Robert Magliola
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Roberto Rino Magliola (born 1940) is an
Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
academic specializing in European
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. As necessary, hermeneutics may include the art of understanding and communication. ...
and
deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...
, comparative philosophy, and inter-religious dialogue. He is retired from the
National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...
and Assumption University of
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
.


Career

Magliola received his doctorate in 1970 from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in
comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
, with a dissertation in
phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839 ...
and hermeneutics. He took up a position at
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
in 1969, and was promoted to professor in 1981. From 1983 to 1984, Magliola taught and researched at
Tamkang University Tamkang University (TKU; ) is a private university in Tamsui District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It was founded in 1950 as a junior college of English. Today it is a comprehensive university with 11 colleges that serves nearly 25,000 students ...
in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
while on sabbatical from Purdue. In 1985, Magliola moved to
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
where he held posts in the interfaith graduate school of philosophy and religions at Assumption University (
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
), where he was the professor of
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...
; and at the
National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...
, where he held a distinguished chair in the graduate school of liberal arts. In Asia, Magliola published writings on Buddhism and deconstruction. As a lay Carmelite (1982–present) he also began to write both on the application of Derridean thought motifs to
Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholi ...
and on Catholic
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
, and made an invited presentation in 1999 on 'Catholic meditation in Tibetan
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
form' for the Pontifical Council for Culture and the federation of Asian Bishops. In Thailand, Magliola researched
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
Buddhism and in 1994, trained in Vipassanā-
Satipatthana ''Satipatthana'' (; ) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of mindfulness", aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. I ...
meditation ( Wat Mahathat, Bangkok). From 2002 to 2007, Magliola was a co-editor for volumes in the book series "seminars on culture and values" for the council for research in values and philosophy of the
Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...
. He is a co-editor (since 2008) of the ''DES Journal'', the academic journal of Delta Epsilon Sigma. Magliola was a seminar associate (2002–2011) of the seminar in Buddhist studies at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, and studied (autumn 2010–summer 2012) the meditative mode of Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo at the downtown New York meditation community (Manhattan; vipassanā). From spring 2012, Magliola practiced at Villa Vangelo e Zen ("The Gospel and Zen"), in Desio, Lombardia, Italy, and in March 2013, received an official certificate from Vangelo e Zen which declares that he is qualified to teach meditation "as transmitted in Zen and in other Oriental forms" to "priests, religious, and laity of the Catholic Church," by "the spirituality of dialogue promoted by Vatican Council II."In ''Dilatato Corde'', Vol. 3, No. 2 (July-Dec. 2013), a
www.dimmid.org
Dialogue interreligieux Monastique/Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, see the biographical note accompanying Magliola's article "'Neither I nor Not I'- ."


Jacques Derrida and Buddhism

Magliola is a specialist in European
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. As necessary, hermeneutics may include the art of understanding and communication. ...
and
deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...
, in comparative philosophy, and in Buddhist – (Roman) Catholic dialogue. He has explored at length in ''Derrida on the Mend'', 1984) possible intersections between
Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...
's thought and Buddhism, especially Madhyamika Buddhism and its "founder,"
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
: * "As far as I know, Magliola is the first person to study Derrida from a Buddhist perspective, and he does this with a higher degree of speculative engagement than has been attained in similar studies of
Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...
,
Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...
, and
Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...
." Joseph S. O'Leary, in his review of ''Derrida on the Mend'' in ''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'', Vol. 12, No. 4, p. 362. * "Since Robert Magliola's 1984 publication ''Derrida on the Mend'', which involved his pioneering comparison of Derrida and Nagarjuna, ..." – Youru Wang, in his review of Youxuan Wang, ''Buddhism and Deconstruction: Towards a Comparative Semiotics'', in ''Philosophy East and West'', Vol. 55, No. 3 (July 2005) * "It took Magliola, in ''Derrida on the Mend'', to bring Nagarjuna and other Buddhist voices into the arena of the discourse on deconstruction, and the efforts of the academy to marginalize his work have been considerable." E. H. Jarow, "Zen Flesh, Bones, and Blood: Deconstructing Inter-Religious Dialogue," in ''Buddhisms and Deconstructions'',Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. ed. J.Y. Park, p. 228.


Books

* ''Phenomenology and Literature'' (Purdue University Press, 1977, 2nd printing 1978), 208 pp. * ''Derrida on the Mend'' (Purdue University Press, 1984; 2nd edition, 1986), 238 pp. Reprint, Purdue University Press, 2000–2011, 2013-. * ''On Deconstructing Life-Worlds: Buddhism, Christianity, Culture'' (Scholars Press, American Academy of Religion, 1997; Oxford University Press, 2000), 202 pp. * ''Facing Up to Real Doctrinal Difference: How Some Thought-Motifs From Derrida Can Nourish the Catholic-Buddhist Encounter'' (Angelico Press, 2014), 224 pp.


See also

* J. Hillis Miller *
East Asian Mādhyamaka East Asian Madhyamaka is the Buddhist tradition in East Asia which represents the Indian Madhyamaka (''Chung-kuan'') system of thought. In Chinese Buddhism, these are often referred to as the ''Sanlun'' (Chinese language, Ch. 三論宗, Japanese ...
*
Postmodern literature Postmodern literature is a form of literature that is characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, and intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues. This style of experimen ...
*
Lay theologian A lay theologian is a theologian "who is not ordained, or a theologian who has not been trained as a theologian". Despite not being trained as theologian or ordained, lay theologians may have academic qualifications in other disciplines. Examples ...
*
American philosophy American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can neverthe ...
*
List of American philosophers American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can neverthe ...
* List of Italian Americans *
Continental philosophers Continental philosophy is a group of philosophies prominent in 20th-century continental Europe that derive from a broadly Kantian tradition.Continental philosophers usually identify such conditions with the transcendental subject or self: , "It ...
* Existential philosophy


References


Further reading

* Jaime M. Rivera, S.J., ''From Peripheries to Center to Peripheries: An Exposition and Evaluation of Robert Magliola on Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue'', Thesis in Theological Studies, 429 pp., Faculty of Theology and Ministry, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, The Philippines, May 2016. * Jane Augustine, "The Veil Rent in Twain: A Buddhist Reading of Robert Magliola's Deconstructive Chiasm", in J. Y. Park, ed., with "After-word" by R. Magliola, ''Buddhisms and Deconstructions'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), pp. 171–182. * Gad Horowitz, "emmanuel, robert", in ''Buddhisms and Deconstructions'', pp. 183–190. * Robert Magliola, "After-word," in "Buddhisms and Deconstructions", pp. 253–260. Magliola's carefully deliberated assessment of the arguments in Augustine and Horowitz (see their essays above) controvert his worldview. {{DEFAULTSORT:Magliola, Robert 1940 births Living people Princeton University alumni American Buddhists 21st-century American philosophers 20th-century American philosophers Catholic philosophers American scholars of Buddhism Buddhist writers Derrida scholars 21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians Deconstruction American religion academics Lay theologians Comparative literature academics American literary critics Hermeneutists American expatriates in Taiwan American expatriates in Thailand