Knowledge Organiser Unit 4.1 Analogy and Symbol -P

Religious Language -Analogy and Symbol

Key Words -

The Apophatic Way
Via Negativa
The Cataphatic Way
Analogous Language
Symbols
Signs
Myths
Univocal Language
Equivocal Language

OTHER

The Analogy of Attribution
The Analogy of Proportion
non-cognitive
functions
coherence theory
antirealism motivation
social communication
clarification disclosure
ultimate concern
collective unconscious

Key Scholars

St. Thomas Aquinas (1223CE – 1274CE)

Moses Maimonides (1135CE – 1204CE)

Richard Swinburne (1934CE – Present)

Paul Tillich (1886CE – 1965CE)

Key Texts

Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas

The Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich Language,

Truth and Logic by A. J. Ayer

Context

There is an ongoing debate about how religious language should be interpreted
Firstly, there is the debate about whether it is cognitive (literally true) or non-cognitive (metaphorical)
Secondly, there is the debate about whether descriptions of God are univocal (the words about God mean that same as about people) or equivocal (the words about God mean something completely different)

Analogous Language

One of the most famous attempts to explain religious language is from St. Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas argued that descriptions of God could not be univocal as this would anthropomorphise God
Nor could descriptions be equivocal because if they were, God is just a “unknowable quality”
Thus, Aquinas attempts to put forward a middle way he calls Analogous Language. This is when a word is used in a similar but not exactly the same way Tr

Strengths

We use analogous language in other situations

- EXAMPLE: We use analogous language in poetry such as “snow fell like a blanket”

Aquinas explains two ways analogies works with examples

Analogy of Proportionality: We use a word proportionately in different contexts (i.e. A clever toddler and a clever scientists)
Analogy of Attribution: We use a word when something gets it quality from something else (ie. A healthy town being full of healthy people)

Weaknesses

Richard Swinburne: Aquinas’ account of analogous language is really just univocal language is disguise

Swinburne has argued that Aquinas is basically saying that the words applied to God just mean difficult levels of the same quality
This is therefore just univocal language and so reduces God to human levels

Via Negativa

Based on the concern that trying to describe God positively causes too many problems, Via Negativa was put forward instead
Moses Maimonides argued that we can build up a partial understanding of what God is like by stating what he is not

Strengths

Peter Cole: It avoids the problems of other interpretations

Peter Cole highlights that the main strength of via negativa is that it avoids all the problems associated with all other interpretations (i.e. it doesn’t anthropomorphise God

Pseudo_Dionysius: It recognises the transcendent nature of God

Dionysius argued it is impossible to describe God because God is transcendent. Via Negativa recognises this

Weaknesses

Antony Flew: You may as well be an atheist ▪ Flew argued that you might as well be an atheist as they agree with all via negative descriptions of God. They just add one more, God doesn’t exist. Via Negativa contradicts most religious texts ▪ Lots of holy texts do describe God positively such as “God is shepherd”

Symbolic Language

A more recent understanding of religious language is that it is symbolic. This view is supported by Paul Tillich
Tillich disguinishes between signs and symbols. A sign represents something else whereas a symbol participates in a metaphysic reality o
- EXAMPLES: A green light is a sign because it represents ‘Go’ but the actual colour doesn’t matter. By contrast, the British Flag is a symbol because the flat itself evokes patriotism that would be lost if we changed the flag
Tillich argued that religious language was symbolic because it uses symbols as shortcuts to help people understand what God is like when it cannot really be put into words

Strengths

There are clear examples of symbolic language in the Bible
Jesus is often described symbolically in the Bible (i.e. as a shepherd, the light, the way etc) Rudolf Bultman: Many people argue that the stories are symbolic myths
- EXAMPLE: Noah’s Ark tells you God cares for all creation and not that an actual flood happened

Weaknesses

Antony Flew: Religion dies the death of a thousand qualifications

Symbolic interpretations of the bible is a relatively new thing theists have done because science now contradicts the literal interpretation.

John Hick: Symbolic language might lose its meaning

Hick argued that symbolic language can change its symbolic meaning in different contexts
He has argued that since the Bible was written a long time ago, the symbolic meaning may now be lost

Key arguments/debates

Some suggest that religious language is not just about making factual, ‘truth’ claims, but has numerous functions that verification and falsification neglect.
Other argue that religious believers do try to make cognitive claims about God and so must be subject to the same scrutiny as any other language

Key Questions

Does religious language mean anything?
Does logical positivism offer a persuasive criterion for meaningful language?
Do religious believers really allow nothing to count against their claims?

Key Quotes

‘‘The cultural functions of religion and of science are so different that it is difficult to see how… they can seriously compete. Both functions are clearly indispensable.’ (Randall)
‘Man’s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate. (Tillich)

Possible Exam Questions

Section A

Examine ideas about analogical language.
Assess the verification debate with regards to religious language.

Section B

3a Clarify the ideas illustrated in this passage about falsification in religious language.

3b Analyse the implications for religious language from this passage.

Section C

Evaluate the view that religious language is meaningful is understood correctly.

Knowledge-Sheet---Religious-Langauge Analogy Symbol

a-level-philosophy-c2-t4-c.pdf

a-level-philosophy-c2-t4-d.pdf

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