From crisis to meaning: creativity in the Biblical narrative of Eve and the inversion by F. Kafka
Abstract
The possibilities of creativity in human life depend on discovering the meaning of life. Franz Kafka’s story Before the Law evokes how every attempt at finding this meaning, represented as the law, comes with a crisis and can result in failure. The secret of human existence is all about intimate personal encounters. The other than myself, which is also deeply present inside myself, is not the impersonal thing that it is oftentimes made out to be. In an already published article, we presented a close-reading of Kafka’s text. We only refer to the results in the first paragraph. In this article, we read the biblical narrative on Adam and Eve as a text that is structured by the same economy – the intertwinedness of the I-Thou relation with the I-It relation. But in opposition to the Kafka narrative, the crisis is overcome and results in a new creative perspective on the human condition: the discovery of the ultimate intersubjective meaning of life. The meaning makes love and labour possible. It means that the creativity of becoming human is the result of interaction. The context of our research is a long project on developing a philosophical reading of Biblical texts that was developed at the KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. The methodology is inspired by the Talmudic readings of Emmanuel Levinas and by the philosophical interpretations of the Bible of Paul Ricœur. In this way, we introduce a non-confessional way of understanding religious texts on the creativity of becoming human.
Article in English.
Nuo krizės link prasmės: kūrybiškumas bibliniame naratyve apie Ievą ir F. Kafkos apvertimas
Santrauka
Kūrybiškumo galimybės žmogaus gyvenime priklauso nuo atrastos gyvenimo prasmės. Franzo Kafkos apysaka Prieš įstatymą sukelia minčių, kaip bet kokiomis pastangomis rasti šią įstatymo simbolizuojamą prasmę, prasidedančią nuo krizės ir galinčią baigtis nesėkme. Žmogaus egzistavimo paslaptis yra absoliučiai neatsiejama nuo intymių asmeninių sutikčių. Kitas, skirtingai nei aš pats, kuris taip pat esti giliai manyje pačiame, nėra nesuasmenintas daiktas, kuris dažnai taip traktuojamas. Jau paskelbtame straipsnyje pristatėme nuodugnų Kafkos teksto aiškinimą. Pirmame skirsnyje tiesiog pateikiame prieitas išvadas. Šiame straipsnyje interpretuojame biblinį Adomo ir Ievos naratyvą kaip tekstą, kurio struktūra grindžiama tokia pat ekonomija – Aš–Tu ir Aš–Tai santykio sampyna. Tačiau, priešingai Kafkos naratyvui, krizė įveikiama ir baigiasi nauja kūrybine žmogaus būklės perspektyva, atradus didžiausią intersubjektyvią gyvenimo prasmę. Prasmė suteikia galimybę mylėti ir dirbti. Tai reiškia, kad tapimo žmogumi kūrybiškumas yra sąveikavimo rezultatas. Mūsų tyrimo kontekstą sudaro Leveno katalikiškajame universitete (Levenas, Belgija) vykdytas ilgalaikis projektas, plėtojęs filosofines biblinių tekstų interpretacijas. Šiuo atveju pristatome nekonfesinį būdą suprasti religinius tekstus, skirtus tapimo žmogumi kūrybiškumui.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: kūrimo naratyvas, dialoginis mąstymas, žmogaus būklė, Kafka, Levinas, gyvenimo prasmė, Rosenzweigas.
Keyword : creation narrative, dialogical thinking, human condition, Kafka, Levinas, meaning of life, Rosenzweig
How to Cite
Anckaert, L., & Burggraeve, R. (2018). From crisis to meaning: creativity in the Biblical narrative of Eve and the inversion by F. Kafka. Creativity Studies, 11(2), 258-272. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2018.1787
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Anckaert, L. (2009). L’Être Entre les Lettres. Creation and Passivity in “And God Created Woman”. In B. Hofmeyr (Ed.), Radical passivity: rethinking ethical agency in Levinas. Series: Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy. Vol. 20 (pp. 143-154). Dordrecht: Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
Anckaert, L., & Burggraeve, R. (2017). Crisis and meaning: F. Kafka and the Law. Coactivity: Philosophy, Communication, 25, 123-144.
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Burggraeve, R. (2009). Each other’s keeper? Essays on ethics and the Biblical wisdom of love. Thrissur: Marymatha Publications.
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Rosenzweig, F. (1979). Der Mensch und sein Werk Gesammelte Schriften. Bd. 1: Briefe und Tagebücher, 1900–1918. R. Rosenzweig & E. Rosenzweig-Scheinmann (Eds.). Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0958-3
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Sölle, D., & Cloyes, Sh. A. (1984). To work and to love: a theology of creation. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishing House.
Thévenot, X. (1983). Les péchés. Que peut-on en dire?. Mulhouse: Salvator.
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Westermann, C. (1984). Genesis 1–11: a continental commentary. London, Minneapolis: SPCK, Augsburg Publishing House.
Wygoda, Sh. (2005). Un Midrash philosophique. À propos de la lecture levinassienne du Talmud. Cahiers d’Etudes Lévinassiennes, 4, 313-352.
