Knowledge Hierarchies & Decolonizing Our Thinking | Critical Reflections on "Skeptical Witchcraft"
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ค. 2022
- Hello lovely humans! I'm back with another video... I vaguely remember having said that my next video would be a lot shorter than usual... whoops. This video is one that I struggled to make, and to be honest I don't think I really said everything I wanted to say, or exactly in the way I wanted to say it. I feel like there's a lot I didn't properly convey here, so if anything is confusing I apologize, and would of course be happy to chat more about it.
This video has come out of doing some critical reflection on this channel, and really thinking about what kind of content I want to be putting out there. It gets into some issues with "intellectual imperialism" and the hierarchies of knowledge perpetuated by Western universalism. I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of decolonizing my work as a scholar, and I think that needs to apply to my work as a content creator as well.
*SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:*
I think maybe I wasn’t super clear about this in the video, but I want to emphasize the fact that I’m not trying to critique Western scientific knowledge itself here, or attempting to disregard its importance in any way. I’m critiquing the way Western understandings of intellect and reason are often framed as superior to other knowledge systems, and placed in this hierarchical relationship with them. I am NOT trying to say that we should just do away with Western science, and I’m not trying to undermine all the good its done for us. I am, however, trying to point out how scientific reason and Enlightenment rationality are implicated in ongoing (neo)colonialism and systems of inequality. Historically, Western science most definitely played a role in colonial conquest, and continues to be wrapped up with ideas of mastery and control in some ways (see my video on religion & science! • The Religion vs. Scien... )
ALSO, I don’t think I made this point well enough in the video, but I’m NOT trying to say that indigenous and other non-Western knowledges are incompatible with Western scientific knowledge. This is definitely not the case, and it’s important to recognize that Western science is often *complimentary* to these non-Western perspectives. Different knowledge systems and worldviews do not by any means need to clash with one another, or be antithetical to one another. For many indigenous peoples, learning about Western science is about the addition of MORE knowledge to their understandings of the world, but NOT “better” knowledge.
Western perspectives can exist harmoniously alongside indigenous and other non-Western perspectives (or “non-scientific”/spiritual perspectives)-there doesn’t have to be any conflict between them!
I should have been a lot clearer about that in the video, but hopefully this makes sense! :)
Thank you so much for watching!!
References & relevant sources for this video (and texts I would really recommend checking out!):
Cadena, Marisol de la. 2015. Earth Beings: Ecologies of Practice Across Andean Worlds. Duke University Press.
Clement, Vincent. 2019. "Beyond the Sham of the Emancipatory Enlightenment: Rethinking the Relationship of Indigenous Epistemologies, Knowledges, and Geography Through Decolonizing Paths." Progress in Human Geography 43, no. 2: 276-294.
Coulthard, Glen. 2014. Red Skin White masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition. University of Minnesota Press.
Cruikshank, Julie. 2005. Do Glaciers Listen? Local Knowledge, Colonial Encounters, and Social Imagination. UBC Press.
Donald, Dwayne Trevor. 2009. "Forts, Curriculum, and Indigenous Métissage: Imagining Decolonization of Aboriginal-Canadian Relations in Educational Contexts." First Nations Perspectives: The Journal of the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre 2, no. 1: 1-24.
www.mfnerc.org/wp-content/upl...
Simpson, Leanne. 2017. As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance. University of Minnesota Press.
Todd, Zoe. 2016. "An Indigenous Feminist's Take on the Ontological Turn: 'Ontology' is Just Another Word for Colonialism." Journal of Historical Sociology 29, no. 1: 4-22.
Vizenor, Gerald. 2009. Native Liberty: Natural Reason and Cultural Survivance. University of Nebraska Press.
Watts, Vanessa. 2013. "Indigenous Place-Thought and Agency Amongst Humans and Non-Humans (First Woman and Sky Woman Go on a European World Tour!)." Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society 2, no. 1: 20-34.
Willerslev, Rane. 2007. Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood Among the Siberian Yukaghir. University of California Press.
