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HIS IS THE THIRD TIME ) HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING INVITED BY THE )NSTITUTE FOR 7ORLD 2ELIGIONS WHOSE WORK ) APPLAUD TO COME TO THIS MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST PEACEFUL ROOM TO GOOD FRIENDS ON THE LEFT COAST WHERE AUDIENCES HAVE BEEN FRIENDLY AND COMPASSIONATE WHILE STILL BEING CRITICAL 4O A CERTAIN EXTENT ) LOOK FORWARD TO MOST OF MY INVITED LECTURES BUT ) TRULY ENJOY BEING HERE ) WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR INVITING ME AND OF COURSE THE FROSTING ON THE CAKE IS TO SHARE THE PODIUM IN UNEQUAL MEASURE ) AM HAPPY TO SAY WITH MY OLD AND DEAR FRIEND (USTON 3MITH )N HIS LECTURE (USTON HAS GIVEN US AS HE ALWAYS DOES MUCH TO REm ECT UPON ) BELIEVE IT IS FAIR TO SAY THERE ARE hINTIMATIONS OF THE )Nl NITEv IN HIS PAPER AND ) AM THEREFORE GOING TO FOLLOW HIM ON HIS TENTH POINT WHERE HE SAYS THAT INTIMATIONS OF THE )Nl NITE AND 2EVELATION AS WELL HAVE TO BE INTERPRETED HENCE THE SCIENCE OF EXEGESIS 4HE MAJOR CLAIM ) WISH TO PUT FORWARD IS THAT (USTON S TALK SHOULD BE INTERPRETED NOT AS A SERIES OF PURPORTEDLY FACTUAL STATEMENTS ABOUT THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE AT SOME ABSTRACT LEVEL AS IF HE WERE SIDING WITH THOSE ASTROPHYSICISTS WHO THEORIZE THAT THE UNIVERSE MUST BE INl NITE AS OPPOSED TO THOSE WHO CLAIM IT IS NOT 3UCH AN INTERPRETATION WOULD THEN TEMPT US TO ASK WHETHER HIS STATEMENTS WERE FACTUALLY TRUE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE WHICH IN MY VIEW WOULD BE TO QUOTE A FAMOUS SERMON OF THE "UDDHA h! QUESTION NOT TENDING TOWARD EDIl CATION v (USTON HIMSELF HINTS THAT THIS QUESTION IS NOT TO BE FOCUSED ON IN HIS NINTH POINT WHERE HE SAYS EXPLICITLY THAT h(U MAN BEINGS CANNOT FULLY KNOW THE )Nl NITE v FROM WHICH IT MUST FOLLOW THAT HUMAN BEINGS CANNOT FULLY KNOW WHETHER STATEMENTS ABOUT THE )Nl NITE ARE FACTUALLY TRUE OR NOT ! MORE FRUITFUL APPROACH TO (USTON S LECTURE IS ) BELIEVE TO APPROACH IT AS SAYING SOMETHING TO FOR AND ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS TO LISTEN TO IT AS AN INTERPRETIVE SCHEMA OF A RELIGIOUS DIMENSION OF ALL HUMAN LIFE A WAY OF RESPONDING TO THE WORLD BOTH IN ITS PARTS AND AS A TOTALITY )N THIS READING THE QUESTION TO BE ASKED IS NOT WHETHER HIS REMARKS ARE TRUE OF THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE BUT WHETHER THEY ARE A FAITHFUL EXPRESSION OF A SPIRITUAL IMPULSE AS EXPERIENCED BY HUMAN BEINGS AS THEY CONFRONT THEIR PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
AND ARE REm ECTED IN THE SACRED TEXTS OF THEIR SEVERAL RELIGIONS 4HIS QUESTION ) ANSWER AFl RMATIVELY ,ET ME BEGIN WITH (USTON S BEGINNING )T MAY STRIKE SOME OF YOU AS ODD OR AT LEAST WHIMSICAL THAT (USTON ENTITLED HIS LECTURE BY REFERENCE TO THE THEORETICAL WORK OF .OAM #HOMSKY
AND THEN BEGAN IT WITH A REFERENCE TO THE #HANDOGYA 5PANISHAD 4HE JUX TAPOSITION IS IN MY OPINION HOWEVER ALTOGETHER APT FOR JUST AS THE LATTER
