Robert M Ruehl | St. John Fisher College (original) (raw)

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Writings by Robert M Ruehl

Research paper thumbnail of Reimagining Justice as Preservative Care for Sustained Peace: Learning from Ethics of Care and Indigenous Philosophies

Care Ethics, Religion, and Spiritual Traditions, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Let's Change the Subject: Grounding Social Change in Indigenous History and Philosophy

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal, 2019

This article urges altering the discourse around social change. Too often it is antagonistic and ... more This article urges altering the discourse around social change. Too often it is antagonistic and negative; it also overlooks continuing colonizing practices and how injustices to Indigenous peoples have helped to shape past and current injustices toward other groups. First, the article foregrounds the religio-political ideology of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and the boarding-school experience to remind readers about the broader criminal history of the United States toward Indigenous nations and peoples and how colonization is not a thing of the past. Any call for social change should remember this. Second, the article looks at three dimensions of Indigenous philosophy that would be good to affirm as we strive for a better world: relatedness, sustained peace, and an ethic of preservative care. Limited calls for justice that avoid continuing colonizing practices and that begin with negations and hate are not responsible and will help to continue the sustained violence we no longer want. For sustained peace, the strategy should be to begin with an affirmation (here an affirmation of Indigenous wisdom) and a broader historical understanding of the injustices that continue to bring harm to millions of people within the borders of the United States. By changing the subject in this way, it will not only make for more peaceful activism, but it will also create better allies to Indigenous nations and peoples.

Research paper thumbnail of The Value of Friendship for Education

Research paper thumbnail of Henry David Thoreau (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

"This article helps readers understand Thoreau’s philosophical inclinations and his contributions... more "This article helps readers understand Thoreau’s philosophical inclinations and his contributions to American philosophy that allow him to stand as an early innovator of American thought and literature, and it does so based on Thoreau’s concept of wildness and his penchant to preserve wildness in all he encountered."

Research paper thumbnail of "In Defense of Alain Badiou"

Philosophy Now, issue 109, 26-29. https://philosophynow.org/issues/109/In\_Defense\_of\_Alain\_Badiou

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau's Religious Response to Death

Chapter 4 in Death, Dying, and Mysticism: The Ecstasy of the End. Edited by Thomas Cattoi and Chr... more Chapter 4 in Death, Dying, and Mysticism: The Ecstasy of the End. Edited by Thomas Cattoi and Christopher M. Moreman. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, 65-86.

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau as Liberation Thinker

Henry David Thoreau's claim to be "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher" took... more Henry David Thoreau's claim to be "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher" took an unexpected turn for me. Spending much time with A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (my dissertation addresses the idea of religion found between its covers), I encountered a "liberation thinker" resisting the limitations of American culture while honoring the natural world and indigenous peoples. Thoreau's epigraph reveals how he wants the muse of his dead brother to inspire him, but the book also discloses how he wants the muse of indigenous peoples to inspirit and improve American culture. Impressively, he esteems nature as more than a symbol pointing to a distant divinity as he experiences its inherent sacredness. Natural creation is at once our house and being; we are immersed in and part of its continuous regenerative processes, which suggests familial bonds of sacredness uniting humans and nonhumans. Thoreau offers an alternative to social structures and outlooks that devalue human and nonhuman existence.

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau's "A Week," Religion as Preservative Care: Opposing the Christian Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and a Religion of Subjugation

This dissertation argues for a rereading of Henry David Thoreau’s "A Week on the Concord and... more This dissertation argues for a rereading of Henry David Thoreau’s "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" (1849) as “Transcendental scripture writing.” By placing his book in this genre, Thoreau’s religious thinking comes to the fore. His book becomes a contextualized pilgrimage addressing three levels of human existence in the religious realm: (1) where we have been and are now, (2) where we could be, and (3) how to reach that next, better self with more intimate, liberative relationships with others. As he addresses human limitations and his hope for better human and nonhuman relationships, Thoreau articulates a religion of “preservative care” that seeks to address past wrongs while nurturing sustained peace, which makes his outlook significant for the present.
This vision of life filled with sustained peace, however, does not circumvent a serious reexamination of the violence that went into America’s founding. As he addresses the history of the United States, Thoreau emphasizes a dominant oppressive trend in America as Native Americans and the environment are continuously devalued and pushed to the margins. Thoreau associates this oppressive trajectory with a Western politico-theological justification for the domination, conversion, and attempted extermination of non-Christian, Indigenous peoples—a repressive posture that scholars currently define as the “Christian Doctrine of Discovery.” Thoreau makes it clear that belief in Christian supremacy and the desire to construct a decidedly Christian nation have led to the attempted mastery over Indigenous populations, their land, and the natural world, which has concomitantly led to diminished lives for those perpetuating this “religion of subjugation.”
He counters this with an ideal of non-institutionalized religion grounded in the natural world and informed by Native American values and ways of being. In the end, Thoreau’s “wild”
religion seeks to preserve The Law of Regeneration or the dynamic laws of nature in all existence—human and nonhuman alike. This is Thoreau’s religion of preservative care, and it has important implications for current religious dialogues addressing Indigenous rights and the repudiation of the Christian Doctrine of Discovery—especially within the liberal religious Unitarian Universalist denomination as Thoreau is considered part of its religious heritage. "A Week" prods the tradition to be more ecologically attuned in religious matters, to be less anthropocentrically oriented, and to be united with the downtrodden through a religious presupposition affirming solidarity with all oppressed beings—human and nonhuman alike. This orientation re-envisions religion as a healthy, transformative presence in the world as it aims to cultivate sustained peace, which is needed in today’s world negatively affected by violence and injustice too often grounded in religious discourses and buttressed by pernicious religious sentiments.