Follow me on Instagram: / skeptical.witch
Music in this video is Blossom by Lakey Inspired: • Blossom
#decolonize #religiousstudies #paganism
Interesting video, as someone who just started a multimedia project directly involving the First Nation, the best I can do is listen, observe, and see what I can learn from them while still keeping in mind that they don't know everything either, and that's fine. It doesn't make any of their wisdom less valuable. It just means we have to communicate more together to figure out where we can help them and where we need to shut up. An other very important thing I already learned is that all of them are still individual humans. This means that they often disagree with each others, sometimes those are very strong disagreements, and sometimes they change their minds. It's important to remain respectful when they do, be patient, and not use it as a cope out to call it a "lost cause". Anyway, where I'm getting at is that we shouldn't pretend/expect their belief and knowledge to be perfect and definitive, just like we can't expect to be all right all the time ourselves. Stay humble, stay respectful, stay patient, towards others as well as towards yourself.
I don't think completely throwing western knowledge out the window is the right way to go at it, we just have to make sure to work *with* them instead of erasing them or isolating them even further.
You’ve put that so well! I very much agree with everything you’ve said-learning to work together is so important, and recognizing when the best thing we can do is listen, and provide a space for other voices to be heard. You’re right that the best way forward is definitely not to just throw out western knowledge frameworks, but it is important to be critical of how privileging them results in the marginalization of other ways of knowing, limiting our ability to work with and learn from others.
Thank you so much for your really insightful comment! I’d be interested to know what the multimedia project you’re working on is!
@@theskepticalwitch6611 thank you very much! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say more about the project since we barely started the prototype, but if you want I can keep you updated when there is more to say about it :)
I am Jewish, and we are often mischaracterized as just a religion, particularly by universalizing faiths, which then erases the ethnic layers of our culture. When you mentioned Abrahamic traditions, it sparked this thought, because Judaism does not separate spirituality from our laws and ethics and even our language (though one is able to be atheist and Jewish), and our culture is most directly tied to Abraham. I really enjoyed this discussion of hierarchical thinking and thinking about how it has impacted my culture.
Thank you for your comment--you make a really good point here. Judaism is unique in this sense that it is both a religion and an ethnicity. It's a fascinating tradition too. Thanks for pointing this out, it's something I'll keep in mind for future videos, especially when talking about the definitions/boundaries of what we consider to be "religion"! :)
@@theskepticalwitch6611 th-cam.com/video/err-aZZ6mfo/w-d-xo.html this is a good video on religion
What’s your definition of ethnicity?
I love this. I wish more people would talk about these things, it’s one of the most important things to me.
It is super important! And something I’ll be talking about more too. It’s important to keep doing the work! 😊
Academic content with your opinions and analysis is 24k gold. Channels like yours are scarce. Your videos bring me to think about things in a different light and pushes me to use critical thinking to see things for what they are rather than what I been thought to see and believe. Through you I have become more interested in reading about philosophy and history which has helped me understand how humanity has gotten to where it is today. Knowledge has helped me understand and through that I have gained compassion for people and as a result I am less judgmental. Thank you for helping me grow and become a better human being Sarah 🌸
Oh my goodness thank you so much for your really kind words. I'm so happy to have been able to help you in your journey! Knowing that my videos have resonated with you so much definitely inspires me to want to keep making this kind of content :) I wish you all the best as you continue learning and growing!!
Came here after watching your interview with Dr. Angela Puca on Angela's Symposium, and could not be more pleased to see the content of this most recent video on your channel.
As a settler and colonizer anti-capitalist in so-called "Canada", decolonizing my politics and my own mind has been a constant process for me since I first encountered the concepts in my late teens. The ways in which settler and colonizer anti-capitalists depressingly frequently wind up re-inscribing settler-colonial entitlement over political and economic activity on unceded, occupied indigenous territory in their political imaginary, speech and actions is something I am constantly keeping in mind and as someone who adores Foucault, Fanon and Mbembe, I am also deeply concerned with knowledge hierarchies and the ways in which power acts on and through privileged and defaulted/backgrounded/givenness in dominant knowledge frameworks. It's also been something that has oriented and re-oriented me on my journey with regards to my gender and sexuality, especially drawing on perspectives centering indigeneity and decolonization like that of María Lugones that harshly critique the colonization by the Western gender binary of indigenous peoples all over the world, and the ways in which we are ourselves internally colonized by it with even European traditions of "third genders" or transgender people constantly marginalized and under attack today and in past centuries by hegemonic Christianity and then the secular (but culturally Christian) successors to that hegemonic Christianity.
