scholarly journals The aloneness argument against classical theism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
JOSEPH C. SCHMID ◽  
R. T. MULLINS
Keyword(s):  
Divine Simplicity ◽  
Classical Theism ◽  
The World ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Broad Outline

Abstract We argue that there is a conflict among classical theism's commitments to divine simplicity, divine creative freedom, and omniscience. We start by defining key terms for the debate related to classical theism. Then we articulate a new argument, the Aloneness Argument, aiming to establish a conflict among these attributes. In broad outline, the argument proceeds as follows. Under classical theism, it's possible that God exists without anything apart from Him. Any knowledge God has in such a world would be wholly intrinsic. But there are contingent truths in every world, including the world in which God exists alone. So, it's possible that God (given His omniscience) contingently has wholly intrinsic knowledge. But whatever is contingent and wholly intrinsic is an accident. So, God possibly has an accident. This is incompatible with classical theism. Finally, we consider and rebut several objections.

The Problem of Alternative Monotheisms: Another Serious Challenge to Theism

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-51
Author(s):  
Raphael Lataster
Keyword(s):  
Infinite Number ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
God Concept ◽  
Classical Theism ◽  
The World ◽  
Divine Transcendence ◽  
Hiddenness Of God

Theistic and analytic philosophers of religion typically privilege classical theism by ignoring or underestimating the great threat of alternative monotheisms.[1] In this article we discuss numerous god-models, such as those involving weak, stupid, evil, morally indifferent, and non-revelatory gods. We find that theistic philosophers have not successfully eliminated these and other possibilities, or argued for their relative improbability. In fact, based on current evidence – especially concerning the hiddenness of God and the gratuitous evils in the world – many of these hypotheses appear to be more probable than theism. Also considering the – arguably infinite – number of alternative monotheisms, the inescapable conclusion is that theism is a very improbable god-concept, even when it is assumed that one and only one transcendent god exists.[1] I take ‘theism’ to mean ‘classical theism’, which is but one of many possible monotheisms. Avoiding much of the discussion around classical theism, I wish to focus on the challenges in arguing for theism over monotheistic alternatives. I consider theism and alternative monotheisms as entailing the notion of divine transcendence.

scholarly journals Realities to be-come: on Cosmopolitics

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schillmeier
Keyword(s):  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
The Other ◽  
Felix Guattari ◽  
Possible World ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Isabelle Stengers ◽  
Key Terms

To assume that all things we want to describe – humans and non-humans alike – can be done so properly only in terms of 'societies', requires a contrast – a momentum of cosmopolitics – to the very abstract distinctions upon which our classical understanding of sociology and its key terms rests: 'The social' as defined in opposition to 'the non-social', 'society' in opposition to 'nature'. The concept of cosmopolitics tries to avoid such modernist strategy that A. N. Whitehead called 'bifurcation of nature' (cf. Whitehead 1978, 2000). The inventive production of contrasts names a cosmopolitical tool which does not attempt to denounce, debunk, replace or overcome abstract, exclusivist oppositions that suggest divisions as 'either…or'-relations. Rather, as the Belgian philosopher of science Isabelle Stengers stresses, 'the contrast will have to be celebrated in the manner of a new existent, adding a new dimension to the cosmos' (Stengers 2011: 513). Cosmopolitics, then, engages with 'habits we experiment with in order to become capable of new experiences' (Stengers 2001: 241) and opens up the possibility of agency of the non-expected Other, the non-normal, the non-human, the non-social, the un-common. 'The Other is the existence of a possible world', as Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari (1994: 17-18) have put it. It is 'the condition for our passing from one world to another. The Other (...) makes the world go by.'

scholarly journals A defense of the modern, high-tech redneck on reality TV: Why the world loves Duck Dynasty and its resulting redemptive representation of Rednecks

SURG Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Sarah McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
Reality Tv ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Television Studies ◽  
Southern Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Tv Show ◽  
Modern Form

This article uses key terms and concepts from Television Studies to “close read” the reality TV show Duck Dynasty in its visual form. This article questions not only how Duck Dynasty represents rednecks, but also how the representation of the “redneck” is understood by the TV audience. It explores the success of Duck Dynasty as a reality TV show and argues that it redeems “rednecks” from Hollywood’s previous portrayals of the overly caricatured redneck stereotype. The Robertsons have the ability to convey truth – even if it is through a partially fake/mediated realm – and what they actually represent is a more subdued, modern form of redneck identity in comparison to classic Hollywood depictions. However, viewers cannot trust reality TV to wholly or singularly inform how they understand other social groups despite how “real” reality may appear on reality TV shows. Instead of viewing the redneck jokes and portrayal on reality TV as offensive, Duck Dynasty’s jokes and portrayals can be powerful tools for exposing the absurdity of the stereotypes previously perpetuated by Hollywood and can help subvert them. Keywords: Duck Dynasty; Duck Commander; Buck Commander; Robertson; redneck (representations of); reality TV; television studies; hillbilly; Southern culture; stereotypes; sitcom; American dream; American television

