4D RL as Non-Cognitive and Symbolic Flashcards
What was Paul Tillich’s book called?
• Dynamics of Faith
At a basic level, what did Tillich argue?
• That faith is the stage of being ultimately concerned
- Maslow: talked about a hierarchy of needs e.g. food, shelter, warmth
- Tillich: stated that we have spiritual concerns e.g. cognitive, aesthetic, social, political
• “Man’s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically”
• “The language of faith is the language of symbols”
According to Tillich, what are the six characteristics of symbols?
1) Point to something
2) Participate in the reality to which they point
3) Open up levels of reality that are otherwise closed to us
4) Cannot be produced intentionally - they grow out of the unconcsious
5) Unlock dimensions of our soul that correspond to dimensions of reality
6) They grow and die - they grow when the situation is ripe
Tillich: “Why can [man’s ultimate concern] not be expressed directly and properly?”
- “Everything which is a matter of unconditional concern is made into a God.
- “If the nation is someone’s ultimate concern, the name of the nation becomes a sacred name and the nation receives divine qualities which far surpass the reality and functioning of the nation.
- “The nation then stands for for and symbolises the true and ultimate, but in an idolatrous way.”
According to Tillich, what is God?
- A fundamental symbol of ultimate concern
* Entirely non-cognitive and evokes a response at the deepest emotional level
What does Tillich say that symbols of faith are closely linked to?
• Myth
What did John Randall want to explore?
• How religious language carries meaning and knowledge and how this form of communication differed/similar to other disciplines e.g. science
Give three characteristics of symbols according to Randall.
- Rich in meaning
- Interpreted in myriad ways
- Meaning can change ∵ society/priorities/understanding of ourselves changes
What did Randall concentrate on?
• Communication that gives believers the greatest insights into common belief
According to Randall, what were the three methods of communication that give the greatest insights into common belief?
- Historical issues of conflict between religion and science is largely resolved
- Relationship between religion and philosophy, esp. Ancient Greeks - philosophy = central in recog. twin pillars of faith + reason
- Natural science, esp. post-Enlightenment; it reveals the workings of the world/universe; these developments of rational thought are no threat to religion; r. ideas of Middle Ages needed to develop alongside discoveries brought from science
According to Randall, what is key to understanding what it means to be religious?
• Religious experience
- It is a common form of symbolic language representing the things that give people their identity
According to Randall, what is the role of worship, prayer and ritual?
- Unify people
- Give people a shared identity
- Give people a common vision
According to Randall, how is religion not independent of man’s secular knowledge?
• It demands “careful observation and description, explanation, reflective understanding and intelligent criticism”
How does Randall show that all religious beliefs are mythology?
- Religious symbols do not hold truth of factual statements or empirical sciences or any other realist-based rational discipline
- The coherence theory of truth accepts anti-realism in regard to theological propositions
Finish this quote by Randall: “All ideas of God […] are”…
• “without exception religious symbols […] they perform what is primarily a religious function. They are employed in religious experience, and serve to carry on the religious life. They are techniques, instruments, in terms of which ritual and the other religious arts are conducted.”