Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The problem of the dissertation is to give a systematic exposition of the knowledge of God as it is treated in the writings of John Baillie and to make a critical evaluation of the central features of his thought. The method followed makes use of a survey of this problem as it has been dealt with by representative thinkers since the Reformation in order to trace historical influences upon Baillie and to locate his methods and conclusions among the various alternatives dealt with by modern thinkers. The study is developed by reference to the sizeable body of Baillie's writings and by the commentaries on his thought. Following the systematic development of his understanding of "the sense of the presence of God," revelation, faith, reason, and the stats of theological propositions, an evaluative chapter sets down notable strengths and weaknesses as they are determined by criteria adopted at the beginning of the chapter. The study closes with a succinct list of conclusions [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Thesis advisor: Frederick G. Lawrence / This dissertation seeks to answer the question, arising from Bernard Lonergan's 1972 lectures on philosophy of God and systematic theology, of why he thinks philosophy of God, or natural theology, should be included within the functional specialty Systematics. The author argues that a key to the answer is an analysis of the concrete operations performed by philosophers as they pursue the question of God. Relevant to the distinction between and unity of philosophy of God and Systematics are both natural knowledge of God, which consists of affirmations and negations that can be immanently generated, and supernatural knowledge, which consists of affirmations and negations that cannot be immanently generated and thus require belief in divine revelation in order to be made by humans in this life. There is a way in which Systematics presupposes truths unknowable without revelation that the natural knowledge of philosophy does not, since Systematics includes hypotheses that attempt to account for how those truths could be so, doing so in a way that goes beyond what natural knowledge alone provides. However, even if philosophy results in natural knowledge, when the philosopher is Christian, it often performatively presupposes supernatural knowledge of revelation inasmuch as its inquiry into the question of God often in fact is preceded by and originates from the philosopher's horizon of Christian faith, which is partially constituted by affirmations of truths unknowable without revelation. Performatively, Christian philosophers often seek to understand the Christian God in whom they already believe. This explains Lonergan's practical recommendation to transfer philosophy of God to the theology department, as well as his comment in the essay "Dimensions of Meaning" that once philosophy becomes "existential and historical...the very possibility of the old distinction between philosophy and theology vanishes." Sublated by Systematics, philosophy of God is the aspect of faith seeking understanding that results in analogical understanding and affirmation of God as an unrestricted act of understanding, affirming, and loving. This knowledge provides an explanatory (though analogical) understanding of the God in whom Christians believe through faith. It is even included in theological hypotheses, such as Lonergan's possibly relevant explanation of the Trinity, which takes its starting point from the psychological analogy in which the one unrestricted act of understanding gives rise to a judgment of value and decision. Philosophy also contributes to the control of meaning in systematic theology by ruling out explanations of revelation that are incompatible with natural knowledge. Incorporating philosophy of God into the functional specialty Systematics such that philosophy of God attains "its proper significance" and "effectiveness," the theologian can answer the question of God in a more complete way than is possible through philosophy alone. The dissertation begins in Chapter 1 by giving an account of the distinction between natural and supernatural knowledge of God--as well as the more basic distinction between nature and supernature--in a way that attempts to be adequate to the "the third stage of meaning," in which metaphysical distinctions must have a basis in self-knowledge and self-appropriation. Chapter 2 then explains Lonergan's approach to philosophy of God as that which results in natural knowledge, as in chapter 19 of Insight. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the functional specialty Systematics, which pursues understanding of truths affirmed in the light of faith, including truths unknowable without revelation. Chapter 4 discusses why philosophy of God, when considered in terms of its concrete performance by the Christian philosopher, often is preceded by and emerges from a horizon of faith (and belief) and so is an exercise in faith seeking understanding, with its natural knowledge contributing to Systematics' task of explaining the conditions for the possibility of truths unknowable without revelation. The Conclusion raises and begins to answer further pertinent questions, such as whether Lonergan's understanding of philosophy of God as Systematics holds for non-Christian philosophers. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

