philosophy

philosophy historically and as distinct from other disciplines

Essentials of Christian Thought, part 2

This post continues from part 1, here. One characteristic of the book is that the “essentials” or “metaphysics” that Roger E. Olson elucidates are somewhat buried among the text dealing with the competing alternatives. What follows are excerpts that focus on the essentials of Christian/biblical thought itself. A basic presupposition of this book is that […]

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Textual realism and anti-realism

Anti-realists always begin with reality – and reject it. Because, they argue, it is obscure, misleading, and subject to different interpretations. So anti-realists begin again, this time with an idea of theirs. Even materialists begin with an idea, the idea of materiality. Thus anti-realists substitute their ideas for reality. In contrast, realists begin with reality

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Modern metaphors

This continues the posts here and here based on George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s book Philosophy in the Flesh (Basic Books, 1999). Modern metaphors begin with René Descartes. Knowing is seeing: Visual Domain → Knowledge Domain Object Seen → Idea Seeing an Object Clearly → Knowing an Idea Person Who Sees → Person Who Knows

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Classical knowledge

As with a previous post here, this post looks at George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s Philosophy in the Flesh (1999). This time the focus is on what they call “folk theories” but I’m calling classical knowledge since these have become so ingrained in Western thought. Starting with chapter 16 they look principles that came out

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Causes and functions

This post continues other posts (see here and here) on the relevance of Aristotle’s four causal factors. Call the higher causes the final and formal causes, and the lower causes the efficient (mechanistic) and material causes. Aristotle argued that the upper causes are more important. Early scientists argued that we couldn’t know them regarding nature

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Pluralism

A previous post entitled Assertions contains the following “Motivating Example”: According to the Gospels, there was an inscription above Christ on the cross which said (in English translation): Matthew (27.37): “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. ” (ABD) Mark (15.27): “The King of the Jews.” (D) Luke (23.38): “This is the King of

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True, good, and beautiful

Harry Lee Poe, in See No Evil: The Existence of Sin in an Age of Relativism (Kregel, 2004), regarding the third chapter of Genesis writes: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food (the good), and pleasing to the eye (the beautiful), and was also desirable for gaining wisdom

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Is All Truth God’s Truth?

“All truth is God’s truth” is a common paraphrase of Augustine of Hippo’s writings, such as On Christian Doctrine, (II.18): “A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring

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Gentile Old Testaments

It is remarkable how the Apostles denied that Gentiles needed to follow the law of Moses, and put only a few restrictions on Gentile believers (Acts 15:28-29): 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered

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