Michael Singleton: St. George and the Dragon – the Self and the Other. Part 1
Abstract
Letting the St. George of the medieval legend stand for the Self (G) and the Dragon (D) for the Other (human and nonhuman), then a priori their relationship lends itself to three main models: the first, g<D, where the Other gives all and receives nothing from the Self in return, the second, G+D, where the Self and the Other give and take, the third, G>d, where the Self grabs all and the Other loses everything. A posteriori, taking religion (ligare) properly so called to be based on obligatory reciprocity, hunter-gatherers, “primitive” agriculturalists, and neoliberal capitalists, respectively, embody a-religious, religious, and irreligious Choices of Society – options still of vital importance for our common future.
[St. George, the Dragon, the Self, the Other, hunting-gathering, agriculture, capitalism, mankind’s future]
