PHL 605 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Battletech

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHL 605
• Professor: John Caruana

Document Summary

Abr. story similar to the tragic story of agamemnn"s sacrifice of iphigenia. Backdrop to this discussion is a critique of hegel. History of the unfolding of various tensions bw the particular and the universal. Dialectical process that eventually leads to end of history" when universal wins. Particular - concrete instantiation of a being, individual (abraham, isaac) Universal - a higher level of generality (community, nation) Progress - the particulars of any specific stage in history are eventually subsumed into more encompassing universal expressions. For hegel, familial, national, regional diff eventually are dissolved into a more universal way of thinking and doing. Even faith must conform to logic the most private, particular expressions of faith must adapt to the dictates of the universal. Universal is higher than any particular expression of faith. Agamemnon"s dilemma is mediated by a universal code. Abr"s situation doesn"t permit recourse to the universal. Universal code of abr"s particular community prohibits child sacrifices.