Theology and New Materialism: Spaces of Faithful Dissent

164 Pages·2017·13.23 MB·English

by  John Reader (auth.)

Radical Theologies and Philosophies
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JohnReader
Theology and New
Materialism
Spaces of Faithful Dissent
JohnReader
UniversityofChester
Oxfordshire,UnitedKingdom
RadicalTheologiesandPhilosophies
ISBN978-3-319-54510-3 ISBN978-3-319-54511-0(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-54511-0
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Idedicatethisbooktomylong-termfriendandmentor(CanonProf)
John Atherton, formerlyDirector of theWilliamTemple Foundation
and Canon Theologianof ManchesterCathedral,who sadlydied just
as I beganwriting thisbook. Hissupportand encouragementhas
carried methroughthe setbacksthat accompanysuch writingprojects
and hispresence willbesorely missed.
C
ONTENTS
1 IntroductiontoNewMaterialism andRelational
ChristianRealism 1
2 Transcendence 17
3 HumanAgency 41
4 NewEnlightenment 67
5 Aestheticsafterthe Death of God 97
6 Technologyas Pharmakon 121
7 Beyondin the Midst:Alternative
Practices ofFaith 143
Index 155
vii
CHAPTER1
Introduction to New Materialism
and Relational Christian Realism
As long ago as the late 1980s, I arrived to the conclusion that the major
problemsfacinghumanityinthecomingdecadeswouldbeenvironmental.In
the intervening years, the consensus has hardened around the subject of
human induced climate change and the predicted impact of rising tempera-
turesandsealevels.Allofthisiswelldocumentedanddoesn’tneedrepeating
here.Ialsobegantofeelthatiftheologywasinanywaytorespondtothese
issues it would need to re-examineits own discourse and doctrines in order
both to encourage its adherents to adapt their practices and to construct a
theoreticalframeworkthatcouldtakethesenewchallengesintoaccount.Asa
resultofthisanumberofusorganizedaconferenceinSeptember1990ata
UKTheologicalCollegejustoutsideOxfordandthenpublishedsomeofthe
paperswrittenforthatevent.1Althoughtherearefaith-basedgroupsattempt-
ing to respond to the environmental debate and practical activities are now
being introduced to congregations, that more theoretical dimension of the
task has yet to be addressed, apparently with the belief that existing biblical
interpretationsandideascansuccessfullybeadaptedtorespondtothosetwo
challenges.2WhilstthismayprovetobethecaseIstillholdtotheviewthat
morefundamentalchangesarerequired.Thisgoesatleastsomewaytoexplain
therestofthisbook,eventhoughIwillnotexplicitlyaddressenvironmental
issues as this has been done elsewhere.3 The attempts to construct what we
havecalledRCRandthesubsequentinterestinNM,stemdirectlyfromthis
concern to establish a new and more appropriate conceptuality, one which
mightenableustoaddressenvironmentalissuesmoreeffectively.Therefore,
©TheAuthor(s)2017 1
J.Reader,TheologyandNewMaterialism,RadicalTheologies
andPhilosophies,DOI10.1007/978-3-319-54511-0_1
2 J.READER
whilstthecontentisdefinitelytheoreticalthemotivationbehindithasalways
been,formeatleast,ethicalandhighlypractical.
The objective in this opening chapter is not to offer an exhaustive intro-
duction to NMas space will not allow that and other texts can providethis
more adequately,4 nor it is to repeat the central content of RCR which has
alsobeendone.AlthoughIwillprovideasummaryofbothatthecloseofthis
chapter, but still focus more on the key thinker whose ideas are shared by
bothmovements,Deleuze,inordertoshowhowhisideasarerelevanttothis
task. Having done that, I will identify other related areas where theology
might usefully engage with NM and how these links to RCR. Subsequent
chapters will examine in depth areas for further development or where
potential weaknesses in the theory have been brought to the surface. My
main source of material is philosophy itself and I will subscribe to Deleuze
andGuattari’sowndefinitionofphilosophyas‘theartofforming,inventing
and fabricating concepts.’5 One of the most important questions which
emerged in the early stages of the environmental discussions was that of