But more specifically to the content both of this video, your channel and your recent interview with Dr. Puca: the conception of a skeptical and/or atheistic esoteric/occult practice resonates with me profoundly. I didn't grow up in a religious household, like you, and the closest thing to a Bible I had in my preteen and teenage years was Sextus Empiricus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism lol so I have been a skeptic and atheist for a long time. Over the last few years, however, I've been exploring mystical writings and perspectives, occult and esoteric writings and perspectives, etc (both contemporary and historical) and I never really articulated this exploration as something grounded in (or compartmentalized from either, to be fair) my skepticism and atheism, but I find myself approaching with an open curiosity and skeptical eye to this exploration as much as any I've undergone in my life. I just really want to thank you for articulating something that is a useful framework to understand this journey within (or in relation to). Helps me feel more grounded in this process (and feel even more committed to snapping up tarot decks and exhaustively researching the history of tarot lmao) and helps me make more conscious and explicit connections between my skepticism and my fascination with esoteric/occult/magical/mystical history and lived practice.
Sorry for gushing but what you're dedicating yourself to academically is just super exciting to me! One question: I know that secular witches and atheist pagans are part of your research target, but what about skeptical and/or atheist people who don't necessarily identify as either witches or pagans, but ARE building an esoteric/occult/magical/mystical practice of another kind? Considering how small the community is, broadening that net would probably yield a large sample size and more voices with a range of other perspectives to bring into the conversation.
You said that very well. I enjoyed the content quality. Very few videos I have watched acknowledge the effect of a Western mindset as it filters other cultures. And, to point out that we are presented with the idea that there is some inherent "rightness" to a world viewed through a Western or scientific perspective is often not discussed. I thank you for this video and the clarity in which you presented a difficult topic.
I think you should write a book about Secular Witchcraft. Secular spells for the skeptical witch, I definitely would purchase anything you have written (i.e. other subjects you discussed on your channel). 🕯
I am glad you are still making videos in whatever capacity is right for your life. I'm always excited to see a little gem pop up whenever you have time. ✨
Aw thank you!! :)
I love your content on here already but look forward to the shift. I do wish you put out more because I love it so much but understand that you're busy. This topic is really amazing and I enjoyed listening to you explain your thoughts on it.
This is my favorite video of yours so far! I am very much looking forward to more of this
I am a new subscriber. :) Thank you so much for this post! Super valuable to your viewers.
Thank you for your videos, no matter how long in between uploads.
You're so reflective and smart, seriously. I really applaud you for coming on here and talking about this. Decolonizing even our ways of thinking is so important and honestly something you've really made me realize. You've never come across (to me at least) as someone who thinks their knowledge is "superior", I've just always taken it as your beliefs! I think it's awesome still though that you're humbly coming forward and being honest with us. This is so so important. What a great video ❤️
Aw thank you so much Abi! I really appreciate that. It’s something that’s not exactly easy to talk about, but I think that makes it all the more important to have these kinds of discussions and do that kind of reflection.
Excellent as always. I always appreciate your videos because they challenge me to question and examine my own bias and dig deeper in my decolonization journey.
Thank you so much, I'm really glad it resonated with you!
Science or the scientific method is universal in the sense that everyone that uses it correctly get the same results. This is because science only studies that which everyone can repeatedly observe. Things that fall outside this category aren't "fake" by this reasoning, nor are they "real", science merely makes no claims about such things.
It's purpose is to look at things that are reproducable and observable for everyone, and put out a theoretical framework that best predicts the behaviour of physical objects.
Saying that science is absolute knowledge and completely overshadowing everything else is wrong, but it is universal in the sense that everyone will reach the same results using it, maybe with different words, but the physical behaviour they describe must be the same.
Love all your videos! Keep taking good care of yourself, burnout is dangerous. I'm recovering from a bad case right now, and it's really hard.
Aw no I'm sorry to hear that, hopefully you'll fully recover soon! I know burnout really sucks
Woooo welcome back!!!
This was so interesting. I’d love to hear your thoughts/research on how the world’s top religions provide value and meaning to different cultures and people’s lives. Like, “is religion necessary for humanity and how has it been good?” from a skeptic perspective. There are a lot of negative things it’s contributed to (like colonization) but I always wonder how can we honor religious belief while moving forward as we heal from colonialism and try to do better.
Muslim here
Really enjoyed your video
The way we think and act is due to certain epistemes that we might not really know of
I would love to see a longer reading list about this topic!
