D.Z. Phillips' Contemplative Philosophy of Religion

D.Z. Phillips' Contemplative Philosophy of Religion PDF Author: Andy F. Sanders
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317155025
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
This collection presents a critical discussion and exploration of the late D.Z. Phillips' contemplative approach in the philosophy of religion. What are the main characteristics of this ground-breaking approach, which is inspired by thinkers like Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein and meant as a serious, critical alternative to the mainstream way of doing philosophy of religion? What is its aim, if it is deliberately avoiding apology and defence of faith? How does Phillips' approach relate to systematic, historical and empirical theology and is it really as 'neutral' as he claims it to be? Or is he, perhaps, a certain kind of theologian? What are the implications of his contemplative philosophy for central issues of religious life today, such as petitionary prayer, the hope of 'eternal life' and radical religious diversity? The essays of six distinguished scholars from five different nations critically and sympathetically address these questions and are responded to by Phillips in essays of his own, written briefly before his sudden death in July 2006.

The Contemplative Spirit

The Contemplative Spirit PDF Author: Ingolf U. Dalferth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
To understand reality in terms of what is possible has methodological implications which a contemplative philosophy makes explicit. The goal is no longer to determine how things are or must be but rather to provide an overview of how they could be and the diversity with which they already appear. The function of philosophy is not the discovery of a single answer but rather a careful description of the diversity and the heterogeneity of possible answers in different contexts and practices. This approach, inspired by Wittgenstein, was applied to the philosophy of religion by Dewi Z. Phillips (1934-2006) in particular. This volume explores his contemplative philosophy of religion in an intense and lively discussion, showing how the description of religious faith and the access to its practice and language change unexpectedly and provocatively in this way of thinking.

D. Z. Phillips on Religious Language, Religious Truth, and God

D. Z. Phillips on Religious Language, Religious Truth, and God PDF Author: Hyoseok Kim
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 3161610407
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
D. Z. Phillips (1934-2006) was one of the most influential, ingenious, and perhaps controversial thinkers in the Anglo-American philosophy of religion. In particular, he is widely regarded as a leading proponent of a Wittgensteinian approach to the philosophy of religion. While almost every book on religious language or Anglophone philosophy of religion deals with Phillips' thought or, at least, mentions his name, all too frequently his position has been grossly misunderstood and has often attracted unwarranted criticism from various sides. Seeking to offer a constructive presentation and critical discussion of Phillips' view of philosophy, religious language, religious truth, and God, Hyoseok Kim endeavors to resolve some misunderstandings, refute undue criticisms of Phillips' position, and make some suggestions concerning directions in which his view might and ought to be further developed.

Contemplating Religious Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and D.Z. Phillips

Contemplating Religious Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and D.Z. Phillips PDF Author: Mikel Burley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1441192107
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) made profound contributions to many areas of philosophy and cultural understanding, and his thought and methods have inspired numerous inquirers into the forms of our religious life. D. Z. Phillips (1934-2006) pioneered the application of Wittgenstein-influenced approaches to the philosophy of religion, and emphasized the contemplative, non-dogmatic nature of the philosophical task. In Contemplating Religious Forms of Life, Mikel Burley elucidates and critically examines the work of these two philosophers in relation to various aspects of religion, including ritual, mystical experience, faith and reason, realism and non-realism, conceptions of eternal life, and the use of literature as a resource for the contemplation of religious and non-religious beliefs. The book will be of significant value to academics, students and general readers interested in philosophy, religious studies, theology, and the interrelations between these disciplines.

Grammars of Faith

Grammars of Faith PDF Author: P. F. Bloemendaal
Publisher: Peeters Publishers
ISBN: 9789042917446
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
D. Z. Phillips is a leading figure in advocating a Wittgensteinian approach to the philosophical study of religion. His writings exert an important influence on contemporary philosophy of religion, giving a new direction to the philosophical discussion of religious belief and practice. Although his work has prompted much - often critical - comment, a thorough investigation has not been forthcoming. Grammars of Faith fills that gap. The book pays close attention to Wittgenstein's own remarks on religious belief, arranging them against the background of his broader philosophical methodology, as well as to the efforts of the early Wittgensteinians at providing a more comprehensive Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion. Central to this study are Phillips's understanding of philosophical enquiry as a form of contemplation, and his descriptive accounts of religious belief. By means of a careful and methodical examination of Phillips's oeuvre, the study seeks to present a fair assessment of Phillips's position, showing not only its weaknesses, but also its strength.

