis, which is captured nicely in Richard Sennett's question "Unlike food, respect costs nothing. Why, then should it be in short supply?" We first examine the way in which recognition was materially mediated in Hegel's dialectics of Master and Slave, and then proceed to analyze in more detail what mutual recognition is and in what sense it requires natural resources. It turns out that different forms of recognition are very deeply rooted in material redistribution, and satisfactory relations of recognition in a "society of equals" may require very radical global redistribution. We then raise the stakes by connecting recognition not only with social justice but environmental and ecological justice. We conclude by bringing up the notion of planetary limits. 1. "Unlike food, respect costs nothing. Why, then should it be in short supply?" Richard Sennett has asked: "Unlike food, respect costs nothing. Why, then should it be in short supply?". The question is important as such, as there certainly are mechanisms that prevent us from giving each other due recognition when we could materially or economically afford it. 1 There may be psychological and existential "costs" such as having to admit one's own vulnerability and dependence, and there may be human tendencies not to make any such admissions. We will not focus on such "costs" here. The idea that "respect costs nothing" expresses a view that social recognition (respect, esteem, trust etc) is conceptually and ontologically independent of its natural or material basis. It is a rather disembodied, unencumbered view of recognition, and we wish to contest it here. Hegel's famous dialectic of the master and the slave communicates a vivid image of the material basis of recognition: in a struggle of life and death, it comes apparent that a dead person cannot give recognition. 2 Mutual recognition costs at least as much as keeping someone alive. Of course, if the other already has plenty of resources, it may not cost in practice anything for me to form a relationship of mutual recognition -which creates the image that it costs nothing. Hegel further notes that the relationship between the master and the slave is materially mediated: the master holds the slave in chains, and the slave works on the material environment for the master. 3 There are theories of recognition that have insightfully stressed this natural and embodied basis of recognition, drawing on Hegel . Let us approach this in two steps: by asking what recognition is (1.2, 1.3), and then by asking what direct and indirect ways 1 See e.g. Ikäheimo, 2014. 2 Hegel 1977 [1807] 3 Orlando in his classic "Slavery and Social Death" points out that historically speaking concerning real slaves work need not have been the main motivation behind slavery. Slaves have not always worked, as sometimes they have been more like status symbols for the slaveowners
Shame, self-evaluation, and recognition in the Middle Ages
Evans (ed.), Victorine Christology (book review)
Uskonnontutkija - Religionsforskaren
Tässä artikkelissa analysoin uteliaisuuden käsitettä erityisesti antiikin ja keskiajan läntisessä... more Tässä artikkelissa analysoin uteliaisuuden käsitettä erityisesti antiikin ja keskiajan läntisessä intellektuaalisessa historiassa. Aineistona on käytetty valikoimaa antiikin ja keskiajan filosofista ja teologista kirjallisuutta. Analyysissäni hyödynnän historiallisia ja filosofisia metodeja. Tutkimuksessani osoitan, miten antiikin ja keskiajan uteliaisuuden perusmerkitykset ja käyttötavat poikkeavat monin tavoin nykyisistä käsityksistä. Toisin kuin nykyään, sekä antiikissa että keskiajalla uteliaisuus luettiin paheisiin ja sitä käsiteltiin osana hyveteoreettista kysymyksenasettelua. Tutkimukseni tavoitteena on tuoda esiin uteliaisuuden linkittyminen oman aikansa filosofisiin ja teologisiin teemoihin sekä osoittaa, miten moni-ilmeisesti ja joustavasti uteliaisuuden toiminnan syyt ja seuraukset osana ihmisen ajattelua ja toimintaa ymmärrettiin. Samalla myös haastan lukijoita arvioimaan ja analysoimaan sitä, miten nykyaikana käsitetään uteliaisuuden merkitys ja tehtävät yksilön ja yhte...
The Experience of Beauty: Hugh and Richard of St. Victor on Natural Theology
Journal of Analytic Theology
In this paper, I will argue that the Twelfth Century spiritually -oriented texts present an impor... more In this paper, I will argue that the Twelfth Century spiritually -oriented texts present an important, but often neglected instance of natural theology. My analysis will show that in the texts of Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141) and his student Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) we find a Christian Neo-Platonist variant of natural theology. The elements of natural theology form a central part of their larger spiritual programmes, which in turn are meant to guide the human being in her ascent into divine realities and thereby offer immediate experience of the presence of God. I will give special attention to Hugh’s treatise De Tribus Diebus, as it explores both the manifestations of the Trinity in the created world as well as the beauty of all created objects. Hugh’s account will be supplemented by an exposition of Richard’s idea of experience as a vital means for all knowing.
