Offering abstract concepts?

[Sefiru]

I've been thinking recently about the Kemetic practice of offering ma'at to the gods. 'Ma'at' being a concept that loosely translates into 'truth/order/rightness'. In rituals, ma'at was represented by a small statue of a goddess or by a feather, but the actual offering is the concept. I'm wondering if there are similar practices in other traditions.

Most of the time when we discuss offerings, we talk about objects or sometimes actions, but I can't recall any other examples of offering an abstract concept.

(Ma'at is also a goddess in her own right, which means this is also offering a deity to other deities, but that's a whole other kettle of fish>)

[Redfaery]

I've been thinking recently about the Kemetic practice of offering ma'at to the gods. 'Ma'at' being a concept that loosely translates into 'truth/order/rightness'. In rituals, ma'at was represented by a small statue of a goddess or by a feather, but the actual offering is the concept. I'm wondering if there are similar practices in other traditions.

Most of the time when we discuss offerings, we talk about objects or sometimes actions, but I can't recall any other examples of offering an abstract concept.

(Ma'at is also a goddess in her own right, which means this is also offering a deity to other deities, but that's a whole other kettle of fish>)

Buddhism has the concept of "dedicating merit" which could be seen as an offering of actions, but in practice comes across far more nebulously. I'm sleepy and can't brain properly right now, but the concept is basically that you offer up the positivity accumulated from a virtuous action or thought to help the welfare of other sentient beings.

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[Zlote Jablko]

I've been thinking recently about the Kemetic practice of offering ma'at to the gods. 'Ma'at' being a concept that loosely translates into 'truth/order/rightness'. In rituals, ma'at was represented by a small statue of a goddess or by a feather, but the actual offering is the concept. I'm wondering if there are similar practices in other traditions.

Most of the time when we discuss offerings, we talk about objects or sometimes actions, but I can't recall any other examples of offering an abstract concept.

(Ma'at is also a goddess in her own right, which means this is also offering a deity to other deities, but that's a whole other kettle of fish>)

I’ve seen this before. I was at an ADF ceremony where someone offered “the sweat from his brow.” That was sort of the idea behind me offering homemade mead, some years back. It’s easy to buy alcohol, but brewing mead takes some thought and effort. So effectively, the sacrifice goes beyond just pouring out a bottle.

If a truth is difficult to acquire and offer up, then it makes an excellent sacrifice in my opinion. That’s part of why I pursue reconstructionism. I don’t believe that it’s the only correct path, but the effort involved is partially devotional. Research also can be a kind of sacrifice.

[Sefiru]

Research also can be a kind of sacrifice.

Would that be offering the act of research, or the idea of research, though? I realise this is splitting hairs a bit, but I do think there's a difference between offering things that are physical but intangible (so, actions, sounds etc) and offering an idea.

 

[ehbowen]

Would that be offering the act of research, or the idea of research, though? I realise this is splitting hairs a bit, but I do think there's a difference between offering things that are physical but intangible (so, actions, sounds etc) and offering an idea.

Not to intrude, but your comment reminds me of what King David said when purchasing the threshing floor of Araunah as an altar to stem the plague from his rebellious enumeration of Israel: "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing." (2 Samuel 24:24; NKJV)

Research implies time spent and effort expended. An intangible idea, though, seems to be "that which costs me nothing." Could a similar dynamic be in play?

[Sefiru]

Research implies time spent and effort expended. An intangible idea, though, seems to be "that which costs me nothing." Could a similar dynamic be in play?

That sort of thinking could certainly explain why the practice is so rare. It also gets into the shades of meaning between 'offering' and 'sacrifice'. In Kemetic philosphy, as I understand it, the *point* of offerings is how they benefit the gods, not how they inconvenience the followers. 'Cost' is not synonymous with 'value' in other words. Kemeticism also doesn't have much of an ascetic tradition, that I know of.

[Ashmire]

Would that be offering the act of research, or the idea of research, though? I realise this is splitting hairs a bit, but I do think there's a difference between offering things that are physical but intangible (so, actions, sounds etc) and offering an idea.

Bearing in mind that I am a person considered to have a clinically significant difficulty with abstract concepts,  and this, like a lot of discussions here, feels a bit over my head...I really don't see how you *can* offer a purely abstract concept without performing it as an action.  To my mind, anyway, the only way to get my head around the idea of an abstraction is that you're basically turning a verb into a noun.

 So maybe, "offering Ma'at" is just sort of a metaphorical way of saying one is pledging oneself more strongly to the ideal?  And one offers a tangible representation of it in order to give one's mind something to hold onto and help one keep that promise? 

[Sefiru]

So maybe, "offering Ma'at" is just sort of a metaphorical way of saying one is pledging oneself more strongly to the ideal?  And one offers a tangible representation of it in order to give one's mind something to hold onto and help one keep that promise?

I've been thinking about it some more, and the way I approach it is more like that ma'at is a cosmic force, like 'Good' and 'Evil' in some systems, so while it isn't physical, it does have substance. So it can be gained, lost, given etc.

[PerditaPickle]

Bearing in mind that I am a person considered to have a clinically significant difficulty with abstract concepts,  and this, like a lot of discussions here, feels a bit over my head...

A slight tangent to the main thread, I just wanted to say: me too!  (Not clinically so, but markedly so - so much so it prompted me to start this thread https://ecauldron.com/forum/philosophy-and-metaphysics/not-confident-with-abstract-concepts-possible-to-learn-critical-thinking/msg215934/#msg215934)

I'd be curious to know if there's a term for clinically significant difficulty with abstract concepts, if you'd be comfortably PM'ing me, Ashmire.

As for the main thread...

I really don't see how you *can* offer a purely abstract concept without performing it as an action.  To my mind, anyway, the only way to get my head around the idea of an abstraction is that you're basically turning a verb into a noun. 

This is sort of what I was thinking.  Though I've been following the thread with interest, and was particularly interested to hear about the Buddhist concept of dedicating merit.