Research paper thumbnail of Preservative Care and Becoming Feral: Thoreau's Religious Perspective in "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers"

Research paper thumbnail of William Ellery Channing and Unitarian Identity

Research paper thumbnail of William Ellery Channing's Theology: God, Christ, Humanity, and Self-Culture

Research paper thumbnail of Transcendental Disseminations: How a Movement Spread Its Ideas

The Transcendentalist movement largely began as a form of religious revolt in the 1830s. The Tran... more The Transcendentalist movement largely began as a form of religious revolt in the 1830s. The Transcendentalists were, however, also writers, lecturers, and philosophers whose ideas and values permeated and attempted to change the cultural landscape of nineteenth-century America. As one examines this movement for its creativity and its limitations throughout the nineteenth century, it is important to keep in mind the ways in which these writers and cultural reformers attempted to spread their ideas and visions of a new world. To understand how this dispersion occurred, it is necessary to look at two categories of dissemination: the "personal" and the "public." For simplicity's sake, the first is composed of journal writing and conversations, and the second category is made up of periodicals and lyceum lectures.

Research paper thumbnail of Žižek's Communist Theology

International Journal of Zizek Studies, 2011

Drafts by Robert M Ruehl

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau's Reverence for Inconsistency

This essay investigates what lies behind the many faces of Henry David Thoreau: his embracing of ... more This essay investigates what lies behind the many faces of Henry David Thoreau: his embracing of inconsistency. Like scholars after him (Cusumano; Peyser 185; Plotica 470-472;

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond Theories, Dilemmas, and Moral Reasoning: Teaching Ethics Through Dialogues, Discussions, and Debates

A widespread emphasis on Western ethical theories, dilemmatic cases, and correct answers found th... more A widespread emphasis on Western ethical theories, dilemmatic cases, and correct answers found through moral reasoning is present in college ethics courses across the United States (Kretz 2020, 9-30); various quality textbooks support this approach, such as Ethics:

Research paper thumbnail of Reimagining Justice as Preservative Care for Sustained Peace: Learning from Ethics of Care and Indigenous Philosophies

Care Ethics, Religion, and Spiritual Traditions, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Let's Change the Subject: Grounding Social Change in Indigenous History and Philosophy

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal, 2019

This article urges altering the discourse around social change. Too often it is antagonistic and ... more This article urges altering the discourse around social change. Too often it is antagonistic and negative; it also overlooks continuing colonizing practices and how injustices to Indigenous peoples have helped to shape past and current injustices toward other groups. First, the article foregrounds the religio-political ideology of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and the boarding-school experience to remind readers about the broader criminal history of the United States toward Indigenous nations and peoples and how colonization is not a thing of the past. Any call for social change should remember this. Second, the article looks at three dimensions of Indigenous philosophy that would be good to affirm as we strive for a better world: relatedness, sustained peace, and an ethic of preservative care. Limited calls for justice that avoid continuing colonizing practices and that begin with negations and hate are not responsible and will help to continue the sustained violence we no longer want. For sustained peace, the strategy should be to begin with an affirmation (here an affirmation of Indigenous wisdom) and a broader historical understanding of the injustices that continue to bring harm to millions of people within the borders of the United States. By changing the subject in this way, it will not only make for more peaceful activism, but it will also create better allies to Indigenous nations and peoples.

Research paper thumbnail of The Value of Friendship for Education

Research paper thumbnail of Henry David Thoreau (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

"This article helps readers understand Thoreau’s philosophical inclinations and his contributions... more "This article helps readers understand Thoreau’s philosophical inclinations and his contributions to American philosophy that allow him to stand as an early innovator of American thought and literature, and it does so based on Thoreau’s concept of wildness and his penchant to preserve wildness in all he encountered."

Research paper thumbnail of "In Defense of Alain Badiou"

Philosophy Now, issue 109, 26-29. https://philosophynow.org/issues/109/In\_Defense\_of\_Alain\_Badiou

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau's Religious Response to Death

Chapter 4 in Death, Dying, and Mysticism: The Ecstasy of the End. Edited by Thomas Cattoi and Chr... more Chapter 4 in Death, Dying, and Mysticism: The Ecstasy of the End. Edited by Thomas Cattoi and Christopher M. Moreman. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, 65-86.

