Metaphor and Theological Realism
European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 6 (1):79-92 (2014)
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that there are indispensable and irreducible
metaphors in religious language and that this does not threaten a realist interpretation of religion. I first sketch a realist theory of religious language and argue that we cannot avoid addressing the problems metaphor poses to semantics. I then give a brief account of what it means for a metaphorical sentence to be true and how metaphors can refer to something even if what they mean is not expressible in literal terms. Finally, I discuss how this realist theory of metaphor influences our understanding of negative theology and gives a new
perspective on religious pluralism.
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2017-02-10
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Recent downloads (6 months)
52 ( #14,659 of 58,427 )
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