Our Inner Custodian
Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Current approaches to understanding shame are rooted in controversial and even radically contrast... more Current approaches to understanding shame are rooted in controversial and even radically contrasting assumptions about shame and its relevance for social interaction and individual well-being. Classical and medieval sources themselves embrace surprisingly various notions about the workings of shame. While the Aristotelian tradition prevails in late antique and medieval philosophical psychology, it is also possible to discern a parallel tradition of shame that adapts and exploits Latin Stoic and eclectic material. This article surveys this largely unexplored Latin tradition (Cicero and Ambrose) and its treatment in later moral-philosophical and pastoral debates (Gregory the Great, Richard of St. Victor, Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great, and William Peraldus). Late antique and medieval Christian authors regard a positive responsiveness to shame as a constructive habit signaling the ability to live a socially harmonious life. The discussion demonstrates the inherent moral value of sham...
“I Need to Be Individually Loved, Lord, Let Me Recognize Your Gift!”: The Gifts of Love in the Soliloquy of Hugh of Saint-Victor (d. 1141)
Speculum
Agreement in Conflict: Peter Alfonsi’s Dialogi contra Iudaeos and the Idea of Recognition
Medieval Encounters
In the last few decades, modern theological and philosophical research has witnessed the emergenc... more In the last few decades, modern theological and philosophical research has witnessed the emergence of theories of recognition. In this article, I will show that current notions from recognition theory can be used as conceptual instruments for reading and interpreting Petrus Alfonsi’s multifaceted dialogue, Dialogi contra Iudaeos from around 1110. In the analysis of recognition between the actors of the Dialogi, it will be asked what the common basis for accepting arguments in the text is and how the author employs reason or authorities in the disputation, with the search for shared premises for discussion and common judging principles being important elements. The article also takes into account the rhetorical aspects of the treatise, analysing the various ways of positing the interlocutors and addressing arguments. It will be shown that the dialogic process itself, positive rhetorical praxis, and the commonly accepted diversity in argumentative paradigms are necessary for the eleme...
Editorial for the Topical Issue “Religious Recognition”
Open Theology, 2016
Mediated Recognition and the Quest for a Common Rational Field of Discussion in Three Early Medieval Dialogues
Open Theology, 2016
Using interpretative resources from contemporary recognition theory with a special focus on the n... more Using interpretative resources from contemporary recognition theory with a special focus on the notion of mediated recognition, this paper discusses the nature and degree of methodological agreement as manifested in three twelfth-century dialogues. The first source to be considered was written by Gilbert of Crispin, and known as Disputatio Christiani cum Gentili (Disputation of Christian with a Pagan), ca. 1093. The second source was composed by the Christian convert Peter Alfonsi, whose dialogue Dialogi contra Iudaeos (Dialogue against the Jews) was written about 1110. The third source to be considered is Peter Abelard’s treatise Collationes, a dialogue with three participants and the narrator, written between 1127 and 1132. In particular, the paper discusses the role of reason, the principles of argument, and the potentially-shared set of rules these dialogues employ, thereby bringing the agreement among conflicting parties into focus. In this respect, the novel interpretative app...
The Role of Imagination as the Soul Prepares for Contemplation
Richard of St. Victor’s Theory of Imagination, 2014
Chapter 14 Hope as a Social Emotion in Late Medieval Philosophical Theology
De Gruyter eBooks, Nov 21, 2022
Artikkelini kasittelee Jari Kaukuan monografiaa ’Self-awareness in Islamic Philosophy’. Kommentei... more Artikkelini kasittelee Jari Kaukuan monografiaa ’Self-awareness in Islamic Philosophy’. Kommenteissani pohdin ensimmaisen persoonan tematiikkaa ja ensimmaisen persoonan kokemusta keskiajan filosofiassa, seka keskustelen lyhyesti Avicennan kuuluisasta lentavaa miesta koskevasta argumentista. Taman lisaksi esittelen latinalaisen keskiajan perinteen parissa kaytya tematiikkaa niin sanotusta kristillisesta sokratismista. Tassa yhteydessa kysyn, onko islamilaisessa perinteessa vastaavia nakemyksia siita, miten ihmisen itseen suuntautuva tutkimus voi toimia lahtokohtana Jumalan ymmartamiselle. Antamani esimerkit ja paralleelit sijoittuvat 1100-luvun latinalaiseen mielenfilosofiaan. Toisena artikkelini teemana on tata laajempi mielenfilosofinen kysymys minan rakentumisesta. Erityisen kiinnostava on Kaukuan teoksessa usein toistuvat itsensa tunnistamisen tai tunnustamisen teema. Arvioin tata aihetta suhteessa klassisiin ajattelijoihin seka lantiseen keskiajan mielenfilosofiaan. Lantisessa ...