Religion and the Hermeneutics of Contemplation

Religion and the Hermeneutics of Contemplation PDF Author: D. Z. Phillips
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521008464
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Leading philosopher of religion D. Z. Phillips examines the conceptual assumptions of atheistic thought.

Philosophy's Cool Place

Philosophy's Cool Place PDF Author: D. Z. Phillips
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501729454
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Ludwig Wittgenstein established a "cool" stance for philosophy, contemplating the world without meddling in it. D. Z. Phillips explores this position, focusing on its implications for philosophical authorship and the philosophical investigation of the nature of reality. Influenced by the views of Wittgenstein and his pupil Rush Rhees, Phillips—who is one of Rhees's own students—first contrasts Wittgenstein's methods with Kierkegaard's religiously oriented dialectic. He describes the difficulty in sustaining a contemplative view of philosophy and discusses efforts to go beyond it in the work of Richard Rorty, Stanley Cavell, Annette Baier, and Martha Nussbaum, who, in different ways, propose to make philosophy a guide to living. A provocative and challenging work, Philosophy's Cool Place is one of the few books that addresses the discipline as an enterprise and explores its relation to moral values, religious belief, and the nature of Reality. By advancing the cause of neutrality, it will stimulate debate and foster discussion of what philosophy is to become in the postmodern era.

Ethics of Belief: Essays in Tribute to D.Z. Phillips

Ethics of Belief: Essays in Tribute to D.Z. Phillips PDF Author: Eugene Thomas Long
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402083777
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
Eugene Thomas Long Originally published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Volume 63, Nos 1–3. DOI: 10. 1007/s11153-007-9155-4 © Springer Science+Business Media B. V. 2007 This volume is presented as a tribute to the life and work of D. Z. Phillips. Six of the articles were originally presented at the annual conference on the philosophy of religion organized by Phillips and held at Claremont Graduate University, February 9–10, 2007. Unfortunately, Phillipsdidnotlivetoparticipateintheconferenceitself. HediedunexpectedlyJuly25,2006 in the library of his beloved University of Wales, Swansea. Previously published volumes of essays,basedonconferencesorganizedbyPhillipsinClaremont,includedachapterentitled, “Voices in Discussion,” in which Phillips provided his own reactions to the discussions wr- ten almost immediately after the conference. Sadly, this volume appears without the addition of his voice. Born in Morriston, near Swansea, Phillips was a Welsh speaker, a strong supporter of Welsh speaking schools and the author of many works in philosophy and literature in Welsh and English. Known widely as the leading representative of the movement in the philo- phy of religion called Wittgensteinianism, Phillips spent much of his effort challenging the tendency of philosophers to elevate one kind of discourse to the point where it becomes the norm by which other forms of discourse are to be judged.

A Confusion of the Spheres

A Confusion of the Spheres PDF Author: Genia Sch?nbaumsfeld
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191614831
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 700

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Book Description
Cursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the relationship of their ideas. Genia Sch?nbaumsfeld closes this gap and offers new readings of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's conceptions of philosophy and religious belief. Chapter one documents Kierkegaard's influence on Wittgenstein, while chapters two and three provide trenchant criticisms of two prominent attempts to compare the two thinkers, those by D. Z. Phillips and James Conant. In chapter four, Sch?nbaumsfeld develops Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's concerted criticisms of certain standard conceptions of religious belief, and defends their own positive conception against the common charges of 'irrationalism' and 'fideism'. As well as contributing to contemporary debate about how to read Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's work, A Confusion of the Spheres addresses issues which not only concern scholars of Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard, but anyone interested in the philosophy of religion, or the ethical aspects of philosophical practice as such.

Religion and Friendly Fire

Religion and Friendly Fire PDF Author: D.Z. Phillips
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351905171
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
In locating friendly fire in contemporary philosophy of religion, D.Z. Phillips shows that more harm can be done to religion by its philosophical defenders than by its philosophical despisers. Friendly fire is the result of an uncritical acceptance of empiricism, and Phillips argues that we need to examine critically the claims that individual consciousness is the necessary starting point from which we have to argue: for the existence of an external world and the reality of God; that God is a person without a body, a pure consciousness; and that to assent to a religious belief is essentially to assign a truth value to a proposition independent of any confessional context. When these products of friendly fire are avoided, we arrive at a new understanding of belief, trust and the soul, and refuse to say more or less than we know about the realities of human life in the service of religious apologetics.