Verbum et Ecclesia (Feb 2012)
On the epistemology of postmodern spirituality
Abstract
At first glance, the postmodern spiritual �scene� appears �sociologically messy, experiential, multifaceted, ecological, provisional and collective� (Petrolle 2007) and of uncertain epistemic provenance. Here, I ask: can Roland Benedikter�s (2005) conception of postmodern dialectic and spiritual turn, help us understand postmodern spirituality and can it assist in a construction of a postmodern epistemology of spirituality? The current argument constitutes a meta-theoretical exploration of:� Deconstruction and neo-essentialism as representing the significant dialectic in philosophical postmodernism. Deconstruction is presented as an apophatic moment in Western thought about �knowing� and �being� whilst postmodern neo-essentialism, though contextualised by antirealism and ambiguity, palpably suggests itself. � Postmodern trends which derive from the dialectic. � How these epistemic trends influence methodology in the study of spirituality. � How a trans-traditional (anthropological) spirituality might incorporate insights about transformation from a complex of epistemologies in which, theories of �self� abound.In the conclusion an attempt is made to describe how postmodern spirituality expresses itself in society.�
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