The scientific method is the process of objectively establishing facts through testing and experimentation. The basic process involves making an observation, forming a hypothesis, making a prediction, conducting an experiment and finally analyzing them.
How does this NOT reinforce human experience?
Personally, I don't know what my life is besides this experiment... is Magick not so after dissection?
Hello skeptical witch 👋
Rooting for you and your higher learnings. Seems like no matter how skeptical we are, the secret sauce is still in there though 😉 you've got friends around
You may not upload often, but your uploads are strong!!
Aw thank you! :)
This video was great! It sparked a lot of good thoughts for me. I thought about it in this way: indigenous/community knowledge is to clinical psychology what western scientific knowledge is to critical theory. The former is subjective knowledge and the later is a more “objective” superstructure. The parallels are endless.
Maybe try tailoring your craft towards relevant communities and identities in your life (i.e. womanhood, etc.) to step out of the “skeptical-ness” Sometimes drop an ideology isn’t enough and adding a new one is.
Hmm. I agree with a lot of what you say here in terms of prejudice against indigenous cultures. But when we talk about knowledge, aren't we talking about degrees of certainty? Science presents such vastly higher degrees of demonstrable certainty than belief in spirits, or animism, to give a couple of examples. That's not a different way of knowing: it's a more reliable means of knowing accurately.
Personally, I think the imperial west is information/knowledge-rich but wisdom poor, and means of attaining wisdom are not the same as means of acquiring knowledge. It also devalues wisdom in favor of exploitable knowledge and cultural hegemony.
Whether or not the Earth goes around the Sun isn't a matter to which there are multiple correct answers. I diverge from postmodernism when it claims that there are no facts, merely culturally biased opinions...as there quite evidently are.
Key to this question is: what is the goal of study? Is it to determine what is most likely to be true (which is the goal of scientific inquiry, but not necessarily of how data is used), or is it to be just and respectful to multiple perspectives (which is a laudable human goal but not necessarily the same thing as the pursuit of knowledge)? I think both are important but one should not be confused for the other.
Native peoples throughout the world have used experimentation and trial and error to learn vast amounts about their worlds. This is in essence a scientific process and that knowledge should be respected and, like any knowledge, tested. Western imperialism has demonstrated a reckless and potentially suicidal willingness to facilitate ecologically destructive behavior, and the reason this has happened is that the core values of the West are fundamentally rotten. If more wisdom and understanding of our reciprocal relationship with the fabric of life itself had been a part of the culture of the West, we wouldn't have to ask ourselves whether the pursuit of accurate knowledge itself is harmful. But I think it's a failure of values, not a lack in the scientific method, which unquestionably answers questions of fact better than any other process known to humanity.
So I don't really agree that "different ways of knowing" are equivalent to science. Different ways of understanding, certainly, are of equal value: understanding is a meaning-making process rooted in culture and values. Many indigenous ways of understanding are, in my opinion, vastly superior to those of the imperial West. But not ways of acquiring knowledge.
Really interesting reflexion. Thank you
Agreed! Is this Mark? Hi! I was thinking similar thoughts watching the video. The Skeptical Witch raises essential points. And as you note, Western bias and arrogance have messed up many things. Still, the earth is not flat and does orbit the sun. How vital those facts are, what you do with them, and whether they contribute to a more fulfilled life, are other questions. Maybe part of why so many people have turned against Science, Academia, Governance, and Journalism is because they often seem self-serving and not contributing to a better life for the most people. Whatever you're doing, if it doesn't promote the most human flourishing for the most people, it's dubious what the value is.
To your point about Western thought often being knowledge-rich but wisdom poor, I agree. I think we often conflate "True" with "Truth". Exactly how many tons of carbon are in the atmosphere is a fact worth knowing if you're working on a process to take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it in the ground. I think most humans however are more in search of Truth than of Facts or True. Consider 2 Western books on my shelf: Android for Dummies, and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The first is filled with "True", yet contains no human "Truth" at all. The second is fiction. Just stuff a dead White guy made up. Other than the relative locations of Denmark and England, there's no "True" in Hamlet at all. Yet I find it a study in powerful human "Truth".
@@GlennZucman Hi, Glenn, yes, this is Mark. I think Sarah raises many important points in this video but there are elements of postmodern perspectives which aren't nuanced enough in terms of acknowledging that there are objective facts about the Universe. Ways of knowing aren't the same as ways of deriving meaning, and this seems to be something many postmodernists, in their zeal to make indigenous ways of understanding the world "equal" in some sense, choose to ignore.
