Philosophy of God
Who I am and how God fits into that picture is a very intricate question. Mankind has always pondered about her own existence and in thousands of different cultures the idea of some supreme power always seems to develop. Now, this is by no means proof of the actual existence of God, but it does give the question a good deal of importance. I am a human being, which means many things, for one that I have a corporal existence and also that I think and am self-aware which adds a mental, or non-physical aspect. As James Marsh says, "If my account of the self is critically comprehensive, . . . then it will include the sensuous and the intellectual, the cognitive and existential, in a dynamic, intelligible unity" (Marsh 113). Then I must considering the corporal limitations and spiritual freedom of man "in such a way that I accept facts and limits without giving in to defeatism and despair, and embrace ideals and hopes without giving into false utopianism and a repressive idealism" (Marsh 116). The tendency for people to concentrate solely on one aspect of the human person has been a mistake that many great minds have made, e.g. Bertrand Russell or even Sartre, thus limiting themselves to one aspect of humanity and giving an inad
equate explanation of the human person and the things around us. The alternative (what I am suggesting) is a combination of seemingly mutually exclusive theories, but the human personage is multi-faceted, and "the genuine heroism for man is still the power to support contradictions, no matter how glaring or hopeless they seem" (Becker 198). The components of this multi-faceted person can be broken down into several different categories. First, and most obvious, the person is a physical being, who is subject to her environment, and body. Second, she is a social being subject to her cultures history and current activity. Third, she is a rational being with the ability of introspection, making judgments and "having an interpretive world of language and of shared meanings" (Johnson 4). Fourth, she is existential in that she, through despair, "nausea," and absurdity she might come to a greater understanding of herself and God. Finally, she is free to choose as she might, as a morally responsible agent, the life she wishes and also to ask questions like "who am I?" or "How speak of God?" All these components, although very different in nature and in some cases opposite, coexist in the essence of what humanity is. Further application of each of the parts of a human person is what these characteristics mean in respect to a greater power, namely God. The realization of God can come in many ways, many like Descartes have searched for Him by rational means or others for some kind of "deus ex machina" (Bonhoeffer 281), Job (the existentialist) because of the break down of what Becker would call his "cover story" or his loss of material possessions, family and so forth, or like St. Augustine who found Him by looking into the depths of his own soul. The linguistic philosophers might deny the meaning of the question, Bonhoeffer wo
Some common words found in the essay are:
St Augustine, Russell Sartre, James Marsh, , United Catholic, God Finally, God Descartes, Ignacio Ellacuria, human person, existence god, language shared meanings, limiting themselves aspect, shared meanings, rational means, themselves aspect, limiting themselves, explain phenomena, self-serving delusion, laws science, language shared,
Approximate Word count = 1242
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
