Aphrahat, Resurrection, Philosophy etc

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Aphrahat is the first Syriac author whose works we still have. I've been studying the structure and mindset of his "Demonstrations" and noticing how teleological it all is- he advocates for ascetic practice especially celibacy because of the future resurrection which we somewhat live in right now. (I'm writing a paper on this, which will also be part of my PhD Thesis).

Also, I've been reading about how various late-antique and medieval ideas shape modern and post-modern society. So I've been reading various views on texts, and critical theory, cultural theories etc. Found a useful website with lots of postgrad-level video lectures by many leading lights. eg Agamben on Monasticism. There's Zizek, Baudrillard, Badiou etc. This will inform my final chapter on worldviews and implications of ascetic struggle/jihad/agona.