Book review. John Marenbon, Pagans and Philosophers : The problem of paganism from Augustine to Leibniz. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2015
Recognition Theory and Agreement in Conflict: The Case of Peter Alfonsi’s Dialogus contra Iudaeos
Rencontres de Philosophie Médiévale
Uskonto ja kamppailu tunnustamisesta
Tunnustaminen, historia ja nykypäivä
Guarding the Inner City of the Soul
Studia Patristica. Vol. CV - Papers presented at the Eighteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2019, 2021
In this chapter, we will discuss the idea that social recognition requires natural resources, and... more In this chapter, we will discuss the idea that social recognition requires natural resources, and examine its natural, ecological, or environmental aspects. We argue against a view, which would conceptualize social recognition (respect, esteem, trust etc) as conceptually and ontologically independent of its natural basis, which is captured nicely in Richard Sennett's question "Unlike food, respect costs nothing. Why, then should it be in short supply?" We first examine the way in which recognition was materially mediated in Hegel's dialectics of Master and Slave, and then proceed to analyze in more detail what mutual recognition is and in what sense it requires natural resources. It turns out that different forms of recognition are very deeply rooted in material redistribution, and satisfactory relations of recognition in a "society of equals" may require very radical global redistribution. We then raise the stakes by connecting recognition not only with social justice but environmental and ecological justice. We conclude by bringing up the notion of planetary limits. 1. "Unlike food, respect costs nothing. Why, then should it be in short supply?" Richard Sennett has asked: "Unlike food, respect costs nothing. Why, then should it be in short supply?". The question is important as such, as there certainly are mechanisms that prevent us from giving each other due recognition when we could materially or economically afford it. 1 There may be psychological and existential "costs" such as having to admit one's own vulnerability and dependence, and there may be human tendencies not to make any such admissions. We will not focus on such "costs" here. The idea that "respect costs nothing" expresses a view that social recognition (respect, esteem, trust etc) is conceptually and ontologically independent of its natural or material basis. It is a rather disembodied, unencumbered view of recognition, and we wish to contest it here. Hegel's famous dialectic of the master and the slave communicates a vivid image of the material basis of recognition: in a struggle of life and death, it comes apparent that a dead person cannot give recognition. 2 Mutual recognition costs at least as much as keeping someone alive. Of course, if the other already has plenty of resources, it may not cost in practice anything for me to form a relationship of mutual recognition -which creates the image that it costs nothing. Hegel further notes that the relationship between the master and the slave is materially mediated: the master holds the slave in chains, and the slave works on the material environment for the master. 3 There are theories of recognition that have insightfully stressed this natural and embodied basis of recognition, drawing on Hegel . Let us approach this in two steps: by asking what recognition is (1.2, 1.3), and then by asking what direct and indirect ways 1 See e.g. Ikäheimo, 2014. 2 Hegel 1977 [1807] 3 Orlando in his classic "Slavery and Social Death" points out that historically speaking concerning real slaves work need not have been the main motivation behind slavery. Slaves have not always worked, as sometimes they have been more like status symbols for the slaveowners
Shame, self-evaluation, and recognition in the Middle Ages
Evans (ed.), Victorine Christology (book review)
Uskonnontutkija - Religionsforskaren
Tässä artikkelissa analysoin uteliaisuuden käsitettä erityisesti antiikin ja keskiajan läntisessä... more Tässä artikkelissa analysoin uteliaisuuden käsitettä erityisesti antiikin ja keskiajan läntisessä intellektuaalisessa historiassa. Aineistona on käytetty valikoimaa antiikin ja keskiajan filosofista ja teologista kirjallisuutta. Analyysissäni hyödynnän historiallisia ja filosofisia metodeja. Tutkimuksessani osoitan, miten antiikin ja keskiajan uteliaisuuden perusmerkitykset ja käyttötavat poikkeavat monin tavoin nykyisistä käsityksistä. Toisin kuin nykyään, sekä antiikissa että keskiajalla uteliaisuus luettiin paheisiin ja sitä käsiteltiin osana hyveteoreettista kysymyksenasettelua. Tutkimukseni tavoitteena on tuoda esiin uteliaisuuden linkittyminen oman aikansa filosofisiin ja teologisiin teemoihin sekä osoittaa, miten moni-ilmeisesti ja joustavasti uteliaisuuden toiminnan syyt ja seuraukset osana ihmisen ajattelua ja toimintaa ymmärrettiin. Samalla myös haastan lukijoita arvioimaan ja analysoimaan sitä, miten nykyaikana käsitetään uteliaisuuden merkitys ja tehtävät yksilön ja yhte...
