The suspension of Judgment
Rethinking Fantasy And The Suspension Of Judgment: A Reflexion On Critical Skills, Themes And Issues
The suspension of judgement as a critical skill is a vital part in the interpretation of works of “fantasy” which also suggests the transformation of the concept of “fantasy” itself into something more than the conventional notion of the Western cultural tradition. In the critical analysis of works of “fantasy”, foregoing the suspension of judgment would mean the awkward assumption of the conventional understanding of “fantasy” as merely the opposite of reality. While this notion of “fantasy” (and the corresponding conception of “reality”) has a strong precedent in the Western cultural tradition, it suggests the offhand dismissal of “fantasy” as mere fanciful entertainment. Suspending judgment is therefore necessary to undercover the ways in which fantasy imparts "serious and sacred information" (Rowley, "Living Myths"). The stuff of fantasy, like "The Fight With The Firbolgs" of Celtic mythology, can provide a historical narrative, a system of beliefs, a sense of meaning, of ethics, or of identity. Taking "The Fight with the Firbolgs" seriously (as “fantasy” in this sense of the word), for instance, means that the magical elements of the piece impress the conventions and values of the cultural tradition to which the piece belongs upon it”s audience. Talk about and praise for a "Sword of Victory" (Gregory 17) involves the audience in a worldview where there is a certain cultural value placed on victory in battle. Likewise, the meeting of the two warriors in "The Fight with the Firbolgs" demonstrates a model of appropriate warrior behaviour, the Celtic conventions of the battlefield (Gregory 18). In other words, the suspension of judgment entails a pause of deliberate critical reflexion which transforms "The Fight with the Firbolgs" from mere myth to a medium of meaning and significance, and likewise transforms the concept of fantasy into a constellation of meaning
The suspension of judgement as a critical skill is a vital part in the interpretation of works of “fantasy” which also suggests the transformation of the concept of “fantasy” itself into something more than the conventional notion of the Western cultural tradition. In the critical analysis of works of “fantasy”, foregoing the suspension of judgment would mean the awkward assumption of the conventional understanding of “fantasy” as merely the opposite of reality. While this notion of “fantasy” (and the corresponding conception of “reality”) has a strong precedent in the Western cultural tradition, it suggests the offhand dismissal of “fantasy” as mere fanciful entertainment. Suspending judgment is therefore necessary to undercover the ways in which fantasy imparts "serious and sacred information" (Rowley, "Living Myths"). The stuff of fantasy, like "The Fight With The Firbolgs" of Celtic mythology, can provide a historical narrative, a system of beliefs, a sense of meaning, of ethics, or of identity. Taking "The Fight with the Firbolgs" seriously (as “fantasy” in this sense of the word), for instance, means that the magical elements of the piece impress the conventions and values of the cultural tradition to which the piece belongs upon it”s audience. Talk about and praise for a "Sword of Victory" (Gregory 17) involves the audience in a worldview where there is a certain cultural value placed on victory in battle. Likewise, the meeting of the two warriors in "The Fight with the Firbolgs" demonstrates a model of appropriate warrior behaviour, the Celtic conventions of the battlefield (Gregory 18). In other words, the suspension of judgment entails a pause of deliberate critical reflexion which transforms "The Fight with the Firbolgs" from mere myth to a medium of meaning and significance, and likewise transforms the concept of fantasy into a constellation of meaning