Literal and the Figurative. According to This Term Paper

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literal and the figurative." According to this section, there is a prejudice in the western world against the figurative and in favor of the literal. The reason cited for this is an anxiety related to the ancient practice of inserting unauthorized lines into otherwise authorized liturgy. This sacrilegious practice presented a challenge to the absolute power of priests, who used liturgy as a tool for the subjugation of uneducated peasants. These challengers of authority were referred to as "tropists" whereas the unauthorized text inserted was names "tropes."

The premise of the section is that the fear of the figurative is related to the potential loss of authority, such as that held by the priests in ancient times. The average western paradigm is thus one of the rulership of the literal that holds authority and should not be challenged. The text also implies that this is primarily a male paradigm, as the figurative is seen as weak and feminine. The implication is furthermore that the male is stronger and better than the female view.

Giving any authority to the female view of things then is to tamper with the authorized version of a text is thus to tamper with the standing order of things.

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This is seen as a threat to the western paradigm. It is not only a play on words, but also a play on power at its representative source. This is what the rebellion of the tropists entailed: they rebelled against authority by tampering with its source - liturgy.

The section substantiates this view by an explication of the owners of power throughout human history. This power entailed ownership of the recognized version of the "truth." The first such persons were then kings or emperors, after whom the Church became the authority figure. Authority was then taken over by science and rationality, after which public opinion became the primary and current owner of the authorized "truth."

In western society then, public opinion holds certain….....

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