Modesty in the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
pp. 20-46
Author(s):  
Thom Dancer
Keyword(s):  
Human Agency ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Narrative Form ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Critical Inquiry ◽  
Critical Engagement ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Aesthetic Expression

This chapter argues that modesty offers an alternative, legitimate model of critical engagement with a world defined by limited human agency and perpetual crisis in which we are irrevocably implicated. This argument is situated in the context of the profound changes in worldview entailed by what I call “Anthropocene thinking.” With this phrase, I signal a departure from solely environmental approaches to the Anthropocene, instead focusing on how the era unsettles conventional habits of aesthetic expression and critical inquiry. The second section offers a defence of “modesty” as opposed to other possible key terms (such as humility or generosity) by showing how critical modesty has a precursor in the style of William James’s pragmatism. The chapter offers a reading of literary and narrative form in the writing of Bruno Latour. Despite Latour’s growing popularity in literary studies, critics have tended to overlook the crucial function of form, style, and technique in his writing. Attending to Latour’s writing at a more granular level illustrates how a work can be formally modest about its position with respect to what it studies while also being critical, insofar as any redescription offers a contrasting account of the world. The chapter’s literary approach allows that the Latourian style of inquiry and novelistic discourse are up to the same kind of thing: attempting to make sharable a process of thinking that opens up conversation about the composition of our world.

scholarly journals Panentheisms, Creation and Evil

Open Theology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-181
Author(s):  
Robin Attfield
Keyword(s):  
Close Relation ◽  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Classical Theism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Problem Of Evil

Abstract Can panentheism cope with the problem of evil? This problem is often understood as one for classical theists, who maintain that the cosmos, together with its evils, was created by an all-powerful and benevolent God. For classical theists need to reconcile the world’s evils with divine creation. But corresponding problems re-emerge for theologies of both pantheistic and panentheistic kinds. Thus a problem arises for panentheists, with their teachings about a close relation between God and the cosmos. The closer the relation, the more intense the problem. Thus panentheists who regard the world as necessary to or part of God must hold that its evils are likewise necessary to or part of God. I explore in this paper whether panentheism can overcome the corresponding problem. This exploration involves sifting different varieties of panentheism. While for some varieties the problem is insoluble, this turns out to be less so for others, which retain central features of classical theism, while stressing interaction between God and the created world. In particular, grounds will be offered for holding that the version of panentheism put forward by Jürgen Moltmann and by Arthur Peacocke is defensible and can overcome this problem.

Classical Theism and the Doctrine of the Trinity

1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88
Author(s):  
Charles J. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Philosophical Theology ◽  
Divine Simplicity ◽  
Divine Nature ◽  
Classical Theism ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
The Trinity

It is well known that Augustine, Boethius, Anselm and Aquinas participated in a tradition of philosophical theology which determined God to be simple, perfect, immutable and timelessly eternal. Within the parameters of such an Hellenic understanding of the divine nature, they sought a clarification of one of the fundamental teachings of their Christian faith, the doctrine of the Trinity. These classical theists were not dogmatists, naively unreflective about the very possibility of their project. Aquinas, for instance, explicitly worried about and fought to dispel the seeming contradiction between the philosophical requirement of divine simplicity and the creedal insistence on a threefold personhood in God.1 Nevertheless, doubts abound. Philosophers otherwise friendly to Classical Theism (CT) still remain unsure about the coherence of affirming a God that is at once absolutely simple and triune.2 A less friendly critic has even suggested that the theory of divine simplicity pressured Augustine and his medieval followers away from recognizing that real complexity within the life of God which Trinitarianism expresses.3

Competitive strategies in the US theme park industry: a popular media perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tayllor Lillestol ◽  
Dallen J. Timothy ◽  
Rebekka Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Theme Parks ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Niche Markets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Terms

