Aquinas, St. Thomas:| (c 1225-1274)
Italian Dominican monk and theologian; wrote 1. Summa Contra Gentiles and 2.
Contra Errores Graecorum; but his book Summa Theologiae united
Aristotle's philosophy with
Christianity to become the classic Roman Catholic theology; used allegory in his sermons. He
is noted for rational proofs for existence of God; view is called Thomism; 20th century
theologians of his kind are Neo-Thomists. Regarding his view of the
theory of knowledge, he was not like Plato who held that man knows
everything innately; instead he followed
Aristotle. Reason is insufficient to know God or the world. Natural reason leads one to the
"porch of faith." There has to be a "given" to supplement reason. Knowledge of God needs
revelation and knowledge of the world needs experience. However, God's revelation and man's
experience overlap. Therefore, in this overlapping area, man is able to know something of God
through his experience. In particular, he knows the existence of God.
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ARAB PHILOSOPHY: *
Arcesilaus: (316-241 BC) Athenian philosopher; reacted
against Stoic dogmatism; taught a "skeptical suspension of judgment."
ARGUMENT: See Moral argument for God; Naturalistic-fallacy argument; and Ontological argument for God
ARGUMENT FOR GOD: See Moral argument for God; Ontological argument for God; and Teleological argument for God
ARGUMENTS: See Arguments for God,
and objections
ARGUMENTS FOR GOD: See Arguments for God,
and
objections and Design argument for God
ARGUMENTS FOR
GOD, AND OBJECTIONS: *
ARISTOTELIANISM: See Neo-Thomism
Aristotle:
(384-322 BC) Greek philosopher who developed an empirical philosophy contrary to
Plato's ideas; he wrote on logic: 1. Organoninstrument; on
physics: 2. Physics; on metaphysics; 3. Metaphysica; on
psychology: 4. De Anima; on ethics: 5.
Nichomachaean Ethics; on politics: 6. Politics; on rhetoric: 7. Rhetoric;
and on aesthetics: 8. Poetics. His theory of knowledge: rationalism; unlike
Plato, he viewed the object of knowledge not the world of ideas;
combines the scientific rationalism of Democritus with the
axiological rationalism of Plato materialism
with idealism; ideas or forms are in things only; logic becomes the
means of relating the general (i.e., ideas) or being to particulars (i.e.,
phenomena) given in perceptions; the mechanism
of deduction is the syllogism, where two propositions presumed to be true are given and a third
is inferred; deductions can demonstrate general principles in particulars but do not establish
the general principles themselves or new knowledge; he abstracted general principles from
particulars by induction or investigation; he links the concepts of investigation to reality
as the causes of the particulars; he sought the general or metaphysical causes of things;
contemporary non-Aristotelian induction arrives at probable (rather than intuitively certain)
general principles; certainty rather than probability characterizes Aristotelian science and
theory of knowledge. His theory of knowledge: teleology, Aristotelianism, vitalism; reality is
that which unfolds in phenomena; it involves matter and form; matter
is that in which things consist; form is that which organizes or directs matter; form and
matter are inseparable; where there is form, there is matter except that First Cause the
Unmoved Mover is transcendent pure form; together matter and form comprise substance; e.g.,
man's essence is form; his physical and psychological makeup is matter. Substance (e.g., man)
possesses attributes or universals (e.g., redness); universals (redness, etc.) are in
particular things only as opposed to Plato; there are 10 categories
of reality, of which substance is primary because it is "that which is neither predicable of
a subject nor present in a subject"; only substance is subject; all other categories redness)
or quantity (e.g., 5 meters long)] must be predicated of a substance. Categories refer not
only to thought and language but to reality as well; matter and form are relative (e.g.,
lumber is the form of wood but the matter of a house); matter possesses the potentiality of
becoming form; form is actuality (e.g., an acorn is the actuality of itself but the
potentiality of an oak tree). Actualization or becoming results from cause; causes or factors
of change are 1. material the limitations of matter; 2. formal the pattern of
form acquired; 3. efficient the force producing change; and 4. final the end
(entelechy) or purpose of actualization. The Final Cause of all reality is an unchanging,
unmoved mover or pure form. Reality is an eternal but teleological process by which
potentiality acquires actuality in the interest of actualizing pure form (reason). His theory
of mind (soul) and ethics: functionalism, eudaemonism. Mind (soul) is
the "primary actuality of a natural body endowed with life" and related to it as vision is to
the eye. The entelechy of the body is the body's inherent nature. Mind is that for which the
body as rational being exists. Mind is that which animates the body toward selfrealization.
The highest good (summum bonum) is activity directed to self-realization in terms of
the exercise of active or pure reason. Achievement of self-realization produces eudaemonia
(well-being).
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Arius:|
(c 270-d 336) A parish priest in Alexandria; condemned at Council of Nicea in 325 for his views of the person of Christ; held
that Christ was half God and half man; his view is now called Arianism; argued with
Athanasius; Arius was banished by Roman Emperor Constantine (325). But in the reaction after Nicaea, he came into
imperial favor. The emperor had ordered the Athanasians at Alexandria to receive him at communion when he suddenly died.
See entry in Catholic Encyclopedia
and in 1911 Encyclopedia
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ARMINIAN: A person who holds to the
views of Arminius. See Arminius, James
ARMINIANISM: The views of
Arminius, James which states that a person can accept
salvation without first being regenerated. God's grace lifts him to the position of making
a choice to accept the offer or not.
