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phil > Religious Lang - 1 > Flashcards

Religious Lang - 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What issue does RL try to solve

A
  • Need to talk about God in a Meaningful way
  • Hard to use finite language to describe an infinite divine being
  • God is transcendent beyond our understanding, can we talk meaningfully about him.
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2
Q

Cognitive vs. Non-Cognitive Statements

A

Cognitive
- True or False
- Express literal propositions e.g. Triangles have 3 sides

Non-Cognitive
- Not factual
- Not literal propositions, Can be metaphorical, poetic etc.
e.g. That Hurt/ G&L is the best school

  • Many believe RL to be Non-Cognitive as it cannot be verified through empirical evidence (Up for debate e.g. RE)
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3
Q

Univocal Vs. Equivocal Language

A

Univocal Language
- Sane word used with the same meaning
- e.g. Dictionary is a book, the Bible is a Book

Equivocal Language
- Same word used with a different, or ambiguous meaning
- e.g. Bank for Money, or River Bank

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4
Q

What is the Apophatic way + what is it also known as?

A

Via Negativa –> the way of negation
Greek ‘apo’ meaning Away from

  • Based on idea God is transcendent and unknowable
  • We cannot speak meaningfully about God’s attributes due to limited human concepts + Language
    –> using Human language makes us think of human concepts e.g. love –> Jealousy
  • Blasphemous, disrespectful and impossible to make positive claims about God
  • Understanding God through Saying what he is not
    –> Better to accept mysteries then pin down using flawed concepts
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5
Q

Who are the 3 Scholars for and 3 Against Via Negativa

A

For
- Pseudo-Dionysius
–> God beyond assertion + denial, ineffable+transcendent, need to accept God as mystery or idea will become inaccurate
- Meister Eckhart
–> More you experience God, more you realise Human language useless, + Via neg. helps understand God as beyond words
- Moses Maimonides
–> Negation only meaningful way, e.g. describe ship by what is not

Against
- W.R. Ingle
–> deny God characteristics leads to annihilation of God + self
- G.K. Chesterton
–> pushed God too far beyond human life, God found in + through Earth
- Brian Davies
–> too vague, gives no indication of Gods characteristics, e.g. when describing ship could guess wardrobe

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6
Q

What did the Scholar Pseudo-dionysius say about using Language to describe God?

A
  • 6th Century - Via Negativa supporter
  • God is ‘beyond assertion’ and ‘beyond denial’
    –> But better characterised by negations
  • God is transcendent, ineffable –> we are incapable of (rationalising/ understanding) God
  • Need to accept God as a mystery, otherwise have idea of God will be innaccurate
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7
Q

What did Mesiter Eckhart Think about Via Negativa?

A

Via negative supporter
The more we experience God the more we realise our language is useless
- Via Negativa Helps us move to belief God is beyond all words

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8
Q

What did Moses Maimonides think about Religious Language

A
  • Via Negative suppoerter
  • 12th Century
  • Attempts to describe God in human language anthropomorphise him
    –> necessary for less intelligent but Via negativa is the best approach
  • RL is meaningful when used negatively
    –> e.g. describing a ship by describing what it is not
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9
Q

What are the Advantages to Via Negativa? (4)

A
  • More accessible, no complex words
  • Prevents Heresies –> e.g. not belittling God
  • Prevents Anthropomorphising God
    –> manipulation of Divine to suit human ideas + bringing God down to human levels
  • Encourages a sense of awe + respect
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10
Q

Who are the Critical / Against Scholars for the Via Negativa? + What did they say?

A
  • W.R. Ingle –> to deny God his descriptions would lead to the annihilation of God and self
  • G.K. Chesterton –> Feared Via Negativa placed God too far beyond human life and the world –> thought we should find God in and through the earth
  • Brian Davies –> Describing what something isn’t gives no indication of what it is e.g. could equally guess a wardrobe when a ship is being described
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11
Q

What did G.K. Chesterton say about the Via Negativa

A
  • G.K. Chesterton –> Feared Via Negativa placed God too far beyond human life and the world –> thought we should find God in and through the earth
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12
Q

What did W.R. Ingle say about the Via negativa?

A
  • W.R. Ingle –> to deny God his descriptions would lead to the annihilation of God and self
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13
Q

What did Brian Davies Say about the Via negativa?

A
  • Brian Davies –> Describing what something isn’t gives no indication of what it is e.g. could equally guess a wardrobe when a ship is being described
    –> counter point for Moses Maimonides ship example
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14
Q

What are the Disadvantages to Via Negativa? (4)

A
  • Vague –> cannot say much about God - doesn’t move us far beyond silence
  • Denial can imply assertion e.g. God is not evil –> implies God is Good
  • Leads to agnosticism –> God is unknowable + unable to justify belief
  • Bible uses positive statements about God e.g. Genesis referred to as Father - e.g. Psalms “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good”
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15
Q

Who is the main scholar for Via Positiva? + What is it also called?

A
  • Cataphatic Way
  • Aquinas 13th Century
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16
Q

What was Aquinas reaction to Via Negativa?

