Divine Action and the Challenges of Early Analytic Philosophy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Keen Interest ◽  
Critical Questions ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
Satisfactory Answer ◽  
Analytic Philosopher

In this chapter, after indicating how analytic philosophers developed a keen interest in the debate about divine action, the author explores the seminal work of analytic philosopher I. M. Crombie. The author contends that Crombie provided an elegant way of naming two critical questions about divine action; but he failed to develop a satisfactory answer to either of them. The problems he discussed quickly became the site of a concerted attack on the whole idea of divine action. The author shows that this attack fails, even as it prompted theologians to resort to paradox to keep divine action afloat as a serious option for theology.

scholarly journals The Spiritual Senses in Western Spirituality and the Analytic Philosophy of Religion

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41
Author(s):  
William J. Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
Spiritual Senses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Analytic Philosopher ◽  
Nelson Pike

The doctrine of the spiritual senses has played a significant role in the history of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox spirituality. What has been largely unremarked is that the doctrine also played a significant role in classical Protestant thought, and that analogous concepts can be found in Indian theism. In spite of the doctrine’s significance, however, the only analytic philosopher to consider it has been Nelson Pike. I will argue that his treatment is inadequate, show how the development of the doctrine in Puritan thought and spirituality fills a serious lacuna in Pike’s treatment, and conclude with some suggestions as to where the discussion should go next.

Michael Boym’s Medicus Sinicus: New Facts, Reflections, Conclusions

T oung Pao ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 448-472
Author(s):  
Edward Kajdański
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Keen Interest ◽  
Le Fort ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
The Many

Following the author’s previous work on reconstituting the transmission to Europe, disappearance, and eventual publication under other names of the Polish Jesuit Michael Boym’s manuscript work on Chinese medicine, this article recounts the recent discovery of some of these manuscripts. They are kept at the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow, and were originally part of the Chinese Library of the Elector of Brandenburg, where they were acquired from Dutch officials who had earlier bought them from the Jesuit Philippe Couplet (who had obtained them from Boym’s last companion). The complex story of these manuscripts’ travels documents the keen interest in Chinese medicine among the many competing European powers and institutions in the seventeenth century; it also shows that we should be careful in assessing whether the publication of Boym’s seminal work under other names was willful plagiarism, or a result of contemporary tensions and confusion.
Cet article fait suite aux travaux antérieurs de l’auteur sur la transmission en Europe, la disparition puis la publication sous d’autres noms des travaux manuscrits sur la médecine chinoise du jésuite polonais Michael Boym. Il relate la découverte récente d’une partie de ces manuscrits dans la bibliothèque Jagiellonienne à Cracovie, et montre qu’ils viennent de l’ancienne bibliothèque chinoise du Grand Electeur de Brandebourg, où ils ont été originellement acquis auprès d’officiers hollandais qui les avaient achetés auprès du jésuite Philippe Couplet, qui lui-même les avait obtenus du dernier compagnon de Boym à la mort de celui-ci. L’histoire complexe des voyages de ces manuscrits met en lumière le fort intérêt pour la médecine chinoise de la part des diverses puissances et institutions européennes du 17e siècle, alors en vive concurrence ; elle nous engage aussi à la prudence quant aux jugements que l’on peut porter sur la publication des travaux pionniers de Boym sous d’autres noms, qui doit autant aux tensions et confusions politiques du temps qu’à un plagiat intentionnel.


Divine Action and Divine Identity in Christianity and Islam

2021 ◽  
pp. 185-198
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Natural Theology ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Political Project ◽  
American Society ◽  
Divine Identity ◽  
Linguistic Philosophy

The chapter seeks to answer the question about whether the God Christians worship is the same as that of Islam. It argues that Christians and Muslims believe in the same God and under certain agreed descriptions worship the same God. It explores and defends this notion philosophically, in conversation with recent analytic philosophy, linguistic philosophy, and recent studies of the relation of Christianity and Islam. It offers a rejection of the author’s previous view that Christians and Muslims believe in the same God but worship different Gods. It concludes by analyzing the political and theological consequences of this view, and suggests a retrieval of a natural theology at the heart of the American political project to make more room for Muslims in American society.

The Turn to Theological Theology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Divine Agency ◽  
The Way

In this concluding chapter, the author provides a narrative of the argument laid out so far, and then takes up two contrasting objections to the role of conceptual analysis in debates about divine action. The first argues that the general disposition of analytic philosophy with respect to this debate is inappropriate; the second objection argues that the author has underestimated the resources available in analytic philosophy. In reply, the author argues that any theory of agency or action has inescapable limitations, and that the way forward involves a radical turn to theology: “theological theology.” The author contends that only such a turn will help us better understand divine agency and divine action.

Saving Divine Action within Later Analytic Philosophy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Concept Of God ◽  
Acting Agent

One of the most important philosophers who applied a concept of intentional action to God was William P. Alston. In this chapter, the author engages Alston’s proposals, and argues that even a robust notion of intentional action predicated of God yields very little when it comes to understanding claims about divine action that are of prime importance to the Christian tradition. The author also begins to query the concept of God as an acting agent. The author also indicates again how most philosophers commit themselves to a thin version of a doctrinal tradition even without explicitly stating it, and that the debate about divine action is better served by thick engagement with the Christian doctrinal tradition.

Epilogue

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Analytic Philosophy ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
Modern Period

The author briefly examines why “special” divine action came under fire in the modern period, and suggests that the problems with the contemporary debate about divine action in analytic philosophy rest upon core mistakes made during the modern period resulting from a disconnection with the Christian tradition. He raises again the need to engage with the Christian tradition to see what dividends it might pay for the contemporary debate. After giving a retrospective of the contributions of each chapter in this volume, he calls for theologians to take up the project of the epistemology of theology while maintaining their theological boldness.

A Court in Decline? Examining the Regality Court Records of Melrose, Roxburghshire, 1657–84

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Vivienne Dunstan
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Court Records ◽  
Seminal Work

McIntyre, in his seminal work on Scottish franchise courts, argues that these courts were in decline in this period, and of little relevance to their local population. 1 But was that really the case? This paper explores that question, using a particularly rich set of local court records. By analysing the functions and significance of one particular court it assesses the role of this one court within its local area, and considers whether it really was in decline at this time, or if it continued to perform a vital role in its local community. The period studied is the mid to late seventeenth century, a period of considerable upheaval in Scottish life, that has attracted considerable attention from scholars, though often less on the experiences of local communities and people.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document