Explanation and Mystery in Religion

1973 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37
Author(s):  
Keith Ward
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Central Place ◽  
The Other ◽  
Concept Of God ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Ultimate Explanation ◽  
Long Line ◽  
The Universe

It has often been claimed by philosophical theologians that the concept of God functions as an ‘ultimate explanation’ of the nature of the universe. In recent years, various theologians have regarded this notion of ‘ultimate explanation’ as one which has a central place in religious belief; and they construe the concept of God, at least in part, and sometimes mainly, as a concept which provides such an explanation. On the other hand, from the time of David Hume there has been a long line of eminent philosophers who have found the whole idea of an ultimate explanation—something which completely explains absolutely everything—an incoherent one, analogous to the idea of the square of a circle. I think it worth trying to explore the possibilities and limits of the notion, and attempting to assess its importance for religious belief. First, I will briefly sketch the notion as it is found in recent work, and then offer an analysis of the notion of ‘explanation’ in general. Finally, I will try to ascertain the nature and limits of the notion in religion.

Faith and Goodness

1989 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 167-191
Author(s):  
Eleonore Stump
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
The Other ◽  
Alvin Plantinga ◽  
Belief In God ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Richard Swinburne ◽  
The Relationship

Recent work on the subject of faith has tended to focus on the epistemology of religious belief, considering such issues as whether beliefs held in faith are rational and how they may be justified. Richard Swinburne, for example, has developed an intricate explanation of the relationship between the propositions of faith and the evidence for them. Alvin Plantinga, on the other hand, has maintained that belief in God may be properly basic, that is, that a belief that God exists can be part of the foundation of a rational noetic structure. This sort of work has been useful in drawing attention to significant issues in the epistemology of religion, but these approaches to faith seem to me also to deepen some long-standing perplexities about traditional Christian views of faith.

scholarly journals The Theory of the Large Scale Structure of the Universe

1978 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 409-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya B. Zeldovich
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Large Scale Structure ◽  
Scale Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Single Statement

The God-father of psychoanalysis Professor Sigmund Freud taught us that the behaviour of adults depends on their early childhood experiences. in the same spirit, the problem of cosmological analysis is to derive the observed present day situation and structure of the Universe from certain plausible assumptions about its early behaviour. Perhaps the most important single statement about the large scale structure is that there is no structure at all on the largest scale − 1000 Mpc and more. On this scale the Universe is rather uniform, structureless and isotropically expanding - just according to the simplified pictures of Einstein-Friedmann……. Humason, Hubble…. Robertson, Walker. On the other hand there is a lot of structure on the scale of 100 or 50 Mpc and less. There are clusters and superclusters of galaxies.

The avant-garde’s visual arts in the context of Santayana’s idea of vital liberty

Human Affairs ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Skowroński
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Visual Arts ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Universe

AbstractIn the present paper, the author looks at the political dimension of some trends in the visual arts within twentieth-century avant-garde groups (cubism, expressionism, fauvism, Dada, abstractionism, surrealism) through George Santayana’s idea of vital liberty. Santayana accused the avant-gardists of social and political escapism, and of becoming unintentionally involved in secondary issues. In his view, the emphasis they placed on the medium (or diverse media) and on treating it as an aim in itself, not, as it should be, as a transmitter through which a stimulating relationship with the environment can be had, was accompanied by a focus on fragments of life and on parts of existence, and, on the other hand, by a de facto rejection of ontology and cosmology as being crucial to understanding life and the place of human beings in the universe. The avant-gardists became involved in political life by responding excessively to the events of the time, instead of to the everlasting problems that are the human lot.

scholarly journals Is God a Phenomenon? A dialogue between Kierkegaard and Jean-Luc Marion

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wellington José Santana
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Present Article ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Concept Of God ◽  
Saturated Phenomenon ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Shed Light

The present article analyses critically the paradox of phenomenon claimed by Danish Philosopher Kierkegaard and Marion’s new concept named saturated phenomenon. While the concept of God, by definition, must surpass the realm of empiricism, perhaps the something may shed light over what God must be: Excess. However, Marion developed a new concept of phenomenon that not only occupies the immanence world, but also goes beyond. It is called saturated phenomenon. In order to address the question one might understand the limit of the givenness and then what does it mean saturated givenness. We probably all have had the sense of being overwhelmed by something and this can lead toward a sense of torpor or numbness. In the other hand, Kierkegaard affirms that God is so different than a human being, so totally other that we may think we’re right in demanding God make himself understood and be reasonable towards us. Kierkegaard upholds that we’re always dealing with God in the wrong way. I will argue that Marion, however, following phenomenological footsteps indicates a new path toward how to address God properly.   Key words: Paradox; Saturated phenomenon; freedom; Excess. 

scholarly journals « L’espace indicible »: conceptions et textualités

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickaël Labbé
Keyword(s):  
Le Corbusier ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Spiritual Experience ◽  
The Other ◽  
Architectural Theory ◽  
Mots Clés ◽  
The Past ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Experiential Quality