Arminius, James:
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(1560-1609) (AKA: Jacob Harmensen or Hermansz) Dutch theologian developed Arminianism.
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Arndt, Johann Wilhelm:
(1555-1621) German Lutheran
Pietist; mystic wrote True Christianity.
Arnobius (the Elder): (c 248-327) North African
apologist. Converted from paganism; Wrote Adversus Nationes, attacking various
forms of paganism in often brilliant invectives.
Arnold, Thomas: (1795-1842)
Anglican; great rugby player; believed in strong state
church. Father of Matthew Arnold; headmaster of rugby (1828-42); introduced mathematics, modern
history, and modern languages to curriculum; introduced prefect system; strongly influenced
development of modern public schools in England; Regius professor of history at Oxford (1841).
Arrhenius, Svante August:
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(1859-1927) Swedish chemist and physicist. Wrote 1.
Worlds in the Making, 2. Theories of Solutions, and 3.
Quantitative Laws
in Biological Chemistry. Developed theory of ionization for which he
won the 1903
Nobel prize for chemistry.
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ART: *
Arthur, William: (1819-1901)
Wesleyan Methodist; emphasized foreign missions.
Asbury, Francis:
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(1745-1816) Convert and disciple of
John Wesley; introduced Methodism in the US; itinerate preacher on
horseback from Maine to
Georgia (almost 500,000 kms in total).
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ASCETICISM: *
ASEITY: Self-existence. When referring to
God, it means that He is not dependent
upon any reality other than Himself for His characteristics and that He is
eternal.
Assisi: See Francis of
Assisi
ASSOCIATIONISM: The theory that
your mind and its contents may be reduced to
simple, discrete experiences that combine to form all aspects of the life of
your mind.
ASSOCIATIONISTIC
PSYCHOLOGY: See Associationism
Athanasius:
ATHEISM: The denial of the existence of
God. God does not exist. The idea of God is
self-contradictory.
ATOMISM: * Also see Logical atomism
Augustine of Hippo:
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(354-430) the greatest theologian
of the early church. Wrote 1. Confessions; 2. The City of
God; and 3. On
the Trinity. His theory of reality: absolute theism, supernaturalism. Reality is God, who is Being; Being
is good;
non-Being is evil (see Plotinus). God has
personality and
impersonality, transcendence and immanence, omnipotence and perfect
will. As Being, God
gives reality to phenomena. As Supreme Person
(theism), God exercises perfect will by which the
world is created
from nothing, sustained, perfected, and consummated. All existence,
including space and time,
is absolutely dependent on God's will. Reality is two-fold (dualism): God as Being, the Good, the Eternal; and
His creation as
phenomenal, dependent, temporal.
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AUGUSTINIANISM: *
Aulen, Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand:
(1879-1978) Swedish theologian of
Lundensian theology which emphasized the primacy of love; wrote 1.
The Faith of the
Christian Church and 2. Christus Victor which restated the
Devil Ransom theory
of atonement.
Aurelius: See Marcus Aurelius
Austin, John:
(1790-1859) utilitarian philosopher of jurisprudence; founded English
analytical school of jurisprudence.
Austin, John L.:
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(1911-1960) wrote 1. Philosophical Papers and 2. How to Do Things with Words.
Wrote on the theory of language where he followed the Oxford School of analysis, linguistic
analysis, and ordinary language philosophy.
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AUTHENTIC EXISTENCE: An
Existentialist expression meaning a way of life which asserts
one's own individuality and freedom. It is a secular equivalent of salvation.
AUTHORITARIANISM: *
Averroes:|
(1126-1198) Islamic philosopher; tried to recover the true essence of Aristotle's thought without theological
considerations. |  |
AVERROISM: *
Avicenna:|
(980-1036/7)Persian physician and philosopher whose translation of Aristotle was instrumental in keeping alive classical thought during the Middle Ages.
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AXIOLOGY: The study of the theory of
values.
AXIOLOGICAL INTUITIONISM:
*
AXIOLOGICAL NOMINALISM:
Also called Skepticism and (emotivism). Value judgments are expressions of
emotion or attempts
to persuade. They are not factual. A science of values (axiology) is
impossible.
AXIOLOGICAL OBJECTIVISM:
Also called Axiological Realism. Values, norms, ideals, etc.
are component parts of objects or they reside in objects or in objective
reality; or they are
ascribed to objects by desire. See Objectivism
AXIOLOGICAL RELATIONISM:
Value is a relation between two or more variables or is a
product of several variables in interaction. Values are not private
(subjective) but public,
though not objective in the sense of being independent of interests.
AXIOLOGICAL RELATIVISM: *
AXIOLOGICAL SKEPTICISM:
See Emotivism *
AXIOLOGICAL
SUBJECTIVISM: Value judgments are statements about mental attitudes
toward an object or a situation. Value judgments are equivalent to
statements of approval or
disapproval and as such are true or false.
AXIOLOGY: *
Ayer, Alfred Jules:
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(1910-1989) Logical Positivist who wrote 1. Language, Truth, and Logic; 2. The
Foundations of Empirical Knowledge; and 3. The Problem of Knowledge; emphasized
verification principle.
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