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CLAIMS ONE LUMP OF CLAY CAN SUFl CE FOR KNOWING THE ESSENTIALS OF CLAY SO TOO HAS #HOMSKY ALWAYS INSISTED THAT MANY OF THE RULES OR PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR COULD BE DISCOVERED BY EXAMINING A SINGLE LANGUAGE PREFERABLY THE LINGUIST S OWN #HOMSKY S REASONING IS SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD IF THERE ARE PRINCIPLES WHICH SPEAKERS OF A LANGUAGE OR DIALECT DEMONSTRABLY FOLLOW FROM CHILDHOOD ON BUT WHICH COULD NOT HAVE BEEN LEARNED ON THE BASIS OF LINGUISTIC EXPERIENCE OR TUTORING THEN THOSE PRINCIPLES MUST BE A PART OF THE COGNITIVE ENDOWMENT THAT ALL HUMAN BEINGS BRING TO BEAR IN ACQUIRING THEIR NATIVE TONGUE 4HUS WHILE #HOMSKY CALLS HIS ABSTRACT SYNTACTIC SCHEMA hUNIVERSAL GRAMMAR v THE NAME CAN BE MISLEADING AT l RST BLUSH ESPECIALLY IF IT IS TAKEN TO MEAN hGRAMMATICAL RULES OR PRINCIPLES WHICH HOLD THROUGHOUT THE UNI VERSE v FOR THAT IS NOT WHAT HE MEANS 7HAT HE HAS DEVOTED HIS LINGUISTIC LIFE TO STUDYING ARE THE SPECIl C MENTAL STRUCTURES BY MEANS OF WHICH ALL NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS COME TO BE COMPETENT SPEAKERS OF THEIR NATIVE DIALECT FAIRLY INDEPENDENTLY OF INTELLIGENCE OR MOTIVATION WITH MINIMAL AND OFTEN DEGENERATE EMPIRICAL INPUTS AND WITH VIRTUALLY NO INSTRUCTION #HOMSKY SEEKS IN OTHER WORDS NOT PRINCIPLES WHICH HOLD hTHROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE v BUT WHAT ) HAVE CALLED hHOMOVERSALv PRINCIPLES MEANING hFOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS MENTALLY AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY CONSTITUTED AS THEY ARE v !ND THUS AS ) WOULD MODIFY #HOMSKY S CLAIM A LITTLE BIT SO ) WOULD MODIFY (USTON S AND CALL IT A hHOMOVERSAL GRAMMAR OF RELIGION v )N ADDITION TO A LANGUAGE CAPACITY MENTAL STRUCTURE E G HIS hUNIVER SAL GRAMMAR v #HOMSKY HAS POSTULATED SIMILAR SPECIl C MENTAL STRUCTURES EMBODYING PRINCIPLES IN SUCH AREAS AS MUSIC PERSONALITY DISCRIMINATION
MATHEMATICS FACIAL RECOGNITION AND OTHER AREAS WHERE HUMAN BEINGS SEEM TO BEHAVE QUITE SKILLFULLY AND SIMILARLY IN AREAS WHERE THERE HAS BEEN A PAUCITY OF EMPIRICAL DATA THAT COULD ACCOUNT FOR HOW THE SKILL WAS ACQUIRED AND UNIFORMLY EXHIBITED IN VIRTUALLY THE SAME WAY BY EVERYONE ACROSS TIME SPACE AND CULTURE )T IS IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THIS POINT FOR #HOMSKY HAS OFTEN POINTED OUT A NUMBER OF FEATURES OF UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR THAT DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE ANY COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTION BEING EITHER REDUNDANT REDU PLICATIVE OVERLY ABSTRACT AND OR NOT UTILIZABLE BY HUMAN BEINGS BECAUSE OF INTERFERENCE FROM OTHER COGNITIVE CAPACITIES 4HAT IS TO SAY SEVERAL SPECIl C HUMAN ABILITIES CAPACITIES AND WAYS OF INTERACTING WITH THE WORLD APPEAR TO HAVE FEATURES THAT DO NOT HAVE ANY SELECTIONAL ADVANTAGE IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES WE SIMPLY HAVE THOSE ABILITIES AND CAPACITIES 4HE PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR OR HOMOVERSAL GRAMMAR AS ) WOULD CALL IT DESCRIBE A CERTAIN FEATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS THEY ARE NOT AT ALL TO BE SEEN AS UNIVERSAL
IN THE PHILOSOPHICAL SENSE OF THE TERM )N OTHER WRITINGS ) HAVE EXTENDED THE >HHJ: D8ID7:G