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the competitive strategies employed by two of the largest theme park operators in Florida, based on a content analysis of popular media articles about theme park giants in the USA. It aims to provide a comparative examination of their competitive strategies, to develop a conceptual model of the same and to expand knowledge about current competitiveness in the theme park sector. Design/methodology/approach – This study used directed content analysis to identify and analyze strategies applied in the theme park sector as manifested in the mass media. Each database was searched using the following four key terms: competition, strategy, Disney and Universal Studios. Results were screened for relevance based on their inclusion of all four key terms. At the conclusion of the search, 87 articles from 34 US-based sources were amassed, varying in circulation size and published between 1985 and 2013. Each article was read, and sentences that suggested the use of a strategy were recorded. Although the intention was to leave each data point at a one-sentence maximum, occasionally, a second sentence was included for context and clarification. Each article was read twice to ensure the inclusion of all potential data points. Findings – The findings suggest that the largest US-based theme parks utilize strategies of value, uniqueness, niche markets, innovation, variety and quality as highlighted in the research literature. However, this study also confirms two additional competitive strategies that have heretofore not been examined in tourism studies – currency and convenience – as advantageous management and promotional mechanisms against their competitors. Research limitations/implications – Limitations to this research include a limited number of popular media articles available for analysis. This precluded a random sample of articles. In addition, the study was based on print media statements and keyword identification, which could also limit the generalizability of the findings. Nonetheless, it is believed that the case studies researched in this paper are indicative of many of the competitive strategies used by theme park managers throughout the world. Practical implications – The paper developed a competitive strategy model that has utility for them park planners and managers, as they attempt to understand the competitive advantages and those of their direct competitors. The findings in this study have broader implications for other theme parks throughout the world. Social implications – The social implications of this study are manifold. They include the notion that theme park attendees manifest certain behaviors and seek out certain experiences as they make decisions on which parks to attend. The notions of value, uniqueness, niche markets, innovation, variety, quality, currency and convenience all reveal how some consumers determine their choice of venue for recreational travel. Originality/value – This paper provides an original research of the theme park sector by examining two of the USA’s largest theme park giants and the strategies they use in a comparative and competitive manner to attraction clientele and maintain visitation. In particular, the paper develops a conceptual model based upon the review of strategies literature and, then, tests it and modifies it based on the findings of the study.

scholarly journals ILMU MENDIDIK TEORETIS: BIJAK DALAM BERMEDIA SOSIAL

MOTORIC ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Bustomi Arifin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Educational Science ◽  
Critical Attitude ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Descriptive Method

Social media today is a medium that many access by almost all levels of society in Indonesia. This is because almost all levels of society can easily access social media. Ease in social media makes all the people of Indonesia easy to receive information from all over Indonesia and the world. Ease in accessing social media and the opening of information gates through social media encourages the birth of irresponsible elements by disseminating information that is inconsistent with the reality. The issue is growing rapidly among the people of Indonesia, it is given the lack of selective and critical attitude of the people of Indonesia in receiving information contained in social media. Negative impacts that may arise may arise related to selective and critical attitude in receiving information on social media is the diminution of national resilience values. The above issues become the basis of reference for authors in compiling this article. It uses the descriptive method of analysis by using an understanding that Prof. Driyakarna is theoretical educational science. It is expected to encourage Indonesian people to be more selective and critical of information spread across various social media. Key Terms: Social Media, Indonesian Society, Selective, Theoretical Educational Science

scholarly journals Law–Space Nexus, Global Governance, and Global Administrative Law

2019 ◽  
pp. 327-345
Author(s):  
Ming-Sung Kuo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Legal Pluralism ◽  
The United States ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Project Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Constitutionalism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Argument Proceeds

This chapter sheds light on the multinational research project approach to global governance, which is known as global administrative law (GAL), with a focus on the unease GAL has expressed with its own constitutional implications. The argument proceeds as follows. First, it is explained why GAL’s approach to global governance echoes the history of responding to the emergence of modern administrative agencies with administrative law in the United States. It is also noted that GAL reframes the world of national legal orders as a ‘global administrative space’. Second, it is shown that GAL turns to the idea of ‘publicness’ to address the dual challenge of legality and legitimacy and the question of legal pluralism arising from the heterogeneity of global governance. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of the unsettled relationship between GAL and global constitutionalism.

scholarly journals Narrative Approach To Living Heritage

2021 ◽  
pp. 126-138
Author(s):  
Nigel Walter
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Historic Buildings ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Religious Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Radical Discontinuity ◽  
Argument Proceeds

This paper attempts to sketch out a theoretical framework that addresses the particular needs of living heritage. ICCROM has been at the forefront of developing a conservation practice which addresses the concerns of living heritage such as religious and pilgrimage sites (e.g. Wijesuriya 2015; Wijesuriya, Thompson, and Court 2017), and others have considered the implications for the conservation process (e.g. Poulios 2014). However, to date there has been no attempt to develop a theoretical foundation for these practices. In place of the still-dominant understanding (at least as encountered in much Western practice) of historic buildings as primarily art-historical, this paper proposes a narrative approach that allows the site or building to remain within its cultural/religious context, including an acceptance of ongoing change. While the argument proceeds from Western sources, it invites dialogue with complementary understandings of the working of tradition from other regions of the world.   Any theoretical model for living heritage must address the central question of how living buildings endure between generations, that is, their continuity between past, present and future. Since modernity entails a commitment to a radical discontinuity with the past, such an approach must engage with the resources of premodernity to develop (or perhaps return to) a non-modern understanding of tradition as developmental and creative (Author, 2017). The principal sources used in the investigation of this proposed narrative approach include Alasdair MacIntyre’s rehabilitation of tradition, Hans-Georg Gadamer’s development of philosophical hermeneutics and Paul Ricoeur’s work on narrative and time.

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