Religion from the Viewpoint of Tradition Ecology – Lauri Honko’s (1932–2002) Contribution to Comparative Religion

In this article I propose to analyze Lauri Honko’s contribution in comparative religion in terms of tradition ecology, the general research framework Honko himself saw – at least in retrospect – as the unifying theme in his work. My aim is to provide an analytical account of his theoretical contribution in the study of religion that started already in his dissertation Krankheitsprojektile (1959) and culminated in his last major work, Textualising the Siri Epic (1998). Lauri Honko’s research topics ranged from folk beliefs, myths and rituals to ethnomedicine, oral epics and cultural identity. Yet religion, understood as culturally mediated interaction with the culturally postulated supernatural entities, remained one of his constant objects of interest. Moreover, I will argue that the fluid nature of contemporary post-secular religiosity is well captured by the tradition-ecology tools developed by Honko. I will end up by discussing the contribution of Honko’s doctoral students in comparative religion and folkloristics

Seisovasta vedestä odota myrkkyä...

Eva-Marita Rinne-Koistinen: Perceptions of health – water and sanitation problems in rural and urban communities in Nigeria. Jyväskylä Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research 240. University of Jyväskylä 2004

The Role of Theory in Folkloristics and Comparative Religion

Lauri Honko (1932–2002), the Finnish professor of folkloristics and comparative religion was a prolific and multi-talented researcher, whose topics of research ranged from the study of folk beliefs, folk medicine and Ingrian laments to the general theories of culture, identity and meaning. Honko studied Finno-Ugric mythologies, Karelian and Tanzanian folk healing, and South Indian oral traditions. Lauri Honko was known for his originality and theoretical innovations: he constructed multiple approaches to the study of culture that are still relevant in folkloristics and comparative religion.In this paper I aim at explicating and analysing Honko’s views about the roles of theory in folkloristics and comparative religion. More precisely, I will cover two themes. First, I will look at how Honko constructed and utilised theories during the different stages of his career. Second, I will explicate one of the central elements underlying Honko’s theory of culture, namely, functionalism, which provided the framework for his innovations such as the ecology of tradition and folklore process, and for conceptual constructs such as the ‘pool of tradition’ and ‘systems of culture’. I will conclude by assessing the future relevance of Honko’s theories in folkoristics and comparative religion

The NPW framework in future-oriented studies of cultural agency

The network of possible worlds, or NPW for short, offers a theoretical framework where cultural agency can be systematically linked with such central concepts of future-oriented studies as future path, scenario, actor, vision, trend, weak signal, future awareness and foresight development. Time is embedded in a NPW in two ways: the NPW itself is temporally structured, and the actors navigating within the NPW are equipped with cognitive models of time. The framework can be applied not only in the study of theoretical and empirical aspects of cultural agency, but also in the political management of human societies, including the forecasting of religious and ethnic dynamics. It provides tools for capturing the special characteristics of cultural agency. Therefore, it is an essential tool in understanding the religious and ethnic futures of Europe

Cultural models of risk - the multiple meanings of living in the world of dangerous possibilities

One of the contributions of cultural studies in risk and technology assessment is to emphasise the importance of cultural models and to show how cultural models of risk are best studied by means of ethnographic case studies. In this article I shall first explicate the conceptual background and then proceed to present two case studies that illuminate my line of argument, one from Western Finland, and one from the Peruvian Amazon. Finally I will discuss some systematic connections between the risk profile of late modernity and the risks from the "archaic" Amazonian case study

Kulttuurintutkimuksen tulevaisuus – ei hyvältä näytä

Kulttuurintutkimus on perinteisesti ollut ala, jossa tutkimusmenetelmien ja näkökulmien moninaisuus on ollut hyve. Työkalujen runsauden vuoksi myös tutkimuksen onnistumisen kriteerit ja onnistumiset ovat vaihdelleet. Kulttuurintutkimus on kenties pisimpään säilyttänyt vanhan Paul Feyerabendin "anything goes" tunnelman: opinnäytteeksi on riittänyt se, että opiskelija saa jollain tavalla jäsennettyä aineiston. Senioritutkijoille, jotka yhä kiivaampaa tahtia haluavat integroitua älymystöön ja kirjoittaa pelkkiä esseitä, on riittänyt että on saanut jotain paperille. Raskaan sarjan älymystöön kuuluvien ei tarvitse edes kirjoittaa; riittää että murahtelee silloin tällöin jotain syvällistä ja näyttää eksistenssin tai angstin rusentamalta. Ranskankieliset sanaleikit ja intellektuaalinen snobbailu on yksi kulttuurintutkimuksen vahvoja puolia, ja tämän vuoksi sitä ilmeisesti siedetäänkin akateemisilla kampuksilla

Creating wisdom cultures: Integral Coaching as applied foresight in leadership development

Systemic or integral frameworks are needed not only in our projects of creating knowledge and understanding, but also in our attempts to change the world, to make better futures. Transcending the flatland of one-dimensional materiality is pivotal in business, politics and everyday life. Therefore it is understandable that Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory has inspired not only those who wish to cultivate understanding, but also those who have the agenda of creating better futures for human organizations, societies or workplaces. In this article we will first look at the contribution of the futurist Richard Slaughter, who has utilized Wilber’s insights on spirituality in his foresight concepts and practice. Secondly we will focus on leadership development, utilizing Slaughter’s notion of wisdom culture. Thirdly we will present Wilberian integral coaching as a tool for creating wisdom cultures in business. Finally we will discuss how spirituality and wisdom culture are founded on our ontological concepts of human development and reality.

Systems thinking, spirituality and Ken Wilber: beyond New Age

Systems thinking is a general worldview concerning the nature of reality. It sees the world as composed of systems, and all particular entities populating reality as linked with other entities – the emergence of new properties denies the flatland of plain materiality, and generates entities of a higher order. Spirituality in historical and modern traditions has minimally amounted to relating oneself to a larger or higher systemic whole, which confers meaning to particular cases of existence. In some religious traditions this larger systemic whole has been understood as a transcendental sphere of existence, whereas in other religious and spiritual traditions it has been seen as an immanent thatness. The search for spirituality and wisdom has never been confined to religious traditions, but has inspired other systems thinkers as well, for example in philosophy, the New Age movement, in developmental psychology, biology, or futures research. The American philosopher and theoretical psychologist Ken Wilber (b. 1949) has discussed, re-interpreted and synthesized various views on spiritual development as well as systems thinking and has provided input for the New Age movement, comparative religion, developmental psychology, and world philosophy. In this article we will discuss the relationship between systems thinking and spirituality and will assess Ken Wilber’s contribution to their conceptualization.

Mielen virukset – meemiteoria ja pahuuden selittäminen

Jokelan, Kauhajoen ja Norjan joukkosurmien myötä monialainen riskianalyysi ja uhkiin varautuminen on tullut esille, ja samalla on korostunut se, etteivät poliittiset tai virkamiespäättäjät ymmärrä riittävästi kulttuuristen resurssien ja mallien dynamiikkaa. Yksittäinen syrjäytynyt ja ongelmainen joukkosurmaaja kanavoi tunteensa toimintaan vasta saatuaan sopivat kulttuuriset mallit käyttöönsä, jotka kertovat mitä tehdä, missä ja millä tavalla