Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L. Kvanvig

The philosophy of religion became a recognizable subdiscipline in philosophy in the mid- to late 20th century, together with other notable subdisciplines such as the philosophy of science and the philosophy of language. Work in the philosophy of religion has always been present in the history of philosophy, but prior to the 20th century, it tended to be embedded in larger philosophical projects. By the mid-20th century, however, the process of specialization in philosophy led to an identifiable subfield with identifiable specialists in the area. This subfield can be roughly characterized in terms of its epistemological and metaphysical aspects. On the epistemological side are the various attempts to demonstrate or prove God’s existence (e.g., the classic ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments) or nonexistence (e.g., the problem of evil) and the discussions of what is required for an adequate demonstration or proof, and there are further discussions of whether a proof or demonstration is needed in order for belief in God to be rational or justified. Included in the latter area is the large question of the degree to which one’s intellectual life ought to be guided by purely truth-related concerns or whether pragmatic concerns are legitimate factors in determining not only how to act but also what to think. On the metaphysical side are controversies about a proper conception of the nature of God, both about specific characteristics of God such as omnipotence, omniscience, simplicity, eternity, and moral perfection, and also about what general approach to the issue of the nature of God is appropriate (e.g., whether a process conception is preferable to a perfect being conception). There is also the question of God’s relationship to the world, both in terms of creation and providential control, and the related issue of whether miracles are possible and whether it is ever reasonable to believe that one has occurred. Finally, there is the further question of the significance of religious language itself, whether sense can be made of talking about a being and realms of reality that are difficult to account for in terms of empirical acquaintance and, if so, exactly what precise account can be given of the content of such language.

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Vladimir Shaidurov

The period between the 19th – early 20th century witnessed waves of actively forming Polish communities in Russia’s rural areas. A major factor that contributed to the process was the repressive policy by the Russian Empire towards those involved in the Polish national liberation and revolutionary movement. Large communities were founded in Siberia, the Volga region, Caucasus, and European North of Russia (Arkhangelsk). One of the largest communities emerged in Siberia. By the early 20th century, the Polonia in the region consisted of tens of thousands of people. The Polish population was engaged in Siberia’s economic life and was an important stakeholder in business. Among the most well-known Polish-Siberian entrepreneurs was Alfons Poklewski-Koziell who was called the “Vodka King of Siberia” by his contemporaries. Poles, who returned from Siberian exile and penal labor, left recollections of their staying in Siberia or notes on the region starting already from the middle of the 19th century. It was this literature that was the main source of information about the life of the Siberian full for a long time. Exile undoubtedly became a significant factor that was responsible for Russia’s negative image in the historical memory of Poles. This was reflected in publications based on the martyrological approach in the Polish historiography. Glorification of the struggle of Poles to restore their statehood was a central standpoint adopted not only in memoirs, but also in scientific studies that appeared the second half of the 19th – early 20th century. The martyrological approach dominated the Polish historiography until 1970s. It was not until the late 20th century that serious scientific research started utilizing the civilizational approach, which broke the mold of the Polish historical science. This is currently a leading approach. This enables us to objectively reconstruct the history of the Siberian Polonia in the imperial period of the Russian history. The article is intended to analyze publications by Polish authors on the history of the Polish community in Siberia the 19th – early 20th century. It focuses on memoirs and research works, which had an impact on the reconstruction of the Siberian Polonia’s history. The paper is written using the retrospective, genetic, and comparative methods.re.


