Robert S. Corrington
Encyclopedia
Robert S. Corrington is an American philosopher and author of several books exploring human interpretation of the universe as well as biographies on C.S. Peirce and Wilhelm Reich
. He is currently employed as professor of philosophical theology
at Drew University
in Madison
, New Jersey
. Before that he was a professor at Pennsylvania State University
.
Corrington is member of Unitarian Universalist Association
and The Theosophical Society of America
and a lecturer for both organizations, and he is also an affiliate of The Parapsychological Association. Corrington has had bouts with bipolar disorder
(manic-depressive), and he gives a personal account of this in his 2003 book Riding the Windhorse: Manic Depressive Disorder and the Quest for Wholeness, which contains case studies of Sri Ramakrishna and Sir Isaac Newton
as well as his intellectual biography "My Passage from Panentheism to Pantheism."
with the aid of C.G. Jung and Julia Kristeva and theologically through liberal Protestant thinkers Friedrich Schleiermacher and Paul Tillich toward a Hindu inspired Emersonian post-Christian nature spirituality. As an alternative to contemporary metaphysical
perspectives that are either too dependent upon a brute descriptive materialism
on the one hand or to an honorific process cosmology on the other, ecstatic naturalism, like all versions of naturalism, assumes that nature is all there is; there is no recourse made to supernaturalistic forces or entities. For Corrington, however, ‘nature’ does not refer to anything, but is the dynamic entirety, an extremely wide and deeply vast reality that creates itself out of itself alone. In order to effectively speak or theorize about nature, then, Corrington has picked up on “a distinction dear to Averroes, Aquinas, Spinoza, and Emerson (among others)” between natura naturans [nature naturing] and natura naturata [nature natured]. (A Semiotic Theory p. 40) The perspective of ecstatic naturalism attempts to remain accountable to the insights of evolutionary sciences even as it probes ever deeper into those aspects of nature that elude strictly scientific inquiries. As a naturalist, Corrington is deeply suspicious of teleological descriptions of nature and finds in Schopenhauer’s ‘will to life’ an a foundational ‘intention’ in organisms which anticipates Darwinian explanations of life’s perpetuation.
Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry...
. He is currently employed as professor of philosophical theology
Philosophical Theology
Philosophical theology is the disciplined employment of philosophical methods in developing or analyzing theological concepts. It therefore includes natural theology as well as philosophical treatments of orthodox and heterodox theology....
at Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
in Madison
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Before that he was a professor at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
.
Corrington is member of Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
and The Theosophical Society of America
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
and a lecturer for both organizations, and he is also an affiliate of The Parapsychological Association. Corrington has had bouts with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
(manic-depressive), and he gives a personal account of this in his 2003 book Riding the Windhorse: Manic Depressive Disorder and the Quest for Wholeness, which contains case studies of Sri Ramakrishna and Sir Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
as well as his intellectual biography "My Passage from Panentheism to Pantheism."
Ecstatic naturalism
Robert S. Corrington’s work contributes to philosophical and theological inquiry through the development of a perspective called 'ecstatic naturalism’. Ecstatic Naturalism, also referred to as ‘deep pantheism’ or ‘religious naturalism,’ has emerged through Corrington’s five books and over fifty articles on the subject. His influences are many and range across the disciplines of philosophy, theology, science, and psychology. Deep appreciation of the American philosophers C.S. Peirce, William James, George Santayana, Justus Buchler and John Dewey ground Corrington’s insights in a pragmatic mode even as his work creatively extends this tradition philosophically through a psychologically sophisticated semioticsSemiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
with the aid of C.G. Jung and Julia Kristeva and theologically through liberal Protestant thinkers Friedrich Schleiermacher and Paul Tillich toward a Hindu inspired Emersonian post-Christian nature spirituality. As an alternative to contemporary metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
perspectives that are either too dependent upon a brute descriptive materialism
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
on the one hand or to an honorific process cosmology on the other, ecstatic naturalism, like all versions of naturalism, assumes that nature is all there is; there is no recourse made to supernaturalistic forces or entities. For Corrington, however, ‘nature’ does not refer to anything, but is the dynamic entirety, an extremely wide and deeply vast reality that creates itself out of itself alone. In order to effectively speak or theorize about nature, then, Corrington has picked up on “a distinction dear to Averroes, Aquinas, Spinoza, and Emerson (among others)” between natura naturans [nature naturing] and natura naturata [nature natured]. (A Semiotic Theory p. 40) The perspective of ecstatic naturalism attempts to remain accountable to the insights of evolutionary sciences even as it probes ever deeper into those aspects of nature that elude strictly scientific inquiries. As a naturalist, Corrington is deeply suspicious of teleological descriptions of nature and finds in Schopenhauer’s ‘will to life’ an a foundational ‘intention’ in organisms which anticipates Darwinian explanations of life’s perpetuation.
Affiliations
- International Association of Semiotic Studies
- Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought (executive board, 1992–95)
- American Academy of Religion
- American Philosophical Association
- C.S. Peirce Society
- North American Paul Tillich Society
- Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
- Karl Jaspers Society of North AmericaKarl Jaspers Society of North AmericaThe Karl Jaspers Society of North America is a philosophy organization founded on December 28, 1980 through the joint efforts of George B. Pepper , Edith Ehrlich, and the late Leonard H. Ehrlich for promoting the study of the philosophy of Karl Jaspers...
- Semiotic Society of America (executive board, 1992–94)
- C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology
- Unitarian Universalist Association
- Theosophical Society of America
See also
- PanentheismPanentheismPanentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...
- PantheismPantheismPantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
- American philosophyAmerican philosophyAmerican philosophy is the philosophical activity or output of Americans, both within the United States and abroad. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while American philosophy lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and...
- List of American philosophers