Antistar211 5 hours ago · LINKED COMMENT
Would you regard the English Pphilosopher Alan Watts as a shamanic type?
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+Antistar211 Well I haven't read his stuff, but I think the defining aspect of a real shamanic type is that they merge their verbal or written elements with a kind of powerful undercurrent of action. It is as if their words were more than words, but actually a wave carrying you along to your destiny. In that sense, I don't think those who simply set out to explain things in words are really shamanic types. Nietzsche IS, by that definition, a shamanic type -- Bataille is, too, but to a lesser extent. The reason I say that Bataille is too, is that we can for instance see that when he writes Theory of Religion, he is inculcating a mantra by repetition of "I destroy..." This is a call to arms to destroy. But how effective is it? ......And then we have, as I have said, the writer Marechera, and he also does make some sweet music with his words. But if you dont' understand the reference points, and the extreme emotional repressiveness of the previous colonial regime, you can't seem to get this music out of it. Which is why his Western critics confuse him with postmodernism, or criticize him morally --- both of which miss the point. It's really all about the music and the possibility of that transforming us.
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