Elaine Scarry "The Body in Pain" Ch. 3 Pain and Imagining

This is not a book by a theologian, but it concerns pain (and so feels like a good addendum to the beloved Book of Job). As it turns out, the author is also intersecting her work with Christianity (as cultural phenomenon), theology of the Cross, and structures of belief.

Please join me for a conversation of Pain and Imagining, Ch. 3 in Elaine's Scarry's book The Body in Pain. This chapter anticipates Chapter 4 which deals directly with structures of belief. Chapter 3 dives briefly into theology of the Cross. The dive is brief, but it is well executed. I anticipate intriguing developments in this reading down the text.

Part philosophical meditation, part cultural critique, The Body in Pain is a profoundly original study. The book is an analysis of physical suffering and its relation to the numerous vocabularies and cultural forces--literary, political, philosophical, medical, religious--that confront it. It is also an exploration of the intersection between imagination, pain and creativity. Background in philosophy is not required, but pls note that the text relies on studies / interest in consciousness and epistemology.

I will post a google link in a day or two with a copy of the chapter we will be going through on July 13.

You can also purchase the book from any bookstore - local or online.