Buddh Gaia in Nostos : Moriarty's religious relevance of myth.

• Main Author: Yong, Priscilla Su Lin.
• Other Authors: Cornelius Anthony Murphy
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::Literature::English
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38538
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

A seeker of truth, a seeker of questions is the philosopher John Moriarty. Given one's relative breadth and depth of knowledge, Moriarty may not be considered accesssible by many. However, one must bear in mind that he seeks to undo the knowledge that, ironically, Man is so conditioned to. He believes that stories are the vessel to interpreting the world and what the universe represents, where stories provide the metaphors for meaning. As he experiences disenchantment thrice, it becomes clear to him that myth is a portal to the greater, uncontainable narratives, for instance, God, and the earth which exists in and beyond one's institutionalized dimensions. He seeks for the narrative that can both transcend and hold; one that not only accomodates but also welcomes the reader and the spiritual seeker as one in existing in an “Unknowable” universe. Just like the inarticulable Universe, Moriarty's revelations begin in the state of pre-language and traverses into the language of philomythos and parables. There is a sense, in Moriarty's thoughts, that to see in part is to see in whole. For instance, to see the grounded mountain is to grasp fleetingly at God. And should one try to see in its entirety, one is actually subverting the possibilities for a consuming revelation, resulting in dissipation and diminished sight. There is a consistent lack of a fixed definition in his prose, for meaning captures Moriarty seamlessly and sentiently. Through Moriarty's poetry which always returns to myth and the roots of his Christian beliefs, this essay argues how Moriarty reasons mythologically in debunking the logos of European psyche. We see this in his thoughts, meditations, and stories, as he navigates the ontological landscape where metaphysics and Christian spirituality marry.