Making of the Self, The: Ancient and Modern Asceticism - Softcover

Valantasis, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0227172817 ISBN 13: 9780227172810

Publisher: James Clarke & Co, 2008

Synopsis

A leading scholar of ascetical studies, Richard Valantasis explores a variety of ascetical traditions ranging from the Greco-Roman philosophy of Musonius Rufus, the asceticism found in the Nag Hammadi Library and in certain Gnostic texts, the Gospel of Thomas, and other early Christian texts. This collection gathers historical and theoretical essays develop a theory of asceticism that informs the analysis of historical texts and opens the way for postmodern ascetical studies. Wideranging in historical scope and in developing theory, these essays address asceticism for scholar and student alike. The theory will be of particular interest to those interested in cultural theory and analysis, while the historical essays provide the researcher with easy access to a significant corpus of academic writing on asceticism.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Larry W. Hurtado; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Chapter 1 Introduction 1;Background to Study; Problem to be Addressed; Review of Scholarly Opinion; Classical Greek - Grammars; Koine Greek; TRADITIONAL GRAMMARS; PARTICULAR PROPOSALS FOR THE USE OF i; ANALYSIS PRESENTED BY GREEK GRAMMARIANS; Corpus; Theoretical Basis for Book; Arrangement of Chapters; Summary; Chapter 2 Theoretical Basis for Study; Introduction; Relevance Theory; General Background; Delineation of Theory; INFERENCES; HOW INFERENCES ARE SAID TO BE DRAWN; CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION; UNDERDETERMINACY; SHARED CONTEXTUAL ASSUMPTIONS; UNDERDETERMINACY IN PARTICIPLES; UNDERDETERMINACY IN PARTICLES; METAREPRESENTATION; PROCEDURAL MARKERS; OSTENSIVE BEHAVIOUR; Purpose or Intention in Koine; Summary; Chapter 3 Independent Clauses Introduced by i(/n(/na 4; Introduction; Use of i(/na to Give an Answer to Question; Question and Answer by the Same Speaker; Examples from Polybius and Epictetus; New Testament Examples; Expressing Desire and Intention; Johannine Examples; Examples from Orators and Rhetoricians; DEMOSTHENES; DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS; Examples from Septuagint and Non-Literary Papyri; SEPTUAGINT; EXAMPLES FROM PAPYRI; Examples from the Epistles; Introducing a Quotation from the Old Testament; Indicating Speaker's Interpretation; Reporting the Thoughts or Speech of Others; Summary; Chapter 4 Requests, Commands, Prayers Introduced by i(/(n/na 75; Introduction; Authorial Choice; Table 1; Synoptic Examples in Indirect Commands; Healing of Jairus' Daughter; MATTHEW 9:18; MARK 5:23; LUKE 8:41, 42; CONCLUSION; The Healing of a Boy with a Demon; MATTHEW 17:15, 16; MARK 9:17, 18; LUKE 9:38, 40; CONCLUSION; The Healing of the Demon Possessed Man; MATTHEW 8:34; MARK 5:17; LUKE 8:37; CONCLUSION; Authorial Choice in Same Context; Examples from Literary Koine; Examples from Dionysius of Halicarnassus; Examples from Polybius; Examples from Epictetus; Summary; Chapter 5 Noun Clauses Introduced by i(/n(/na 99; Introduction; Review of Metarepresentation; Explication of a Noun, Adjective or Demonstrative; Adjectives in Stative Clauses; NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES; EXAMPLES FROM THE DISCOURSES OF EPICTETUS; Nouns and Demonstratives in Stative Clauses; Nouns in Non-Stative Clauses Complemented by i(/na Clauses; NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES; EXAMPLES FROM DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS; Noun Clauses with Impersonal Verbs; Noun Clauses which Function as Object of Main Verb; Examples from the New Testament; Examples from Epictetus; Prophetic Utterance Introduced by i(/na 121; Summary; Chapter 6 Purpose Clauses Introduced by i(/n(/na 126; Introduction; Purpose as Indicating Intention, and Beyond; Contents; The Role of Context in Interpreting i(/na 129; Purpose Attributed; AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGED ATTRIBUTION OF INTENT; REPRESENTATION OF INTENTION OF SUBJECT; PURPOSE FROM OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOUR; INTERPRETATION OF BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS; ATTRIBUTION OF INTENTION WITHOUT EVIDENCE; Other Ways of Expressing Purpose; Disputed purpose Clauses; Summary; Chapter 7 Investigating o(/t(/ti 150; Introduction; Classical Greek; Direct Speech; Indirect Speech; Causal Clauses; Koine Greek; Direct Speech; Indirect Speech; EXAMPLES FROM EPICTETUS AND POLYBIUS; EXAMPLES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT; Causal Clauses; EXAMPLES FROM EPICTETUS AND POLYBIUS; EXAMPLES FROM NEW TESTAMENT; Summary; Chapter 8 Diachronic Use of i(/n(/na 174; Introduction; Classical Greek 500-300 BCE; Table 2; Hellenistic Greek 300-150 BCE; Graeco-Roman 150 BCE to 300 CE; Separation of Registers; HIGH LEVEL OF LANGUAGE: DIONYSIUS AND LUKE-ACTS; MORE COLLOQUIAL: EPICTETUS AND PAUL; Trends in Hellenistic Becoming More Marked; General Linguistic Changes; PHONETIC CHANGES; SYNTACTIC CHANGES; Language of the New Testament; Table 3;Explanations Advanced for Use of i(/na in New Testament; Modern Greek; Summary;Chapter 9; Conclusion; Introduction; A Relevance Theoretic Approach to i(/na 197; A Lexical Meaning for i(/na? 197; Taxonomic Approach to i(/na 199; The Combination of i(/na and a Subjunctive Verb; Diachronic Change in the Use and Frequency of i(/na 202; Interpretation of i(/na Clauses; Implications of Hypothesis; Implications for Interpretation; THE COMBINATION OF i(/na AND plhrw=; 'IMPERATIVAL';i(/na; w(/ra WITH A FOLLOWING i(/na CLAUSE; CAUSAL i(/na; INTRODUCING 'RESULT' CLAUSES; Implications for Teaching New Testament Greek; Concluding Comments and Future Research.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard Valantasis is Professor of Ascetical Theology and Director of the Anglican Studies Program at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of The Gospel of Thomas, Centuries of Holiness: Ancient Spirituality Refracted for a Postmodern Age, and The New Q: Translation and Commentary.

Review:

"In the context of belligerently hedonistic Western society, Richard Valantasis's 'The Making of the Self' has never been more relevant. Valantasis proposes that past and present can best be compared, not through ideas, but through analysis of practices and what they produce. Informative and inspirational, The Making of the Self should be required reading for all who seek to make intentional choices that shape the self." --Margaret R. Miles, author of 'A Complex Delight: The Secularization of the Breast,' 1350-1750 "A tour-de-force journey through the theory and practice of asceticism in late antiquity. Valatansis focusses on the transformative power of ascetic performance portraying asceticism through the ascetic's eyes. He compels us to reflect anew on the nature and role of asceticism in antiquity, and, in the process, to consider its meaning and relevance today." --James E. Goehring, author of 'Ascetics, Society, and The Desert.' "A coherent and compelling presentation of Valantasis's mature theorizing about a complex and fascinating phenomenon. Valantasis had already taught me much about asceticism. But this book is Valantasis at his best - articulate, creative, witty, feisty, provocative, brilliant." --Vincent L. Wimbush, editor of 'Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook.'

About this edition

• Publisher: James Clarke & Co
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0227172817
• ISBN 13: 9780227172810
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336