This dissertation constructively explores the implications for natural theology of (especially) John McDowell’s anti-Cartesian philosophy of mind and perception. Traditionally, an important element within natural theology is the idea that nature testifies to its creator, thereby making knowledge of a creator available to humans. In traditional accounts, the relevant knowledge is usually conceived as inferential. From observations of “the things that have been made” (Rom 1: 20), we may reason our way to the existence of a creator. The dissertation presents an alternative construal of creation’s testimony. It argues that biological nature may have expressive properties of a similar kind as human behaviour and art seem to have. We may be able to perceive nature as creation, i.e., as expressive of the mind of a creator. The knowledge of a creator acquired from nature is, according to this construal, perceptual rather than inferential. The viability of the dissertation’s suggestion depends, however, on the rejection of certain common and fundamental assumptions about the nature of mind and perception – assumptions that may rightly be called “Cartesian.” In chapters 1-3, a radically anti-Cartesian outlook on mind and perception, drawn mainly from McDowell’s work, is presented. The outlook (labelled “open-mindedness”) conceives the mind as a system of essentially world-involving capacities. One such capacity is perception, which is portrayed as (when all goes well) a direct, cognitive openness to the world. Chapter 4 argues that open-mindedness makes an attractive construal of our knowledge of “other minds” available. Human behaviour may, as McDowell suggests, be construed as having expressive properties, i.e., perceivable properties the instantiation of which logically entails the instantiation of certain mental properties. The main problem confronting this idea is the so-called “argument from pretence” – a version of the more general “argument from illusion.” The fact that behaviour that is the result of pretence can be indistinguishable, for an observer, from behaviour that is genuinely expressive of the mental property pain, can seem to entail that it is impossible to perceive that somebody else is in pain. It is argued that accepting the outlook of open-mindedness and the view of perception it includes dissolves this problem and makes it possible to construe (some of) our knowledge of the mental states of other people as perceptual rather than inferential knowledge. Chapter 5 argues that the same philosophical moves that dissolve the “problem of other minds” also can be used to overcome the problems confronting the (from a Christian perspective) attractive idea that nature may be perceptibly expressive of the mind of a creator. It is argued that the idea that other phenomena than human behaviour can be genuinely expressive of mind is not at all counter-intuitive. Artworks have, for instance, (according to a common view) expressive properties that make something of the mental life of the artist available to others. Furthermore, many people seem to have experiences in which natural structures appear to them as intentionally created. Even atheists report that biological organisms strike them as “designed.” Experiences in which natural phenomena appear to the subject as intentionally created or “designed” are candidates for being veridical perceptions of expressive properties in nature. It is argued that the suggested construal of biological nature as expressive of the mind of a creator is completely compatible with the fact that biological species have evolved by natural selection. Chapter 6 briefly reflects on the consequences of the dissertation’s argument for Christian theology.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roberto de Almeida Gallego.pdf: 1156322 bytes, checksum: aa2b5d51ff13d31ece07c61971797ce5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-07 / The object of the present doctoral thesis is to study the co-relation between theology and mystical theology in the works of the Russian philosopher and Orthodox theologian Paul Evdokimov (1901-1970). As a result of the Bolchevik Revolution, Paul Evdokimov, like many intellectuals of his generation, had to leave Russia and settled in France, where he lived and wrote, thus contributing significantly to the dissemination of the Orthodox Christianity in the West. By expounding with creative depth and unique sensitivity the treasures of his own religious tradition, Paul Evdokimov bequeathed to Orthodox Christians and Western men and women alike a legacy of profound insights into the human condition, which still preserves their vitality and freshness at the dawn of this new century. Initially, this study seeks to draw a biographical portrait of Paul Evdokimov and identify the main theoretical and existential references that helped shape his vision of the world. These references have a philosophical, theological and literary character. Furthermore, this study focuses on the critical fortune of Paul Evdokimov s works through the compilation and summarization of opinions from commentators of Evdokimov s oeuvre. The reader is presented sequentially with some characteristic traits of Orthodox Christianity. Finally, this study looks into the issues related to the evidence and validation of the knowledge of God from Paul Evdokimov s perspective, comparing such ideas to contributions arising from the epistemology of religion with regard to the so-called proof or arguments of God s existence. From all these elements, this study aims to demonstrate that to Paul Evdokimov, there is a fundamental indistinction between theology and mystical theology, namely, at the ultimate foundation that supports them, in that such indistinction can be traced in some of the dominant ideas prevalent in his oeuvre / A presente tese doutoral tem, por objetivo, estudar a correlação entre teologia e mística na obra de Paul Evdokimov (1901-1970), filósofo e teólogo ortodoxo russo, o qual, em virtude do advento da Revolução Bolchevique em sua terra natal, viu-se, juntamente com outros tantos intelectuais de sua geração, obrigado a deixá-la, fixando-se, então, na França, onde viveu e escreveu, contribuindo, significativamente, para a divulgação, no Ocidente, do cristianismo ortodoxo. Ao interpretar, com criatividade e sensibilidade invulgares, os tesouros de sua própria tradição religiosa, Paul Evdokimov legou, não só aos ortodoxos, mas também aos homens e mulheres de cultura ocidental, um acervo de profundas intuições a respeito da condição humana, que preserva a sua atualidade e o seu frescor, neste alvorecer de novo século. Com vistas ao cumprimento do escopo deste trabalho, buscou-se, inicialmente, esboçar