As I said, indigenous cultures have been using science-style experimentation to learn about astronomy, botany, and ecology for tens of thousands of years, and that learning should absolutely be given the respect it deserves. But myth isn't fact; myth is story-telling to communicate *meaning*--meaning which is often deeply wise. I continue to believe that the big failure in Western perspectives is their discounting of the value of wisdom, kindness, and reciprocity in favor of personal greed, even if it is at the cost of hideous cruelty. Postmodernism would benefit by distinguishing between knowledge and value-driven wisdom; if it did so, we would all be agreeing here.
Hi Mark, thank you so much for your insight here. You make some excellent points, and I do agree with a lot of what you’ve said.
I think where we differ most maybe is on our definitions of knowledge, as I do think that Indigenous knowledges *are* knowledge, and to label them otherwise would be to discredit them in a way. In the perspective I’m coming from, knowledge goes beyond what may be derived from the scientific method and intellectual reasoning, and can include things like embodied knowledge, generational knowledge, etc. From this perspective, science is a method that constructs reality and builds off prior knowledge, and this can include Indigenous and other non-Western ways of knowing. I think it’s not just about different ways of understanding, but actually about different ways of being in and perceiving the world, which lead to different ways of knowing.
I’m not a cultural relativist, as I don’t think we can’t or shouldn’t compare different worldviews (or knowledges), and I do think it’s important to be critical of these different knowledge systems (especially our own)… but I do lean towards postmodernism in this sense of different knowledges and different worlds. I think that we can have some idea of what we recognize collectively as being “objectively true,” but what is determined to be “objective” is always at least partially socially or culturally constructed. That said, I’m always learning and my position on things like this is constantly shifting, and I do definitely appreciate where you’re coming from.
I also think that the kinds of knowledges we should be using are context-specific-meaning I don’t think that there are knowledge systems that are objectively right or wrong in and of themselves, but I do agree that particular knowledge systems are definitely more suited to certain contexts than others. So when assessing whether the earth is round or constructing an airplane, of course the modern scientific method is most appropriate.
But like you said, when it comes to how we treat this earth as human beings, the Western framework we’ve been using has proved time and time again to be detrimental. Indigenous knowledges can teach us a lot about ecology and sustainable development… but I think its also important to recognize that these knowledge systems include animistic worldview and spiritual dimensions as a part of their holistic sense-making practices. “Scientific knowledge” here can’t be fully disentangled from spiritual knowledge, and I think a part of engaging with Indigenous peoples and their cultures is respecting that.
I appreciate scientific certainty for a lot of things, of course, but I also think that there are some contexts where it isn’t actually the best knowledge framework to use. And I think when it comes to certain matters related to spirituality, this is usually the case.
Sorry for the long reply but I really appreciate your comment-as usual you’ve got me thinking more and more about things!!
@@theskepticalwitch6611 Thank you--you've given me some things to think about, too! Best wishes to you.
Maybe it's just tangentially related, but I feel like it's worth also talking about how one can and should decolonize their pagan and witch rituals and practices by examining where those elements are appropriated from. The first thing that comes to mind is, like, burning white sage in particular, which not only comes out of context from a variety of indigenous peoples, but the overharvesting of and poaching of white sage to sell to the white pagan and new-age practitioners who practice smudging completely divorced from its original context is also a big problem. Maybe it's just me, but I also don't feel like it's appropriate for euro-cultural pagans to direct their worship towards, like, Egyptian deities while having zero cultural connection to those deities; though I do acknowledge that I'm not really in any kind of position to be telling anyone how to worship either. I just think taking a real, honest look at these things are a part of decolonizing our paganism however.
Litha blessings 🌛🌕🌜🤎🌳🌳🧚♀️
Hi, first of all really great video! I agreed with a lot of things you mentioned in this video, however, I would like to ask you something. While watching I noticed you keep referring to "indigenous" cultures and that their knowledge and beliefs are different from ours here in the west. Yet, you never really go into any detail about what these cultures are, and how their systems of knowledge differ from ours here in the west. There is no doubt that western imperialism has hurt many indigenous cultures, but I would like to understand what exactly these cultures are, the people that live in them, and how their method of gaining knowledge is different from ours.
