Religious language knowledge Flashcards
what are the 4 problems with religious language?
- the problem of religious language for the concept of God
- sacred texts and religious pronouncements are unintelligible
- language is based on shared experience
- the difference between cognitive and non-cognitive language
what is language?
- form of communication, used by humans and can be both written and verbal
- most commonly accepted idea is that it developed through evolution
- as humans became more complex the need to communicate became greater
what’s religious language?
any form of language that makes reference to religious concepts, such as God, angels, heaven and hell
what is an example in the Bible and in the Qur’an of religious statements that are metaphysical in nature?
BIBLE: “Lamb of life”
QUR’AN: “the light of the heavens and the earth”
what is the name of AJ Ayer’s book?
Language, Truth and Logic
who applied the v.p to religious language?
AJ Ayer
who was the f.p put forward by?
Karl Popper- an Austrian philosopher
what are the 2 examples Karl Popper put forward to clarify his ideas in f.p?
- lang/ statements associated with gravity are meaningful
- lang/ statements associated with astrology are meaningless
who applies the f.p tp religious langauge?
Anthony Flew
what did Anthony Flew put forward in the f.p to clarify his ideas?
the parable of the gardener
What are the 3 challenges to v.p and who put forward the 3rd one?
- Historical statements are meaningless
- V.P fails its own test
- Post-mortem verification
Who are the 3 people that put forward challenges to f.p?
- Richard Hare
- Richard Swinburne
- Basil Mitchell
Who was one of the earliest contributors to analogical language and what’s the name of his book?
St Thomas Aquinas
‘Summa Theologica’
What 3 forms of language did Aquinas reject prior to his theory?
Via negativa
Univocal
Equivocal
What are the 2 additional points Aquinas puts forward to explain analogically language theory?
- the analogy of attribution
- the analogy of proportion
What does Aquinas call negative attributes in analogical language theory?
Vices
Whats an analogy?
A comparison between 2 similar things, to help explain and understand an idea
who was the other contributor to analogical language theory?
- Ian Ramsey
- and English philosopher
who was Ramsey influenced by?
Aquinas and his work on language being analogical
what 3 ideas was Ramsey’s theory based on?
- disclosures
- models
- qualifiers
what are the 3 challenges to analogical language theory?
- analogical language theory is meaningless
- David Hume- comparing 2 similar things
- Aquinas- evil and suffering caused by God
whats the quote that explains symbolism and who said it?
“symbolism is a pattern or object that points to a metaphysical reality” - Michal Dinkler
who is symbolic language theory associated with?
- Paul Tillich
- a German philosopher and a theologian
what are the 2 reasons Tillich puts forward in symbolic language theory for why religious people struggle to talk about and express their views about God?
- he is metaphysical and thus they have no experience of him
- human language is limited- a case of the finite human brain, talking about an infinite God