The Experience of Beauty: Hugh and Richard of St. Victor on Natural Theology
Journal of Analytic Theology
In this paper, I will argue that the Twelfth Century spiritually -oriented texts present an impor... more In this paper, I will argue that the Twelfth Century spiritually -oriented texts present an important, but often neglected instance of natural theology. My analysis will show that in the texts of Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141) and his student Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) we find a Christian Neo-Platonist variant of natural theology. The elements of natural theology form a central part of their larger spiritual programmes, which in turn are meant to guide the human being in her ascent into divine realities and thereby offer immediate experience of the presence of God. I will give special attention to Hugh’s treatise De Tribus Diebus, as it explores both the manifestations of the Trinity in the created world as well as the beauty of all created objects. Hugh’s account will be supplemented by an exposition of Richard’s idea of experience as a vital means for all knowing.
Our Inner Custodian
Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Current approaches to understanding shame are rooted in controversial and even radically contrast... more Current approaches to understanding shame are rooted in controversial and even radically contrasting assumptions about shame and its relevance for social interaction and individual well-being. Classical and medieval sources themselves embrace surprisingly various notions about the workings of shame. While the Aristotelian tradition prevails in late antique and medieval philosophical psychology, it is also possible to discern a parallel tradition of shame that adapts and exploits Latin Stoic and eclectic material. This article surveys this largely unexplored Latin tradition (Cicero and Ambrose) and its treatment in later moral-philosophical and pastoral debates (Gregory the Great, Richard of St. Victor, Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great, and William Peraldus). Late antique and medieval Christian authors regard a positive responsiveness to shame as a constructive habit signaling the ability to live a socially harmonious life. The discussion demonstrates the inherent moral value of sham...
“I Need to Be Individually Loved, Lord, Let Me Recognize Your Gift!”: The Gifts of Love in the Soliloquy of Hugh of Saint-Victor (d. 1141)
Speculum
Agreement in Conflict: Peter Alfonsi’s Dialogi contra Iudaeos and the Idea of Recognition
Medieval Encounters
In the last few decades, modern theological and philosophical research has witnessed the emergenc... more In the last few decades, modern theological and philosophical research has witnessed the emergence of theories of recognition. In this article, I will show that current notions from recognition theory can be used as conceptual instruments for reading and interpreting Petrus Alfonsi’s multifaceted dialogue, Dialogi contra Iudaeos from around 1110. In the analysis of recognition between the actors of the Dialogi, it will be asked what the common basis for accepting arguments in the text is and how the author employs reason or authorities in the disputation, with the search for shared premises for discussion and common judging principles being important elements. The article also takes into account the rhetorical aspects of the treatise, analysing the various ways of positing the interlocutors and addressing arguments. It will be shown that the dialogic process itself, positive rhetorical praxis, and the commonly accepted diversity in argumentative paradigms are necessary for the eleme...
Editorial for the Topical Issue “Religious Recognition”
Open Theology, 2016
Mediated Recognition and the Quest for a Common Rational Field of Discussion in Three Early Medieval Dialogues
Open Theology, 2016
Using interpretative resources from contemporary recognition theory with a special focus on the n... more Using interpretative resources from contemporary recognition theory with a special focus on the notion of mediated recognition, this paper discusses the nature and degree of methodological agreement as manifested in three twelfth-century dialogues. The first source to be considered was written by Gilbert of Crispin, and known as Disputatio Christiani cum Gentili (Disputation of Christian with a Pagan), ca. 1093. The second source was composed by the Christian convert Peter Alfonsi, whose dialogue Dialogi contra Iudaeos (Dialogue against the Jews) was written about 1110. The third source to be considered is Peter Abelard’s treatise Collationes, a dialogue with three participants and the narrator, written between 1127 and 1132. In particular, the paper discusses the role of reason, the principles of argument, and the potentially-shared set of rules these dialogues employ, thereby bringing the agreement among conflicting parties into focus. In this respect, the novel interpretative app...
The Role of Imagination as the Soul Prepares for Contemplation
Richard of St. Victor’s Theory of Imagination, 2014