Like many westerners, I grew up learning only about the scientific method however if another culture has a different way of doing things and seeing the world I would love to know. Would you be open to doing a video explaining these cultures' beliefs, traditions, and world perspectives?
I was thinking about this topic the other day, what a coincidence that you posted this video! (And imo you never came across as preaching a "true scientific way")
Looking forward to your new videos. Academia really takes our time (I'm working on my masters project, so I understand 😅), so I appreciate the effort in posting!
I would love to see a video on Carl Jung and how his work is often misunderstood or misused in "psychological witchcraft" and myth interpretations, if that would interest you sometime. I've been noticing this trend in some non-theistic circles. 😊
Thanks for the recommendation--that would be a really interesting video to make. How is it that you see Jung's work being misused in psychological witchcraft? It's something I'll need to pay attention to/look into more!
And good luck with your Masters project--I hope it's going well! :)
@@theskepticalwitch6611 thank you! 🖤 Brace yourself, letter length comment incoming! 🤓
While researching shadow work, I came upon the Jung to Live By channel, made by a scientifc research institute on Jungian depth psychology. Their videos are extremely dense for those like me, who aren't from the Psychology field and don't know a lot of academic terminology of Jungian psychology. But their content is worth the watch notheless (they also have free PDFs!) In those, they debunk some myths about the archetypes, and reinforce the biological and scientific explanations of archetypes, instead of more "woo woo" views of Jung who got popularized on TH-cam. Perhaps you might want to check it out!
One of the main critiques I saw is that there's a very capitalistic interpretation of Shadow Work and its relation to archetypes and the psyche. The idea of evolving past the shadow to be a more productive, efficient human being. Those capitalistic and neoliberal takes on Jung also bleed onto new age and mainstream western alternative spirituality's view of Shadow Work. An overfocus on the "dark side" of oneself, as if to always improve the human machine, instead of just learning to be self aware and be at peace with yourself. The pressure to always be journaling and obsessing over shadow awareness is actually detrimental to our mental health! That's far from shadow integration!
Also archetypes, for Jung, inherently carry narratives, they're not static characteristics. More a story instead of a list of character traits, which is how I usually see them portrayed in the alternative spirituality communities.
I've seen 2 main problems with archetypes in these settings: straight up using Jung's theory to attempt confirming the existence of deities, or misusing his archetypal theory in psychological witchcraft, chaos magick or similar practices. For example, when people explain archetypes, they often mention Jung, of course. But there's a catch: while you can say Hekate is a dark goddess archetype in her characteristics, it doesn't make sense in a Jungian context. Jung had a limited set of archetypes from which all other figures derived. A more correct way to say it, if following Jung, would perhaps be that Hekate carries traits of the Trickster and Wise Old Man archetypes. Also, these only make sense in her myths. The archetype is the story itself, not necessarily the main character. (This reminded me of looking at the wider picture when working with deities)
As it's usually the case, science is much more nuanced, complex and fascinating than our shallow mainstream understanding of it can be.
It's a lot of food for thought, NGL this research shattered a bit of my spiritual practice, but in a good way. If you ever decide to make this video or simply deep dive in the topic, I'd really recommend the Jung to Live By channel and the resources in their bio.
I'm sorry if my explanation wasn't very clear, I'm Brazilian so English is not my 1st language😅 also I'm a historian, not a Jungian psychologist, so I apologize if I said any rubbish 😂
Ostara blessings..🌛🌕🌜🧹💜
🎥 Future video suggestions: Tao te Ching philosophy, quantum physics Magic, your thoughts on the book braiding sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer 💜😊🌸
These are excellent suggestions, thank you!
Beltain blessings my dear❤🌛🌕🌜🧹💐
Are you still looking for atheopagans for your phd study?
Hello! Yes I am! You can get in touch with me on Instagram (skeptical.witch) if you’re interested in participating! Thanks!
If a person is a true believer in, say, magic, or in a religion that is strongly rooted in supernatural belief, then they shouldnt feel offended or threatened by your skepticism. If anything, they should feel that they are the superior ones because they know the truth, whereas the skeptic doesnt.
This makes sense. This actually parallels a lot of Jordan Peterson's criticism of condescending postmodern approaches, although I've never heard him mention postcolonialism.
I’m not super familiar with Jordan Peterson’s work, but I think what I’m trying to say here is actually pretty opposed to his critique of postmodernism? As far as I can tell he hasn’t said all that much about colonialism, and certainly has no interest in decolonizing academia or his work. From what I do know about his viewpoints, I’m pretty opposed to a lot of what he says.
