Comments on: Theologians, take heed! http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/ "Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" - Blaise Pascal Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:52:45 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Eric Lee http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/#comment-16808 Eric Lee Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:33:08 +0000 http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/#comment-16808 Oh yeah, and on the note about Heidegger as well as Marion, Marion does this thing in his <i>God Without Being</i> (from what I've been told) where he criticizes Thomas Aquinas for being an onto-theologian (another favorite field-clearing word, which does have its uses nonetheless). It appears he was a bit too giddy to criticize Aquinas on this score, as Marion later published a paper recanting/modifying his earlier position a bit. I forget what it was called, but Cynthia Nielsen blogged about it over on her <a href="http://percaritatem.com" rel="nofollow">blog</a> not too long ago. Oh yeah, and on the note about Heidegger as well as Marion, Marion does this thing in his God Without Being (from what I’ve been told) where he criticizes Thomas Aquinas for being an onto-theologian (another favorite field-clearing word, which does have its uses nonetheless). It appears he was a bit too giddy to criticize Aquinas on this score, as Marion later published a paper recanting/modifying his earlier position a bit. I forget what it was called, but Cynthia Nielsen blogged about it over on her blog not too long ago.

]]> By: Eric Lee http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/#comment-16807 Eric Lee Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:30:14 +0000 http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/#comment-16807 Good points and great post. Indeed, I took a class on Heidegger, Levinas, and Derrida last semester, and there was this bizarre tendency among some to disregard anything that smelled like "metaphysics," because the entire history of philosophy forgot about the question of the meaning of being -- supposedly! ehem, I like metaphysics! (And, I don't think that was Heidegger's point.) I'm supposed to be reading van Inwagen, myself, by the end of October for my Metaphysics and Epistemology class; should be good times. My prof is a huge fan of his. Peace, Eric Good points and great post.

Indeed, I took a class on Heidegger, Levinas, and Derrida last semester, and there was this bizarre tendency among some to disregard anything that smelled like “metaphysics,” because the entire history of philosophy forgot about the question of the meaning of being — supposedly! ehem, I like metaphysics! (And, I don’t think that was Heidegger’s point.)

I’m supposed to be reading van Inwagen, myself, by the end of October for my Metaphysics and Epistemology class; should be good times. My prof is a huge fan of his.

Peace,

Eric

]]> By: Andy http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/#comment-16774 Andy Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:08:46 +0000 http://thinkingreed.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/theologians-take-heed/#comment-16774 It seems to me that appeals to philosopher's as authority can function in a way somewhat analogous to symbols. That is merely by saying "Wittgenstein" I can invoke a whole bunch of perfectly imprecise ideas about language and its correspondance to reality without having to actually repeat (or for that matter have read) any of Wittgenstein's arguments. Whether or not this is the intended effect, I would be that it is the actual effect more often than not. It seems to me that appeals to philosopher’s as authority can function in a way somewhat analogous to symbols. That is merely by saying “Wittgenstein” I can invoke a whole bunch of perfectly imprecise ideas about language and its correspondance to reality without having to actually repeat (or for that matter have read) any of Wittgenstein’s arguments. Whether or not this is the intended effect, I would be that it is the actual effect more often than not.

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