Anckaert, L. (2009). L’Être Entre les Lettres. Creation and Passivity in “And God Created Woman”. In B. Hofmeyr (Ed.), Radical passivity: rethinking ethical agency in Levinas. Series: Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy. Vol. 20 (pp. 143-154). Dordrecht: Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
Anckaert, L., & Burggraeve, R. (2017). Crisis and meaning: F. Kafka and the Law. Coactivity: Philosophy, Communication, 25, 123-144.
Ausloos, H., & Lemmelijn, B. (2016). La Bible et la vie: Réponses bibliques aux questions d’aujourd’hui, 1(48). Series: Le livre et le rouleau. Numur, Paris: Lessius.
Balmary, M. (1993). La Divine Origine: Dieu n’a pas créé l’homme. Paris: Éditions Grasset & Fasquelle.
Balmary, M. (1986). Le Sacrifice interdit: Freud et la Bible. Paris: Éditions Grasset & Fasquelle.
Basset, L. (2007). Holy anger: Jacob, Job, Jesus. London: Continuum.
Bible Study Tools. (2018). English standard version. Retrieved from https://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/
Bieringer, R. (2014). Body and Bible: Biblical revelation as a symbolic event. In R. Bieringer, R. Burggraeve, E. Nathan, & M. Steegen (Eds.), Provoked to speech: Biblical hermeneutics as conversation (pp. 315-342). Leuven-Paris-Walpole (MA): Peeters.
Burggraeve, R. (2012). A true master of thought – taking the Talmudic philosophy of Levinas as an inspiration for Christianity. In R. Burggraeve, J. Hansel, M.-A. Lescourret, J.-F. Rey, J.-M. Salanskis (Eds.), Recherches Levinassiennes (pp. 399-419). Louvain-la-Neuve/Louvain-Paris: Peeters Publishers.
Burggraeve, R. (2009). Each other’s keeper? Essays on ethics and the Biblical wisdom of love. Thrissur: Marymatha Publications.
Burggraeve, R. (2014). Reading and interpreting holy scripture: a way of thinking. In R. Bieringer, R. Burggraeve, E. Nathan, M. Steegen (Eds.), Provoked to speech: Biblical hermeneutics as conversation (pp. 85-108). Leuven-Paris-Walpole, MA: Peeters Publishers.
Chevalier, J., & Gheerbrant, A. (1994). Dictionnaire des Symboles: Mythes, rêves, coutumes, gestes, formes, figures, couleurs, nombres. Paris: Robert Laffont.
Faessler, M. (2006). Éclats: Quand Levinas commente Rachi. In D. Cohen-Levinas (Ed.), Levinas (pp. 173-192). Paris: Bayard.
Fuchs, É. (1999). Le Désir et la tendresse: pour une éthique chrétienne de la sexualité. Paris/Genève: Albin Michel/Labor et Fides.
Hegel, G. W. F. (1967). Philosophy of right. London, New York: Oxford University Press.
Kafka, F. (2009). The trial. J. B. Kopito (Ed.). Series: Dover Thrift Editions. Waldrep, M. C. (General Ed.). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
LaCocque, A., & Ricœur, P. (1998). Penser la Bible. Paris: Éditions du Seuil. https://doi.org/10.14375/NP.9782020316774
Lebrun, J.-P., & Wénin, A. (2008). Des lois pour être humain. Series: Humus Entretiens. Toulouse: Éres.
Ebreo, L. (1929). Dialoghi d’amore. Hebräische Gedichte. Heidelberg: Winter.
Levinas, E. (1990). Difficult freedom: essays on Judaism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Levinas, E. (1999). New Talmudic readings. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press.
Levinas, E. (1994). Nine Talmudic readings. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Plato. (2001). Lysis. Symposium. Gorgias. Series: Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press.
Rashi. (unknown year). Pentateuch with Targum Onkelos, Haphtaroth and Rashi’s Commentary. Genesis. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company.
Ricœur, P. (1990). Liebe und Gerechtigkeit = Amour et justice. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (P. Siebeck).
Ricoeur, P. (1992). Oneself as another. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Rosenzweig, F. (1979). Der Mensch und sein Werk Gesammelte Schriften. Bd. 1: Briefe und Tagebücher, 1900–1918. R. Rosenzweig & E. Rosenzweig-Scheinmann (Eds.). Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0958-3
Rosenzweig, F. (1920a). Hegel und der Staat. Bd. I: Lebensstationen (1770–1806). München-Berlin: Oldenburg.
Rosenzweig, F. (1920b). Hegel und der Staat. Bd. II: Weltepochen (1806–1831). München-Berlin: Oldenburg.
Sölle, D., & Cloyes, Sh. A. (1984). To work and to love: a theology of creation. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishing House.
Thévenot, X. (1983). Les péchés. Que peut-on en dire?. Mulhouse: Salvator.
Thévenot, X. (1982). Repères éthiques pour un monde nouveau. Mulhouse: Salvator.
Westermann, C. (1984). Genesis 1–11: a continental commentary. London, Minneapolis: SPCK, Augsburg Publishing House.
Wygoda, Sh. (2005). Un Midrash philosophique. À propos de la lecture levinassienne du Talmud. Cahiers d’Etudes Lévinassiennes, 4, 313-352.