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#HOMSKIAN MODEL TO THE l ELDS OF ETHICS AND AESTHETICS CLAIMING THAT HERE
TOO WE CAN l ND EVIDENCE OF HOMOVERSAL PRINCIPLES OR VALUES HOLDING hFOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS MENTALLY AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY CONSTITUTED AS THEY ARE v !ND ) BELIEVE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT (USTON IS DOING FOR THE l ELD OF RELIGION !GAINST THIS BACKGROUND ) CAN BEGIN TO FRAME SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU (USTON THE l RST OF WHICH MUST BE ON THE MINDS OF EVERYONE HERE TONIGHT WHO KNOWS YOU AND YOUR LIFE AND WORK AT ALL WELL HOW MUCH OF THE MAG NIl CENT VISION YOU HAVE GIVEN US IN OUTLINE THIS EVENING IS BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A PRACTITIONER OF A MULTIPLICITY OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES IN A VARIETY OF FAITHS AND HOW MUCH IS BASED ON YOUR LIFE AS A PHILOSOPHER SCHOLAR OF RELIGIONS AND THEIR SACRED TEXTS ) SUSPECT STRONGLY THAT THE ANSWER IS NOT EITHER OR BUT BOTH AND 4O THE EXTENT YOUR SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES ARE DERIVED FROM A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE OR SET THEREOFÂ&#x2C6;EVEN IF DERIVED FROM SPIRITUAL PRACTICE WITHIN A SINGLE FAITHÂ&#x2C6;YOUR PRINCIPLES MIGHT WELL BE CONSTRUED AT LEAST PARTIALLY AS ABSOLUTELY GENERAL AND NOT UNIQUELY #HRISTIAN NOR MERELY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MERELY TELLING US SOMETHING ABOUT (USTON 3MITH AND HIS FAITH TRADITION ANY MORE THAN #HOMSKY S UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR TELLS US ONLY ABOUT #HOMSKY OR ONLY ABOUT %NGLISH )F MOREOVER YOU HAVE HAD A MULTIPLICITY OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES RESULT ING FROM DEEPLY IMMERSING YOURSELF IN A MULTIPLICITY OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES IN A VARIETY OF FAITH TRADITIONS AS ) KNOW YOU HAVE DONE THEN YOUR LECTURE BEGINS TO ILLUMINATE EVEN LESS THE PERSONAL ODYSSEY OF (USTON 3MITH AND RATHER CASTS A NEW LIGHT ON WHAT WE MIGHT CALL ANALOGOUS TO OUR #HOM SKIAN hLINGUISTIC CAPACITY v A hSPIRITUAL CAPACITY v OPEN TO ALL HUMAN BEINGS
MENTALLY AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY CONSTITUTED AS THEY ARE 4HIS POSSIBILITY BECOMES ALL THE MORE INTRIGUING TO CONTEMPLATE WHEN WE TURN TO THE PHILOSOPHER SCHOLAR (USTON 3MITH WHO HAS TAUGHT THE SACRED TEXTS OF THE WORLD S RELIGIONS TO GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS AND WHOSE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT HAS SOLD OVER A MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE AND HAS DONE MUCH ) BELIEVE TO CUT DOWN ON THE AMOUNT OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD EVEN THOUGH THERE IS TOO MUCH OF IT NOW 4HOSE MILLION COPIES OF THE BOOK WERE SOLD LARGELY BECAUSE ITS AUTHOR ASKED A RATHER SIMPLE QUESTION OF EACH FAITH S SACRED WRITINGS (OW COULD AN INTELLIGENT DECENT HUMAN BEING BELIEVE THE THINGS SAID IN THOSE TEXTS !ND HE GAVE DECENT INTELLIGENT ANSWERS FOR EVERY ONE OF THE WORLD S TRADITIONS )F HE HAD DONE NOTHING ELSE THE WORLD WOULD STILL BE DEEPLY INDEBTED TO (USTON 3MITH !GAIN ) BELIEVE (USTON HAS USED BOTH THE #HOMSKY AND THE #HANDOGYA 5PANISHADD WELL TOGETHER FOR HE WILL SURELY AFl RM THAT THE FOURTEEN POINTS OF HIS ONTOLOGICAL VISION CAN BE DERIVED BY A CAREFUL STUDY OF THE SACRED TEXTS OF A SINGLE FAITH TRADITION -Y OWN ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE MANY AND VARIED
