tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post5854856238752215444..comments2023-12-25T05:12:46.199+01:00Comments on ORA ET LABORA: Kenotic FoolishnessFelix Culpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-22596487829630946072008-02-07T11:47:00.000+01:002008-02-07T11:47:00.000+01:00I'd sooner say that Nietzsche was a Fool-for-Antic...I'd sooner say that Nietzsche was a Fool-for-Antichrist! But I get your point.<BR/><BR/>But there is certainly an ironic stance within the philosophical tradition, going back at least to Socrates, who played the fool. Or think of the Cynics and their provocative animal-like public behavior.<BR/><BR/>There is, however, a significant difference between the philosopher-fool and the holy-fool. You characterize the latter as "seeking the highest wisdom through kenosis." I wouldn't put it that way. True saints don't look for rewards, be it praise, or wisdom, or even holiness. They act above all out of love. It's also a bit paradoxical to include the words "highest widom" and "kenosis" in one sentence. Kenosis is self-emptying, lowering oneself, poverty -- things that people would normally be shamed of. If anything, such a life is chosen to lead them to the depths of humility.Felix Culpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-11136986766745571312008-02-06T23:06:00.000+01:002008-02-06T23:06:00.000+01:00The Fool-for-Christ is a very intriguing and perha...The Fool-for-Christ is a very intriguing and perhaps a vexing individual in that it seems hard to make sense of this individual. My first encounter with this type of phenomenon, though in a very different manner, is with Friedrich Nietzsche. An author, Elliot Freidman I believe, was demonstrating how Nietzsche never did have a mental breakdown and instead his “insanity” was a choice he made, a “philosophical” move perhaps. I then found it much more interesting, upon becoming Orthodox, of how there are these individuals and Saints that are considered Fools-for-Christ. With the little knowledge I have about them, I understand them to be seeking the highest wisdom through kenosis. Unfortunately, I haven't encountered Mr. Larchet's book yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com