A
  • Rejected Via Negativa
    –> Said it is possible to say something about God’s Nature
  • Accepts the meaning of Language Changes when applied to God
17
Q

What Does Aquinas Propose instead of Via Negativa?

A
  • Via Positiva (Cataphatic Way)
  • Using Analogies
  • God as perfect and infinite defies description
  • Cannot speak of God univocally or equivocally
    –> must use an indirect method
  • Analogies
    –> attempt to explain meaning by using familiar comparison
  • Avoids use of univocal and equivocal language, whilst allowing us partial knowledge of his attributes
18
Q

What are Aquinas 3 Forms of Analogy

A
  • Attribution, Proper Proportion, Improper Proportion

Attribution
- Understand God through his role as creator
–> God made world, world reflects God
–> Able to draw analogies between World + God
e.g. Bull and its Urine
–> Can tell health of Bull through Urine
–> Indirect and incomplete
–> Like what world tells us about God
- Limited e.g. God’s Goodness is foremost, but world only has Goodness in secondary respect

Proper Proportion
-Humans poses God’s qualities as we are created in his image - but have qualities to a lesser proportion
- e.g. Cleverness of Scientist vs. Cleverness of Dog

Improper Proportion
- Analogy which doesn’t deal with proportional qualities

19
Q

Which Scholar created Models and Qualifiers + explain them?

A
  • Ian Ramsey - 20th Century

Models serve as a tool to help understand something e.g. model of a cell to explain cell structure
–> Only provides limited understanding
–> Models need a ‘qualifier’ (explanation) to explain gap between model and original
- Analogy is appropriate way of referring to God
–> given there is a qualifier

20
Q

Name the 4 critical Scholars for Aquinas Via Positiva + explain there points?

A
  • Karl Barth –> Only way to know God is through revelations, attempts to speak through analogy will fail
  • Richard Swinburn –> States it is an unecessary theory
    –> Can describe God and humans as ‘good’ unequivocally
    –> Humans and God possess Goodness in different ways, still same quality
  • St. Paul- Cannot describe God accurately until we ‘see’ him again
  • William Blackstone –> have to translate Aquinas analogies into univocal language before statements mean anything
    –> e.g. Have to know God’s love relates to human love to understand analogy
21
Q

What are the Disadvantages to Via Positiva? (3)

A
  • Evil exists in world - Could also be reflection of God (can use Privation of Good theodicy to resolve)
  • Proper Proportion Analogy - dispute weather humans were made in image and likeness of God
    –> Darwins theory of evolution

+ Positives of Via Negativa e.g. Anthropomorphises God, brings divine down to human levels

22
Q

Who is the main Scholar behind Symbolic Language for God? + differences between Sign + Symbol

A
  • Paul Tillich - 19th Century
  • Sign –> points to something, is a matter of convention
  • Symbol –> points to and participates in the thing is points to
23
Q

What does Tillich say are the key features of a Symbol?

A
  • 19th Century
    a) Point to something beyond themselves
    b) Participate in what they point to
    c) open levels of reality which otherwise would be closed
24
Q

Who proposed 4 functions of a symbol + explain functions?

A

J.H. Randall

  1. Motivating - fire up emotions and inspire people to action
  2. Socially bind people with same understanding of symbol
  3. Communication - of things that are not literal
  4. Disclosing. - reveal hidden depths about spiritual matters
25
Q

What are the Advantages to Symbolic Language? (3)

A
  • Universal - no translation limitations
  • Coincide with Analogy theory asserting inadequacy of Language
  • Guards Against Anthropomorphism
26
Q

Who are the critical Scholars for Symbolic language?

A
  • John Hick
    –> Called Tillichs ‘participation’ unclear - Argued there was little difference between a sign and a symbol
    –> Argues words we say do not participate in nature of God the way a flag does for a country
    –> Argues Aesthetics in RL are overemphasises + come at expense of valid modes of communication
  • John Macquarie - Tillichs use of symbol not consistent with current usage
    –> e.g. clouds are sign of rain - and have instruct connection with what is symbolises
27
Q

What is John Hicks view of Symbolic Language?

A
  • John Hick
    –> Called Tillichs ‘participation’ unclear - Argued there was little difference between a sign and a symbol
    –> Argues words we say do not participate in nature of God the way a flag does for a country
    –> Argues Aesthetics in RL are overemphasises + come at expense of valid modes of communication
28
Q

What is John Macquarie’s view on Symbolic Language?

A
  • John Macquarie
  • Tillichs use of symbol not consistent with current usage
    –> e.g. clouds are sign of rain - and have clear participation + connection with what is symbolises
29
Q

What are the Disadvantages to Symbolic Language? (2)

A
  • Meanings of symbols change over time e.g. Swastika from buddhist symbol of peace to representing Nazi ideology.
  • Meanings of symbols change depending on who views them e.g. hammer and sickle fear / oppression for some - hope/ unity for others
30
Q

What is an alternative Approach to RL by Soskice?

A
  • Jeant Soskice - Metaphor
  • Metaphors are vague which is an advantage
  • Maintains elusiveness of God (created by epistemic distance) while still referring to him

phil (9 decks)

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