Creating a space for practical wisdom
the dance of transcendence incarnate
pp. 319-328
in: Pamela S. Anderson (ed), New topics in feminist philosophy of religion, Berlin, Springer, 2010Abstract
I argue that women's practical wisdom and the dimensions of knowing, imagining, and acting in the world are shared goals of theorists in feminist philosophy of religion and theorists in feminist critical pedagogy. In this chapter I seek to create a space, for reader and writer, to weave together the voices of Pamela Sue Anderson, Michèle Le Doeuff, bell hooks, and Maxine Greene in a conversation to nurture women's practical wisdom. This interdisciplinary dialogue, the first involving these four theorists together, creates a space for women to transcend the status quo in thinking critically and practically. Transcendence comes about when generating a certain sacred ground on which women come together, figuratively and literally in written word, shared images, dreams, and dialogue, to imagine the new. The dance of transcendence incarnate, for me, describes a community of flourishing women acting confidently and freely in a world-engaging movement of life. As in a dance, transcendence involves individuals in community engaging mind and body, the cognitive and the practical, where each person becomes a subject embodying practical wisdom. Hope emerges as women learn together in textual and actual dialogues.