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SACRED TEXTS OF THE WORLD S FAITHS IS DECIDEDLY INFERIOR TO (USTON S BUT NONE WITH WHICH ) AM AT ALL FAMILIAR ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE ONTOLOGICAL THRUST OF THE LECTURE WE HAVE JUST HEARD 4O BE SURE THE COSMOLOGIES OF THE WORLD S RELIGIONS ARE WILDLY INCON SISTENT WITH EACH OTHER HAVING IN COMMON ONLY THE FACT THAT NONE OF THEM CAN BE MADE TO SQUARE WITH THE l NDINGS OF MODERN SCIENCE "UT THE DIFFER ING RELIGIOUS COSMOLOGIES NO MORE VITIATE (USTON S CLAIM FOR A UNIVERSAL OR HOMOVERSAL GRAMMAR OF RELIGION THAN RADICALLY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES LIKE %NGLISH *APANESE (UNGARIAN AND (OPI IN ANY WAY CHALLENGE #HOMSKY S CONCEPT OF A UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR OF HUMAN LANGUAGES 2ELIGIOUS COSMOLOGIES ARE HERE METAPHYSICAL THERE ANOLOGIC HERE CLEARLY INm UENCED BY GEOGRAPHIC AND CLIMATOLOGICAL FEATURES THERE CLEARLY BY FACTORS OF LANGUAGE AND ACCI DENTS OF HISTORY )T IS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY THAT EXPLAINS WHY !FRICAN SCULP TORS WORKED IN WOOD WHILE THEIR )TALIAN 2ENAISSANCE COUNTERPARTS CHISELED MARBLE !ND AT THE SAME TIME WE NEED CULTURE AND HISTORY TO EXPLAIN WHY ALTHOUGH MARBLE IS FOUND IN #HINA AS WELL AS )TALY #HINESE SCULPTORS CARVED "ODHISATTVAS AND NOT PIETÍS "UT TO MY MIND THE !FRICAN )TALIAN AND #HINESE CARVER SCULPTORS ARE ALL SIMPLY EXPRESSING IN A CONCRETE PHYSICAL MEDIUM THEIR STANCE TOWARD THE UNIVERSE QUA UNIVERSE A STANCE CLEARLY SPIRITUAL AND THEIR WORKS CAN BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD BY APPEAL TO THE PRINCIPLES OF RELIGIOUS GRAMMAR THAT (USTON S LECTURE EXPLICATES AS DEl NITIVE AGAIN OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS PHYSI OLOGICALLY AND MENTALLY CONSTITUTED AS THEY ARE &OR MYSELF HOWEVER FEW OR MANY RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES (USTON MAY HAVE HAD ) ADMIRE ALTOGETHER THE SCHOLARLY ANALYTICAL SKILLS AND KEEN SENSITIV ITY HE HAS COMBINED TO SEE BEYOND THE SPECIl C AND CULTURAL FEATURES DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN EACH RELIGION S SACRED TEXTS 4HERE ARE MANY NAMES RITUALS SYMBOLS LITURGIES MYTHS AND LEGENDS IN ORDER TO DESCRIBE IN MORE GENERAL TERMS A DECIDEDLY HUMAN ORIEN FOR THE REFERENT OF OUR TATION TOWARD THE WORLD (USTON HAS THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE DESCRIBED THIS ORIENTATION IN ALL OF HIS WRITINGS IN "EYOND SPIRITUAL SENSE D &ORGOTTEN 4RUTH NO LESS THAN THE 0OST -ODERN -IND AND IN HIS 7ORLD S 2ELIGIONS !S HE SAID IN THE LECTURE h'OD IS THE CONVENTIONAL %NGLISH WORD FOR THE )Nl NITE BUT 'OOD 4RUE !LMIGHTY /NE AND SO ON ARE ALL EQUALLY APPROPRIATE v !ND OF COURSE THERE ARE MANY OTHER NAMES IN MANY OTHER LANGUAGES FOR THE REFERENT OF OUR SPIRITUAL SENSE WHICH IS CALLED BY MANY IN THE 7EST THE )Nl NITE OWING TO THE PECULIAR DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICS IN THE 7ESTERN INTELLECTUAL WORLD FROM 0YTHAGORAS ONWARD (USTON ALSO KNOWS WELL THE VARIOUS APPELLATIONS GIVEN TO THIS REFERENT IN OTHER TRADITIONS FROM .IRGUNA "RAHMAN N TO SUNYATA TO $AO AND FOR HIM TO REAFl RM THESE TRADITIONS NO LESS >HHJ: D8ID7:G