Author(s):  
Norman Etherington

Christianity came very early to Africa, as attested by the Gospels. The agencies by which it spread across North Africa and into the Kingdom of Aksum remain largely unknown. Even after the rise of Islam cut communications between sub-Saharan Africa and the churches of Rome and Constantinople, it survived in the eastern Sudan kingdom of Nubia until the 15th century and never died in Ethiopia. The documentary history of organized missions begins with the Roman Catholic monastic orders founded in the 13th century. Their evangelical work in Africa was closely bound up with Portuguese colonialism, which both helped and hindered their operations. Organized European Protestant missions date from the 18th-century evangelical awakening and were much less creatures of states. Africa was a particular object of attention for Evangelicals opposed to slavery and the slave trade. Paradoxically this gave an impetus to colonizing ventures aimed at undercutting the moral and economic foundations of slavery in Africa. Disease proved to be a deadly obstacle to European- and American-born missionaries in tropical Africa, thus spurring projects for enrolling local agents who had acquired childhood immunity. Southern Africa below the Zambezi River attracted missionaries from many parts of Europe and North America because of the absence of the most fearsome diseases. However the turbulent politics of the region complicated their work by restricting their access to organized African kingdoms and chieftaincies. The prevalent mission model until the late 19th century was a station under the direction of a single European family whose religious and educational endeavors were directed at a small number of African residents. Catholic missions acquired new energy following the French Revolution, the old Portuguese system of partnership with the state was displaced by enthusiasm for independent operations under the authority of the Pope in Rome. Several new missionary orders were founded with a particular focus on Africa. Mission publications of the 19th and 20th centuries can convey a misleading impression that the key agents in the spread of African Christianity were foreign-born white males. Not only does this neglect the work of women as wives and teachers, but it diverts attention from the Africans who were everywhere the dominant force in the spread of modern Christianity. By the turn of the 20th century, evangelism had escaped the bounds of mission stations driven by African initiative and the appearance of so-called “faith missions” based on a model of itinerant preaching. African prophets and independent evangelists developed new forms of Christianity. Once dismissed as heretical or syncretic, they gradually came to be recognized as legitimate variants of the sort that have always accompanied the acculturation of religion in new environments. Decolonization caught most foreign mission operations unawares and required major changes, most notably in the recruitment of African clergy to the upper echelons of church hierarchies. By the late 20th century Africans emerged as an independent force in Christian missions, sending agents to other continents.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-60
Author(s):  
Thuy Trung Luu

In the history of Vietnamese drama, Saigon was one of the places absorbing Western drama from the early time. Although drama in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City didn’t develop in a smooth and straight way, it was a continuous and unbroken process. This process brought in strong development of drama in Ho Chi Minh city in two decades of the late 20th century and the early 21st century. However, in recent years, drama in Ho Chi Minh City seems to proceed slowly, which reflects some irrational aspects from drama script, performance art to performance operation. Therefore, it’s high time to review the whole history of drama in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City to collect experiences for the steady development of drama in this City in the future.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 783
Author(s):  
Sandoval Antunes de Souza

O siqueirismo se tornou um derivativo de uma palavra que era comum desde a criação do Estado nos meios políticos. Com a configuração de um grupo político praticamente hegemônico no Tocantins, os políticos, sejam deputados, prefeitos, vereadores e senadores ligados ao grupo de Siqueira Campos eram chamados de siqueiristas. Desta forma objetivamos fazer uma análise do siqueirismo comparativamente a outras formas de dominação, na perspectiva weberiana, no Brasil contemporâneo. O interesse é pontuar, em um recorte deliberado de algumas formas de poder que possam servir à percepção do que é o siqueirismo no Tocantins e compará-lo com outros personagens da política brasileira na segunda metade do século XX.   PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Tocantins; siqueirismo; dominação; política.     ABSTRACT Siqueirism has become a derivative of a word that was common in political circles since the creation of Tocantins state. With the configuration of a practically homogeneous political group in Tocantins, the politicians that were affiliated to Siqueira Campos were called “siqueiristas”, whether they were congressmen, mayors, councilman or senators. Thus, we aim to make an analysis of siqueirismo with respect to other forms of domination in contemporary Brazil using a Weberian perspective. Our interest is to point which forms of power can be used to built a perception of what is siqueirism and compare it to other political characters from Brazilian history of the mid-late 20th century.   KEYWORDS: Tocantins; siqueirism; domination; politics.     RESUMEN El siqueirismo se convirtió en un derivado de una palabra que era común desde la creación del Estado en los círculos políticos. Con la configuración de un grupo político prácticamente hegemónica en Tocantins, los políticos son diputados, alcaldes, concejales y senadores vinculados al grupo de Siqueira Campos fueron llamados siqueiristas. De esta manera se pretende analizar la siqueirismo en comparación con otras formas de dominación, en la perspectiva de Weber, en el Brasil contemporáneo. El interés es anotar en un corte deliberado de algunas formas de poder que puede servir a la percepción de lo que se siqueirismo en Tocantins y compararlo con otros personajes de la política brasileña en la segunda mitad del siglo XX.     PALABRAS CLAVE: Tocantins; Siqueirismo; Dominación; Política.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco W. Gericke