Résumé: La notion d’« espace indicible » occupe sans conteste une position centrale dans la théorie architecturale de Le Corbusier après 1945. Loin d’être un simple mot-valise ou un signifiant vide de sens, le concept d’espace indicible vise à penser le sommet de l’expérience esthétique et spirituelle dont est passible l’architecture, cela tant pour rendre compte de l’émotion plastique ressentie face aux chefs-d’œuvre du passé que pour décrire la qualité de l’expérience que l’architecte cherche à produire par ses propres œuvres. Ainsi, dans l’œuvre de Le Corbusier, l’expression « l’espace indicible » désigne non seulement un concept, mais également un ensemble textuel dans lequel la notion est thématisée et au travers duquel elle se constitue progressivement. L’objectif de cet article est double : d’une part, proposer une description des déterminations principales du contenu donné par Le Corbusier à la notion d’« espace indicible » ; d’autre part, à partir de l’examen des archives, faire le point sur les textes dans lesquels ce concept se formule. Abstract: The concept of “ineffable space” unquestionably occupies a central place in Le Corbusier's architectural theory after 1945. Far from being a portmanteau or a signifier devoid of meaning, the concept of ineffable space is aimed at conceiving the height of aesthetic and spiritual experience rendered possible by architecture. This is as much to realise plastic emotion felt in front of masterpiece from the past as to describe the experiential quality that the architect seeks to produce in his/her own work. Thus, in Le Corbusier’s oeuvre, the expression “ineffable space” not only denotes a concept but also a textual whole in which the concept is thematised and through which it is progressively constituted. The aim of this article is two-fold. On the one hand, I propose a description of the principle determinants of the content that Le Corbusier assigns to the concept of “ineffable space”, and on the other hand, analysing the archives, I wish to take stock of the texts in which this concept is formulated.  Mots-clés: Le Corbusier; espace indicible; théorie architecturale. Keywords: Le Corbusier; ineffable space; architectural theory. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/LC2015.2015.470

scholarly journals TEORI DIALOGISME BAKHTIN DAN KONSEP-KONSEP METODOLOGISNYA

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Fadlil Munawwar Manshur
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Universe

This paper discusses the theory advanced by Bakhtin about dialogism and methodological concepts. This theory to formulate the concept of human existence on the other, which is based on the idea that humans judge him from the viewpoint of others. Humans understand the moments of consciousness and take it into account through the eyes of others. According to this theory, the essence of human life is a dialogue. The Method of heteroglossia talks about signs in the universe of individuals because of the word "heteros" means "other" or different, while "glossia" means the tongue or language. In this method mentioned that people are saying needs to be heard, and the author also has the same rights that words need to be heard. A word is born from dialogue to address the problems of life. On the other hand, Bakhtin sees carnival method has spawned a new literary genre, the polyphonic novel. The polyphonic novel is a novel that is characterized by a plurality of voice or consciousness, and the voices or the overall awareness dialogical. Polyphonic essentially a "new theory of authorial viewpoint". Polyphonic appear in fiction when the position of the author freely allowed to interact with the characters. The characters in the novel are freely polyphonic appear to argue with each other and even with the author.

IV.—On some Freshwater Mollusca from the Pliocene Deposits of East Anglia

1911 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 401-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Kennard ◽  
B. B. Woodward
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
The Other ◽  
East Anglia ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Differences Of Opinion ◽  
Correct Determination

Non-marine Mollusca are extremely rare in the Pliocene deposits of this country, which fact must always be a matter of regret to the Palæontologist, since they are of the utmost importance in connexion with the origin of our present fauna. Unfortunately, in addition to their rarity, they are often decorticated or fragmentary, whence no doubt the differences in opinion as to their correct determination. A re-examination of all the available material has convinced us that there is still much to be done before it will be possible to reach finality. In these matters so much depends on one's standpoint. If one starts with the preconceived idea that the Pliocene shells must be identical with the recent forms, it is easy enough to identify them, even if one has to go to Japan or Greenland to find its present habitat. If, on the other hand, one considers it better to study carefully the results of recent work on other branches of the fauna, it is obvious that different results will be arrived at. Hence we are quite prepared for any differences of opinion as to the correctness of our views or the wisdom of creating four new species, as we now venture to do.

Ibn Bajja, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn as-Say’igh (d. 1138)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shams C. Inati
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Universe

Ibn Bajja’s philosophy may be summed up in two words; al-ittisal (conjunction) and al-tawahhud (solitude). Conjunction is union with the divine realm, a union that reveals the eternal and innermost aspects of the universe. Through this union or knowledge, one is completed as a human being, and in this completion the ultimate human end, happiness, is achieved. Solitude, on the other hand, is separation from a society that is lacking in knowledge. Once united with the eternal aspects of the universe, one must isolate oneself from those who are not in the same state, who may therefore distract one from the supernatural realm through their ignorance and corruption.

The false dichotomy of imagery

2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel J. T. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
The Other ◽  
Active Perception ◽  
Popular Belief ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Description Theory ◽  
False Dichotomy

Pylyshyn's critique is powerful. Pictorial theories of imagery fail. On the other hand, the symbolic description theory he manifestly still favors also fails, lacking the semantic foundation necessary to ground imagery's intentionality and consciousness. However, contrary to popular belief, these two theory types do not exhaust available options. Recent work on embodied, active perception supports the alternative perceptual activity theory of imagery.

Karl Barth's ecclesiology reconsidered

2004 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Healy
Keyword(s):  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Universe

The essay begins by noting some of the things Karl Barth might have said to defend himself against Stanley Hauerwas's criticisms, in the otherwise largely appreciative discussion in With the Grain of the Universe, of Barth's anthropology and pneumatology and the consequent problems in his ecclesiology. I then discuss some issues that Barth himself might have wanted to raise with regard to Hauerwas's own ecclesiology, especially in reference to its comparative lack of emphasis upon divine action and the difference that makes to an account of the church's witness. I argue that Barth and Hauerwas differ to some degree in their understanding of the gospel and of Christianity, with Hauerwas emphasizing rather more than Barth the necessity and centrality of the church's work in the economy of salvation. Barth, on the other hand, sees the need rather more than Hauerwas of situating the church's activity within a well-rounded account of the work of the Word and the Spirit. I offer some concluding remarks to suggest that this particular aspect of Barth's ecclesiology is worth preserving as an effective way of responding to modernity.

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