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THAN HIS OWN FOR AS LONG AND AS RESOLUTELY AS HE HAS DONE SUGGESTS A SENSE OF OUR CO HUMANITY ACROSS TIME SPACE LANGUAGE GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE A SENSE OF OUR CO HUMANITY ON A PAR WITH OUR SENSE OF AWE AS HE HINTS IN OUR CONFRONTATION WITH THE UNIVERSE .OW IF MY INTERPRETATION OF WHAT (USTON HAS SAID AND DONE IN HIS LECTURE AND IN MUCH OF HIS OTHER WORK IS AT ALL WARRANTED IT FOLLOWS THAT THE SIGNIl CANCE OF WHAT HE HAS SAID AND DONE WILL BE OBSCURED IF WE INSIST ON ASKING WHETHER HIS ONTOLOGICAL PRONOUNCEMENTSÂ&#x2C6;FOR SO THEY SEEMÂ&#x2C6;ARE LITERALLY TRUE OF THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE "UT ) ALSO WISH TO BRACKET QUESTIONS OF LITERAL TRUTH FOR DEEPER REASONS 4HE COLOR SPECTRUM INFRARED TO ULTRAVIOLET IS NOT IN ANY SENSE TRUE OF THE WAY OF THE UNIVERSE RATHER STATEMENTS ABOUT THE SPECTRUM ARE ) WOULD SUGGEST FAITHFUL TO THE POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE HUMAN VISUAL SENSORY ORGAN TO SEE COLORS WITHIN IT BEYOND WHICH BOUNDARIES ALL IS BLACK FOR US 4HE SAME MAY BE SAID FOR WHAT IS AUDIBLE WITH OUR AURAL SENSORY ORGAN &URTHER THE WAY NOUNS VERBS AND MODIl ERS CAN AND CANNOT INTERACT ARE NOT IN ANY SENSE TRUE OF THE UNIVERSE BUT THE PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL GRAM MAR CAN BE FAITHFUL TO THE WAY HUMAN BEINGS COMMUNICATE THEIR VISUAL
AUDITORY AND OTHER SENSATIONS TO ONE ANOTHER PHYSIOLOGICALLY AND MENTALLY CONSTITUTED AS THEY ARE 0UT ANOTHER WAY THERE MAY BE A TRUE THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE BUT IT IS THE HEIGHT OF HUBRIS TO BELIEVE THAT HUMAN BEINGS COULD ASCERTAIN WHAT THAT THEORY WAS GIVEN THEIR PARTICULAR ORGANS FOR SENSING AN EXTERNAL WORLD AND WAYS OF COMMUNICATING THEIR EXPERIENCES OF IT 0ERHAPS INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS VERY VERY DIFFERENT FROM US COULD CORRECTLY PERCEIVE THE WAY THE UNIVERSE hREALLY ISv AND DESCRIBE IT IN LANGUAGEÂ&#x2C6;BUT THAT LANGUAGE WOULD BE ALTOGETHER UNINTELLIGIBLE TO US )N JUST THE SAME WAY ) WANT TO SUGGEST THAT THE BEST WAY TO CONSTRUE (USTON S GRAMMAR OF RELIGION IS TO SEE IT AS ENDEAVORING TO BE FAITHFUL TO N THE DISTINCTIVELY HUMAN STANCE IN REACTION TO AND RELATION TO AND COGNIZANT OF WHAT ) JOIN HIM IN REFERRING TO AS THE )Nl NITE AS HE SEES THAT STANCE RE m ECTED IN THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES HE HAS PRACTICED AND THE SACRED TEXTS HE HAS STUDIED OVER THE COURSE OF AN EXCEPTIONALLY LONG AND RICH INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL JOURNEY s !N EXPANDED VERSION OF THIS LECTURE AND RESPONSE TOGETHER WITH AN EPILOGUE QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND ANSWERS GIVEN BY THE SPEAKERS WILL BE BROUGHT OUT IN BOOK FORM BY /PEN #OURT
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