J.H. le Roux had a passion for philosophy. His writings contain recourse to the history of philosophy in a way that bespeaks a deep underlying interest in the subject. This much is relatively well-known. This contribution, by contrast, aims at reconstructing something hitherto mostly covert: Le Roux�s philosophy of religion. Of interest is what his writings presuppose about the nature of religion, religious language, the nature of God, the existence of God, religious epistemology, the relation between religion and morality and the problem of religious pluralism.


Author(s):  
Iurii Eduardovich Serov

The research subject is the scope of symphonic works of an outstanding Russian composer of the late 20th century Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (1939 - 2010). The article continues a brief analysis of all 17 symphonies of the composer, and considers his works of the 1980s - the 2000s: French Symphony, Pushkin Symphony, Dante Symphonies, and Symphonies No 7, 8, 9.  The author considers in detail such aspects of the topic as Tishchenko’s innovatory role in the renewal of Russian symphonism of the second half of the 20th century, the interrelation between and poetry in his large orchestra compositions, the significant impact of literary concepts on the development of his symphonism. Special attention is given to Tishchenko succeeding to the great Russian symphonic tradition. The main idea of the article is that Tishchenko is one of the few in his generation who remained committed to the genre of a large “pure” symphony and succeeded to his genius teacher D. Shostakovich. A special author’s contribution to the development of the topic is a detailed consideration of all symphonic works by Tischenko. Such a research has never been held in the history of Russian music before. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author proves a close connection between Tishchenko’s symphonism with his time and the controversial cultural and social processes suffered by the composers of the sixties.  


Author(s):  
Oleg Gorelov

The article provides an overview of key studies of surrealist musicality, highlights the problem of non-acceptance by surrealism of music media, focuses on a historical discussion of the semantics and reality of sound itself as a phenomenon. It also analyzes the basic principles for the implementation of the surrealist antimusicality in the newest Russian poetry. Anti-musicality is now recognized as the principle of working with sound, bypassing the composer, audial culture, based on ideas about harmony and composition. It is in this anti-musical meaning that the musical code is used in poetic practices of the late 20th century, which destroy the reference narrative and overcome the principles of the classic surrealistic collage. The innovative poetic practice conceptualizes not so much ordered repetitive fragments of a statement as a pause between them, a silence. Such a quantization of aesthetic matter returns reflection to the theoretical horizon of understanding the medium, reduced to its physical foundation in order to further overcome it


2009 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Mikkonen

In this paper, my aim is to show that in Anglo-American analytic aesthetics, the conception of narrative fiction is in general realistic and that it derives from philosophical theories of fiction-making, the act of producing works of literary narrative fiction. I shall firstly broadly show the origins of the problem and illustrate how the so-called realistic fallacy – the view which maintains that fictions consist of propositions which represent the fictional world “as it is” – is committed through the history of philosophical approaches to literature in the analytic tradition. Secondly, I shall show how the fallacy that derives from the 20th Century philosophy of language manifests itself in contemporary analytic aesthetics, using Peter Lamarque and Stein Haugom Olsen’s influential and well-known Gricean make-believe theory of fiction as an example. Finally, I shall sketch how the prevailing Gricean make-believe theories should be modified in order to reach the literary-fictive use of language and to cover fictions broader than Doyle’s stories and works alike.


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