Lecture 4: Philosophical and Theological Approaches 1 Flashcards
what are the 4 general stages of studying religion
premodern
modern
stage 3
post modern
what is included in stage one
theology and philosophy
classical and contemporary forms of theology and philosophy
what is included in stage 2
social sciences and history
classical and contemporary forms of social-scientific and historical analysis
what is included in stage 3
phenomenology
classical and contemporary phenomenologies of religion
what is included in stage 4
post-structuralism
contemporary forms of “ideology” critique
“Academic” study of religion begins with what
philosophical and theological speculation
what is Basicform of Academic” study of religion
Wisdomattainedthroughrationality
what does philosophia mean
loveof wisdom
to be a human is to be what
rational (aka Aristotle’s definition of human bein)
what is zoon logon echon
Aristotle’s definition of human being
what are the Key elements of The Philosophical Approach
Logical thinking
• Ascetic practice (“self-discipline”)
• Cultivation of moral virtues
• Mind’s relationship to the cosmos
what is Ascetic practice
self-discipline
for the The Philosophical Approach, Divide between what is particular to the West
Divide between “reason” (philosophy) and “faith” (religion) is particular to the West
when does the Divide between “reason” (philosophy) and “faith” (religion) is particular to the West begin
Begins with the early Greeks and peaks by the time of the Enlightenment (18th century).
do eastern cultures have the same Divide between “reason” (philosophy) and “faith” (religion) as the west
Eastern cultures don’t have such a split
what are the eastern words for “religion”or“philosophy”
they do not have words
what is “Darshana”
viewpoint, perspective, worldview
word associated with the eastern cultures and their lack of words for religion and philosophy
Why the Western emphasis on philosophical approach
“[T]here has been insufficient work on collating the history of Eastern
reflections on the human religious impulse” (R&H, p. 20)
The desire to cordon off thought from objects of study in the West (to develop a “discipline” separate from the “phenomena” it investigates) led to a unilinear development that isn’t as easily identifiable in a worldview (darshana) that doesn’t divide the world up in those terms
The study of religion, its categories and distinctions, grow from a Western concern to understand aspects of reality “separate” from one another
what were Early thinking of philosophical approaches
Speculation as “mythopoetic,” storytelling:
• Cosmogonies (stories about world origins)
• Hesiod (c.700sBCE): narrates about the gods, their origins and correlations with nature, natural forces, depicting their interaction with the cosmos in terms of a steady decline and ages of strife.
• Similar ideas in Eastern darshanas (Hindu“religious”texts,the Vedas, for example) that correlate divine powers with the natural world and cycles of time (yugas) marked by progressive deterioration. Interestingly, some of the gods share names and attributes with Greek counterparts (e.g., the Vedic god Varuna, associated with the sky, is cognate with the Greek god Ouranos/Uranus).
what was Early Greek thinking (regard to The Philosophical Approach)
Pre-Socratic philosophers (6th century BCE): shift from the mythopoetic to the “conceptual.”
Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. “Naturalistic” expression of divine influence in the world. The gods = water, air, fire, etc.
• Anaximander (c.610-546BCE): the apeiron (formless essence), ineffable source, gives rise to the dualities we experience (hot/cold, wet/dry, etc.). Similar ideas appear in early Vedic texts (the Upanishads).
• e.g. Brahmin in Hindu traditions, from which all things emerge, and the Dao in early Daoism, from which all duality (Yin and Yang) emerges and returns.
what is meant by “Naturalistic” expression of divine influence
The gods = water, air, fire, etc
when did Anaximander live
610-546BCE
what is the apeiron
formless essence
what did Anaximander think
the apeiron (formless essence), ineffable source, gives rise to the dualities we experience (hot/cold, wet/dry, etc.). Similar ideas appear in early Vedic texts (the Upanishads