@@theskepticalwitch6611 but isn't that the point of your video? We have certain preconceived notions about conservatism that are driven by the superiority of western academia to traditionalism. The great replacement theory is a fear that postmodernism is trying to dismantle the current societal structure. There must be methods to address those antiquated systems of power that aren't condescending. Otherwise we risk disenfranchising those people, perpetuating their anti-intellectualism. Or are you implying that approach should mainly be used when approaching foreign indigenous cultures?
Wow, less than a day and the alt right is already screwing up things for everyone.
@@1015SaturdayNight really? Do you not differentiate between the right and the alt-right? If anything, Peterson is closer to the center. I'm not on the right, but I am looking for tools to engage with them effectively. Snarkiness is not a viable strategy.
@@micahgmiranda the great replacement theory is a white nationalist conspiracy theory with racist, homophobic, and misogynist undertones sooooooo you can split hairs about right or alt right, it's all horrible. Your "does this only apply to indigenous people" with philosophy sounds like someone trying to argue racist nonsense with an SAT vocabulary.
Plz do make more videos, you're a lady Jordan Peterson based on witchcraft.. I like your content, in fact
"Systems of knowledge"/"hierarchies" These very terms and approaches are themselves based on scientific reasoning. Your problem is circular, unfortunately. As soon as you begin analyzing, organizing, and critiquing, you're being quite Western. I don't think you can step outside of it.
Good point, to be fair! And as someone within academia who has been raised in a Western society, I don't think I'll ever be able to fully move outside of the parameters of Western knowledge systems. But that's also not really what I'm aiming to do. You can critique a given system from within it, and the first step is recognizing what's problematic about it, then working to change it from within (such as by being open to and learning from diverse knowledges and perspectives).
I like your channel. I think it's really different. Of course this is your call, but I feel the topic of witchcraft and the occult loses something as soon as you mix in politics, even if your position is true and heartfelt. Good luck regardless.
For many of us, it is meaningless to pursue a spiritual path that isn't about making the world a better place, and that necessarily involves politics. "Keeping politics out" of spirituality is a privileged position that only those who aren't as threatened by potential political developments can take. I urge you to reconsider your position.
@@TheAtheopaganismChannel Zen Buddhists--at least those that understand what they believe--do not try to make the world a better place. I can provide Zen poems or stories if it would help. (And please note I'm referring specifically to Zen texts, not Buddhist texts--they are worlds apart). Daoists as well.
@@abesapien9930 if so, that is a failing on their part.
@@TheAtheopaganismChannel I was going to search for an especially telling Zen story of a Zen master cutting a cat in half with a spade--mainly to shock his students--but I'll spare you the trouble ;)
I agree with @The Atheopagan Society that for many people, politics and spirituality are inseparable... and this is certainly the case for me. I see no distinction between "spirituality" and other aspects of my life, and witchcraft in my mind is inherently political (particularly as a feminist and environmental advocate). And while I don't think all religions need to be political, I certainly don't think involving politics in spiritual practices or discussions results in a "loss" of any kind. Even Zen Buddhism--I know some people see it as an "amoral" religion that is completely detached from political matters, but certainly not everyone sees it that way. Many Buddhists (Zen Buddhists included) are very involved with environmentalism for instance, and make important connections between their spiritual beliefs and an environmental ethics. And even if Zen Buddhism doesn't necessarily put forth any political stances in its traditional writings or practices, the fact that the people who practice the religion *do* make it political in some ways means that it *becomes* political (even if that isn't the case for everyone). I know some people believe that religion or spirituality should be this special category all on its own that shouldn't be brought into contact with other aspects of culture (like politics), but I personally reject this position. Plus, its when religion is put into dialogue with these other cultural categories that we really start to see interesting and important things emerging.
Sorry, but the earth cannot be a disk for one person and a sphere for another. There's only one truth about this matter, and most humans tend to value truth higher than falsities.
So I don't see the benefit of saying that other modes of thinking are on par with the scientific approach.
Of course, other peoples' myths shouldn't be wiped from the earth just because they're wrong. But it must be allowed to say that that kind of magical thinking is untrue at best and harmful at worst.
Your academic videos are my favorite 🥹 If you have any scholarly article suggestions for what you’re discussing, please let me know! I love doing a literature review 😂