Description
Book SynopsisThis text provides a lively introduction to the developments in philosophy of language in this century, and to the way these have impinged upon religious language. Included is the relevance of analytical philosophy of language, but the text also covers important historical debates about religious language that have had increasing impact upon biblical studies and theology.
Trade Review"This is an excellent critical survey of the modern philosophy of language in general, and of religious language in particular, deftly set against the background of its traditional forerunners. It is readable, colourful, and richly informative, without being simplistic or sweeping in its descriptions and judgements."
Steven Kings, Reviews in Religion and Theology "Dan Stiver offers, for "tose coming to these topics for the first time", a useful map to an academic (sub)discipline called philosophy of religious language." Brian Davies, Anglican Theological Review
Table of ContentsPreface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Introduction 1
The Linguistic Turn in Philosophy 4
The Linguistic Turn in Religion 6
Philosophical Foundations 8
2 Historical Approaches to Religious Language 14
Three Traditional Ways 15
The negative way 16
The Univocal way 20
The Analogical way 23
The Universal Controversy 29
Literal and Allegorical Exegesis 31
3 The Falsification Challenge 37
The Early Wittgenstein 37
Logical Positivism 42
The Falsification Challenge 47
4 Language Game 59
The Later Wittgenstein 59
Religious Language as Noncognitive 67
Wittgenstein on religion 67
Wittgensteinian fideism 69
Religious Language as Cognitive 72
John Wisdom 73
Ian T. Ramsey 74
Ian Crombie 78
Speech-act Theory 79
Austin 80
McClendon and Smith 82
5 Hermeneutical Philosophy 87
From Religious to General Hermeneutics 87
Ontological Hermeneutics 90
Critical Hermeneutics 96
Ricoeur and Critical Hermeneutics 100
Reader-response Theory 107
6 Metaphor, Symbol and Analogy 112
Metaphor as Ornamental 113
Metaphor as Cognitive 114
Symbol and Analogy 122
Metaphor in Exegesis 127
Metaphor in Theology 129
7 Narrative Theology 134
The Chicago School 135
The Yale School 139
Hans Frei 140
George Lindbeck 145
Ronald Thiemann 150
The California School 154
James Wm McClendon Jr 154
Michael Goldberg 155
Terrence Tilley 159
8 Structuralism and Poststructuralism 163
Structuralism 163
De Saussure’s influence on Structuralism 163
Structuralist thinkers 166
Critique 171
Structuralism in Religious Studies 173
Ricoeur 174
Thiselton 175
Patte 177
Crossan and Via 178
Poststructuralism 180
Derrida 181
Foucault 184
Critique 186
Poststructuralism in Religious Studies 188
9 Conclusion: A Changing Paradigm 193
Reducing the Contrasts 194
A Changing Paradigm 197
Religious Language and Truth 201
Notes 206
Recommended Reading 246
Index 251