o retrato biográfico do referido autor, assim como indicar os principais referenciais teóricos e existenciais que contribuíram para a formação de sua visão de mundo, referenciais, estes, de ordem filosófica, teológica e literária. Em seguida, cuidou-se de elaborar a fortuna crítica da obra de Paul Evdokimov, através da compilação e da sumarização das impressões que os principais comentadores da obra de Evdokimov têm desta. Sequencialmente, tentouse apresentar, ao leitor, alguns dos traços característicos do cristianismo ortodoxo. Por fim, a pesquisa se debruçou sobre a problemática relativa à evidência e à validação do conhecimento de Deus, a partir do pensamento de Paul Evdokimov, cotejando tais ideias com alguns aportes advindos da epistemologia da religião, bem como analisando a posição do mencionado autor com respeito às denominadas provas ou argumentos da existência de Deus. A partir de todos estes elementos, tentou-se demonstrar que, para Paul Evdokimov, vigora uma indistinção fundamental isto é, no nível do fundamento último que as sustenta entre teologia e mística, sendo que tal indistinção pode ser rastreada em algumas das ideias-força recorrentes em sua obra

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The author of dissertation considers that dependence of behavior of people on their attitude toward God the Creator is perhaps the first and the most important topic that comes to mind during the study of the present passage of the most fundamental Paul's epistle. We believe it is necessary to explore "false foundations" as we see as Paul opposes to them his ideology - ideology of worship to God the Creator. We affirm that Paul sees the main reason of immoral behavior in such area of man's activity as thinking that, in its tum, denies the Creator of every living thing of Earth and because of its incapability to rule over human passions is forced to look for an ideological basis for its acts. This thesis has also practical meaning because it demonstrates Paul's methodology of disproval of false theories of that time revealing their illogicality and senselessness. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M. Th (New Testament)

This dissertation considers the possibility that, flowing from his broader theological framework and historical background, John Calvin’s eucharistic theology ‘re-invents’ a doctrine where the ‘substance’ (meaning) of the elements becomes the body and blood of Christ, and the believer who receives them is drawn, through understanding, into participation in Christ. The study begins with the historical setting and the second chapter sketches Calvin’s life. Chapter 3 considers epistemology and the impact of classical rhetoric on Calvin’s approach to knowledge. The following chapter considers Calvin’s understanding of our relationship with the Father, and of Christ as Mediator and as means of salvation. Chapter 5 considers the work of the Spirit in nurturing faith, a ‘higher knowledge’, through preparing us for knowledge of Christ and mediating our understanding of and participation in him. In this manner the Spirit acts as an instrument of revelation to enable us to participate in Christ. Chapters 6 and 7 move to consider Calvin’s writing on the Sacraments, their nature as sign and seals of the promise made in Christ, their substance and their role in our participation in Christ and, in the light of the duplex gratia, as gateways to participation. In Chapter 8 Calvin’s teaching is examined in terms of his opposition to the doctrine of transubstantiation, and his understanding of substance is considered. The possibility that Calvin ‘re-invents’ the doctrine is proposed. This is not to suggest that there is a conscious copying of the doctrine, but that through the process of forming his doctrine, using an alternate philosophical framework, Calvin’s understanding bears significant similarities to the doctrine he so deeply opposed. His key opposition to transubstantiation can then be seen to be to the materialist interpretations that impede the ability of the believer to lift his attention beyond the physical elements to the divine offer they represent. The study concludes by briefly considering the significance of Calvin’s ‘reinvention’ for contemporary understandings.

Ce mémoire entend présenter les formes de connaissance de soi développées par Thomas d’Aquin: la reditio incompleta, la réfraction sur les phantasmes, la conscience préréflexive, la réflexion par réfluence, l’analyse abstraite, le jugement critique et la reditio completa. L’âme humaine ne pouvant se connaître directement, elle a accès à son essence par le biais de tous ses actes ou actes de conscience. Notre analyse se concentre sur la connaissance habituelle, habitus de toutes les connaissances, qui est la racine de l’image trinitaire en l’homme et garantit la vérité des intellections humaines. Pour ce faire, nous avons procédé à la traduction des questions 87 à 89 de la Somme théologique, dans lesquelles Thomas présente la connaissance humaine des substances séparées et le statut de l’âme séparée, montrant en quoi l’esprit de l’homme partage un certain commun avec les autres esprits de son univers. / The purpose of this thesis is to present the different theories of self-knowledge developed by Thomas Aquinas: namely reditio incompleta, refraction of the soul on its own phantasms, preconscious reflection, reflection by reflux, abstract analysis, critical judgment and reditio completa. Although the human soul cannot have knowledge of itself directly, it can however approach its essence with its own acts or acts of consciousness. The analysis is based on the cognitio habitualis, habitus of all knowledge, that is the root of the trinitarian image in humankind and that guarantees the truth of human intellection. This involved translating questions 87 to 89 of the Summa Theologiae, in which Aquinas considers humanity’s understanding of immaterial substances and the separate soul’s knowledge. This demonstrates how the human soul shares common ground with other substances of the universe.

