The Rhetoric of Divination: A Comparative Approach
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
Standard
The Rhetoric of Divination : A Comparative Approach. / Sørensen, Jørgen Podemann.
Theoretical and Empirical Investigations of Divination and Magic: Manipulating the Divine. ed. / Jesper Frøkjær Sørensen; Anders Klostergaard Petersen. Leiden : Brill, 2021. p. 41-73 (Numen Book Series, Vol. 171).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - CHAP
T1 - The Rhetoric of Divination
T2 - A Comparative Approach
AU - Sørensen, Jørgen Podemann
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - In a comparative analysis of divinatory practices, such as Christian manna-grains, Yijing, Ifa divination, the Delphic oracle, and modern-day Tarot, this chapter argues that the rhetoric of divination may be studied in three phases: 1) The rhetoric of the act of divination is inherent in the stochastic procedure itself; its outcome parades as the result of fate, chance, a god, or dao. In addition, there is often a myth to account for the procedure. 2) The stochastic procedure nominates a text to be interpreted, e.g. a passage of holy writ, a time-honoured earlier prediction, or a proverb. It is not a straightforward verdict or prediction, but as ritually nominated, it claims relevance. The rhetoric of the text resides in its character as a model to be applied to the matter at hand. 3) The rhetoric of interpretation, then, consists in establishing a convincing continuity between the text and the matter at hand. In sum, the rhetoric of divination is very much a metamorphosis of signs: the act of divination produces a sign, from the beginning without meaning; this is turned into a linguistic sign that does not yet make sense. Finally, the interpretation establishes the full sense, uniting religious authority and relevance.
AB - In a comparative analysis of divinatory practices, such as Christian manna-grains, Yijing, Ifa divination, the Delphic oracle, and modern-day Tarot, this chapter argues that the rhetoric of divination may be studied in three phases: 1) The rhetoric of the act of divination is inherent in the stochastic procedure itself; its outcome parades as the result of fate, chance, a god, or dao. In addition, there is often a myth to account for the procedure. 2) The stochastic procedure nominates a text to be interpreted, e.g. a passage of holy writ, a time-honoured earlier prediction, or a proverb. It is not a straightforward verdict or prediction, but as ritually nominated, it claims relevance. The rhetoric of the text resides in its character as a model to be applied to the matter at hand. 3) The rhetoric of interpretation, then, consists in establishing a convincing continuity between the text and the matter at hand. In sum, the rhetoric of divination is very much a metamorphosis of signs: the act of divination produces a sign, from the beginning without meaning; this is turned into a linguistic sign that does not yet make sense. Finally, the interpretation establishes the full sense, uniting religious authority and relevance.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - religionshistorie
KW - divination
KW - delfiske orakel
KW - ifa
KW - Yijing
KW - tarot
KW - mannakorn
U2 - 10.1163/9789004447585_004
DO - 10.1163/9789004447585_004
M3 - Book chapter
SN - 9789004447578
T3 - Numen Book Series
SP - 41
EP - 73
BT - Theoretical and Empirical Investigations of Divination and Magic
A2 - Sørensen, Jesper Frøkjær
A2 - Petersen, Anders Klostergaard
PB - Brill
CY - Leiden
ER -
ID: 261408606