how humans understand themselves, not only in relation to each other but
also in relation to all that we now call the non-human, and so some of the
concepts to be explored focus upon that area and draw upon ideas that are
either unfamiliar or still being developed. Here again there is common
ground between NM and RCR which has yet to be fully examined.
Theologyasarticulatingunderstandingsofthehumaninrelationtoconcepts
of God’ and Creation’ still has some distance to travel in order to catch up
withthoseideas,andIintendtoaddressthatinlaterchapters.
DELEUZE AND NM
Onedoesn’thavetotrackbackveryfarthroughtheworkofNewMaterialists
suchasBraidotti,DeLandaBennettandBryanttorealizetheextenttowhich
theirwritingsareadevelopmentofDeleuze.Wedothisinlaterchapters.So
whyisthisthecaseandhowisDeleuzesocentraltowhatfollows?Onone
level,itisengagementwithrecentscientificthoughtthatdrivesthisprocess,
althoughwithastrongphilosophicalslantthatretainsitsindependence.The
firstareaofinterestisDeleuze’sattempttoestablishanontologyofdiffer-
ence,onewhichdisruptsanddisturbstheviewthattheworldismadeupof
stableidentities.AlthoughFoucaultandDerridahadalreadybegunmoving
in this direction, Deleuze goes further by turning this into an ontology.6
Hencehisdistinctionbetweenthesphereofthevirtualandthatoftheactual.
Theformerdoesnotmeanafieldofpossibilities,buttheveryrealrealmof
INTRODUCTIONTONEWMATERIALISMANDRELATIONAL... 3
differenceswhichconstitutethatactualworldwhichweperceivearoundus.
The identity of an object can never fully account for that object nor any
related event: there is always more to it. Scientific research or exploration
might well engage in these attempts to probe further into this realm of
differences.Conceptssuchasfragmentedspace,twistedtimeornon-linear
physicsmightallbeconsistentwithDeleuze’sapproach.
Crucially, what this also brings to the surface is a new form of materi-
alism. So rather than matter being seen as inert or passive ‘stuff’ that
requires an external form in order to exist in a concrete way, matter is
reinterpreted as self-organizing and as matter-energy. The extensive mate-
rialstructuresandobjectsaroundusarecoagulationsordecelerationsofthe
intensive flows of matter-energy that comprise the material world. So, if
matter is energy rather than mass one can begin to account for both
constant flux and its creative capacities. This can appear to be a new and
unfamiliar way of looking at the world, one which emphasizes constant
movement and the differentiated nature of the supposedly solid and static
entitiesashumanshaveformallydescribedthem.Inthetermsinwhichwe
willencounterthisinlaterchapters,itdrawsonaflatontologyratherthan
one which presupposes a hierarchy. So, there is only difference and more
difference,asuccessionof‘ands’asoneencountersseriesofdifferentmove-
ments and energies. This understanding is a significant challenge to the
ontologywhichtendstoundergirdamoretraditionaltheologicalapproach
in which matter is more inert and to be shaped by human intervention.
According to Deleuze and NM, matter-energy has its own dynamic, one
whichdoesn’tnecessarilyrequirehumanstocompleteitinsomeway.
DrawingalsoupontheworkofSimondon,afigurewhoisnowcoming
out of the shadows as contemporary philosophical scholarship begins to
identify his ideas and influence more clearly, Deleuze offers his own inter-
pretation of the former’s ideas on individuation.7 The result is the under-
standing that human beings are also constantly in a state of flux and
developmentasistherestofmatter-energy.Simondonchallengestheview
thattheindividuallivingbeingfullyaccountsfortherealityofthatbeing.In
his understanding, there is no self-centered unity or essence, which is the
normal substantialist approach, nor indeed does he support the view that
there is matter and form and that it requires the latter to give shape and
substance tothatmatter (thisisknownashylomorphism). Hylomorphism
fails to account for the developmental processes of the individual, or what
Simondoncallsontogenesis.Individualshaveonlyarelativerealityandone
needstothinkinstead ofaprocessofindividuation orconstantbecoming.