RL: VIA POSITIVA Flashcards
What approach does the via positiva take?
Approaches religious language using positive terms.
What does Aquinas say about the via positiva?
That we cannot say anything positive that is literally true of God, through the use of ordinary human language.
What term did Aquinas use?
Via eminentiae
What does the term via eminentiae mean?
What we say of God, and indeed what we know of God, is only partial.
What are the two types of analogical language?
Univocal and equivocal language.
What is univocal language?
Sometimes we use words for two different things in a way that is univocal.
What is equivocal language?
Same words used in different ways.
What other ways do we use language?
In a way that is analogical.
When do we use analogical language?
We use this kind of language in all sorts of context, as well as in religious language.
What are the two main types of analogy according to Aquinas?
- Analogy of attribution.
- Analogy of proportionality.
What is the analogy of attribution?
Casual relationship between the two things, Aquinas thought that it was important when we speak of God to remember that we are using analogy.
What is the analogy of proportionality?
Where words relate to objects that are different in proportion.
What does Hick argue about the cataphatic way?
“We sometimes say of a pet dog that it is faithful, and we may also describe a man as faithful.”
What does Hick state about the analogy of proportion?
“there is a quality that corresponds to what at the human level we call faithfulness.”