Santo Agostinho e João Calvino são pensadores representativos de dois momentos históricos distintos da cristandade, e figuram entre aqueles que ajudaram a moldar, de forma determinante, os contornos da tradição cristã de pensamento a qual representavam. A despeito do lapso temporal que os separa, João Calvino foi muito influenciado pelo pensamento de Agostinho em virtude da presença marcante da teologia e espiritualidade agostinianas na atmosfera intelectual e religiosa do século XVI, sendo boa parte destes influxos, produto da apropriação direta de Calvino de aspectos do pensamento de Agostinho, por meio do contato in loco com suas obras. Estes influxos diretos e indiretos do pensamento de Agostinho sobre Calvino resultaram em muitos paralelos e similaridades teológico-filosóficos. Um dos temas comuns a estes dois pensadores cristãos foi o da centralidade da doutrina do conhecimento de Deus e do autoconhecimento. Na verdade, ambos definem a natureza do projeto sapiencial e beatífico humano em termos de aquisição deste duplo conhecimento. Portanto, a principal finalidade deste trabalho é apresentar a relevância que a doutrina da cognitio Dei et sui desempenha na proposta teológico-filosófica de ambos os pensadores, bem como estabelecer uma análise de suas fontes, natureza e características. Este trabalho visa demonstrar, também, que apesar de haver similaridades e paralelos estreitos entre Calvino e Agostinho no tocante aos aspectos gerais que envolvem a doutrina do conhecimento de Deus e do autoconhecimento, existem distinções incontornáveis naquilo que concerne aos meandros específicos desta matéria, como aquelas disjunções relacionadas à natureza e às características específicas da dinâmica interna deste duplo conhecimento. / St. Augustine and John Calvin are thinkers representing two different periods in the history of Christianity, remarkably appearing among those who helped to shape up the contours of the Christian tradition of thought they represented. Despite the time gap that set them apart, John Calvin was greatly influenced by the thought of Augustine due to the strong presence of Augustinian theology and spirituality in the intellectual and religious atmosphere of the sixteenth century. Most of these inputs were the product of Calvins direct assimilation of certain aspects from Augustine\'s thought through in loco contact with his works. Such direct and indirect inflows of Augustines thought on Calvin resulted in many theological and philosophical parallels and similarities. One theme common to both Christian thinkers was the centrality of the doctrines of the knowledge of God and self-knowledge. In fact, both Augustine and Calvin define the nature of the human sapiential and beatific project in terms of attaining this dual knowledge. In this context, the present study aims to present the relevant role the doctrine of cognitio Dei et sui plays in the theological and philosophical views of both thinkers, as well as to develop an analysis of its sources, nature and characteristics. In addition, this work demonstrates that although there are close parallels and similarities between Calvin and Augustine with regards to general issues surrounding the doctrines of knowledge of God and self-knowledge, there are compelling distinctions as far as the particulars of this subject are concerned; such as disjunctions related to the nature and specific features of the internal dynamics of this dual knowledge.

Interpretation of the Life of Moses according to Gregory of Nyssa and Its Inspiration by the Thought of Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC - c. 40 CE) and his allegorical interpretation of the Bible (especially the Pentateuch) had a strong influence on early Christian writers including Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 - c. 395 CE). It is obvious that Gregory was inspired by Philo judging from the fact that Gregory's treatise The Life of Moses (De vita Moysis) has the same name and a partly similar topic as one of Philo's writings. For Gregory, Moses is an ideal example of perfect virtue which consists in a continual progression toward the Good. The main topic of the thesis is Philo's influence on Gregory's interpretation of Moses. The work discusses the following issues in the thought of both authors: the treatise De vita Moysis, the person of Moses, exegetical principles, perfection that could be demonstrated on the life of a good person, the question of knowledge and unknowability of God and the mediation between God and men. Since Gregory's reception of Philo was influenced by Origen of Alexandria, Origen's biblical exegesis and exegetical theory are also briefly presented. In the centre of the thesis, there are those questions: In what way was Gregory's concept of perfect virtue inspired by the...