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau as Liberation Thinker

Henry David Thoreau's claim to be "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher" took... more Henry David Thoreau's claim to be "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher" took an unexpected turn for me. Spending much time with A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (my dissertation addresses the idea of religion found between its covers), I encountered a "liberation thinker" resisting the limitations of American culture while honoring the natural world and indigenous peoples. Thoreau's epigraph reveals how he wants the muse of his dead brother to inspire him, but the book also discloses how he wants the muse of indigenous peoples to inspirit and improve American culture. Impressively, he esteems nature as more than a symbol pointing to a distant divinity as he experiences its inherent sacredness. Natural creation is at once our house and being; we are immersed in and part of its continuous regenerative processes, which suggests familial bonds of sacredness uniting humans and nonhumans. Thoreau offers an alternative to social structures and outlooks that devalue human and nonhuman existence.

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau's "A Week," Religion as Preservative Care: Opposing the Christian Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and a Religion of Subjugation

This dissertation argues for a rereading of Henry David Thoreau’s "A Week on the Concord and... more This dissertation argues for a rereading of Henry David Thoreau’s "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" (1849) as “Transcendental scripture writing.” By placing his book in this genre, Thoreau’s religious thinking comes to the fore. His book becomes a contextualized pilgrimage addressing three levels of human existence in the religious realm: (1) where we have been and are now, (2) where we could be, and (3) how to reach that next, better self with more intimate, liberative relationships with others. As he addresses human limitations and his hope for better human and nonhuman relationships, Thoreau articulates a religion of “preservative care” that seeks to address past wrongs while nurturing sustained peace, which makes his outlook significant for the present.
This vision of life filled with sustained peace, however, does not circumvent a serious reexamination of the violence that went into America’s founding. As he addresses the history of the United States, Thoreau emphasizes a dominant oppressive trend in America as Native Americans and the environment are continuously devalued and pushed to the margins. Thoreau associates this oppressive trajectory with a Western politico-theological justification for the domination, conversion, and attempted extermination of non-Christian, Indigenous peoples—a repressive posture that scholars currently define as the “Christian Doctrine of Discovery.” Thoreau makes it clear that belief in Christian supremacy and the desire to construct a decidedly Christian nation have led to the attempted mastery over Indigenous populations, their land, and the natural world, which has concomitantly led to diminished lives for those perpetuating this “religion of subjugation.”
He counters this with an ideal of non-institutionalized religion grounded in the natural world and informed by Native American values and ways of being. In the end, Thoreau’s “wild”
religion seeks to preserve The Law of Regeneration or the dynamic laws of nature in all existence—human and nonhuman alike. This is Thoreau’s religion of preservative care, and it has important implications for current religious dialogues addressing Indigenous rights and the repudiation of the Christian Doctrine of Discovery—especially within the liberal religious Unitarian Universalist denomination as Thoreau is considered part of its religious heritage. "A Week" prods the tradition to be more ecologically attuned in religious matters, to be less anthropocentrically oriented, and to be united with the downtrodden through a religious presupposition affirming solidarity with all oppressed beings—human and nonhuman alike. This orientation re-envisions religion as a healthy, transformative presence in the world as it aims to cultivate sustained peace, which is needed in today’s world negatively affected by violence and injustice too often grounded in religious discourses and buttressed by pernicious religious sentiments.

Research paper thumbnail of Preservative Care and Becoming Feral: Thoreau's Religious Perspective in "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers"

Research paper thumbnail of William Ellery Channing and Unitarian Identity

Research paper thumbnail of William Ellery Channing's Theology: God, Christ, Humanity, and Self-Culture

Research paper thumbnail of Transcendental Disseminations: How a Movement Spread Its Ideas

The Transcendentalist movement largely began as a form of religious revolt in the 1830s. The Tran... more The Transcendentalist movement largely began as a form of religious revolt in the 1830s. The Transcendentalists were, however, also writers, lecturers, and philosophers whose ideas and values permeated and attempted to change the cultural landscape of nineteenth-century America. As one examines this movement for its creativity and its limitations throughout the nineteenth century, it is important to keep in mind the ways in which these writers and cultural reformers attempted to spread their ideas and visions of a new world. To understand how this dispersion occurred, it is necessary to look at two categories of dissemination: the "personal" and the "public." For simplicity's sake, the first is composed of journal writing and conversations, and the second category is made up of periodicals and lyceum lectures.

Research paper thumbnail of Žižek's Communist Theology

International Journal of Zizek Studies, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Thoreau's Reverence for Inconsistency

This essay investigates what lies behind the many faces of Henry David Thoreau: his embracing of ... more This essay investigates what lies behind the many faces of Henry David Thoreau: his embracing of inconsistency. Like scholars after him (Cusumano; Peyser 185; Plotica 470-472;

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond Theories, Dilemmas, and Moral Reasoning: Teaching Ethics Through Dialogues, Discussions, and Debates

A widespread emphasis on Western ethical theories, dilemmatic cases, and correct answers found th... more A widespread emphasis on Western ethical theories, dilemmatic cases, and correct answers found through moral reasoning is present in college ethics courses across the United States (Kretz 2020, 9-30); various quality textbooks support this approach, such as Ethics: