Brief Notes from John Lyons, "Language, Meaning and Context" (Pages 172-174)

Background to This Book: The linguist Sir John Lyons lived between 23 May 1932 – 12 March 2020 and he was a Fellow of the British Academy. His concentration was semantics: his peers considered him to be a "major semanticist" (Clark and Kempson). Out of the major work he did, one important study was Language, Meaning and Context, published in 1981. This book was written to outline and critique the status quo of semantics at the time. Since the field of linguistics has a significant impact on theology and speech act theory plays a role in contemporary theology, I want to comment briefly on this subject with help from the book by Lyons. 

On page 172, Lyons makes it clear that he does not truly like the terminology, "speech acts," so when he analyzes John Austin's inchoate theory of performative utterances, Lyons introduces personally-crafted distinctions while adhering somewhat closely to Austin's terminology the best that he can. Austin's famed work was How to Do Things With Words published in 1962. He lectured at Oxford and set forth thought-provoking ideas, but Austin did not leave an organized manuscript that his peers could publish. The lack of a suitable manuscript led to the imprecise articulation of his speech act theory, which John Searle later studied, propagated, and then offered his own ideas. 

On page 174, Lyons relates that Austin's theory was born in the midst of verificationist controversies: that is, some philosophers and linguists suggested that theological, metaphysical, moral, and aesthetic statements are emotive rather than communicators of truth or falsity. This would include statements like "Murder is wrong" and "Joe is a better singer than Barry." Austin criticized the verificationists and came up with his own counterexamples like "I promise to pay you five pounds on Tuesday." This statement is neither true nor false, but evidently obligates the one uttering the words to keep his/her promise or to act in a certain way. Hence, the terminology, "speech acts" (performative utterances). Linguists commonly articulate this theory in terms of the categories, locution, illocution, and perlocution. Kevin Vanhoozer has utilized speech act theory to explicate his theological thought. I also recommend Lyons' book if one wants to learn more about speech act theory, deixis/indexicality, semantics in general, Gricean implicature theory and much more. 

Sources: Lyons, John (1981). Language, Meaning and Context. Fontana.

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/2738/19-Memoirs-19-Lyons.pdf

Louis Berkhof and the Knowledge of God (How to Know God)--Pros and Cons

Louis Berkhof (1873-1957) relates that the medieval Scholastics generally framed questions about God's Being in three primary ways, namely, An sit Deus? Quid sit Deus? and Qualis sit Deus? It is not important to concern ourselves with the first question since this post will assume that God exists. However, the second and third queries have more to do with our present discussion of theological language and religious episteme. (See Berkhof's Systematic Theology.)

Regarding the second and third questions, Berkhof explains that we apparently cannot fully understand God's innermost constitution (his quidditas), for it is impossible to fathom the Almighty as Zophar avers in the book of Job (Job 11:7-9). In this regard, Berkhof avers:

"Apart from the revelation of God in His attributes [Qualis sit Deus?], we have no knowledge of the Being of God whatsoever. But insofar as God reveals Himself in His attributes, we also have some knowledge of His Divine Being, though even so our knowledge is subject to human limitations" (Berkhof 43).

Berkhof appears to say that we can know God in the sense of qualis, but we cannot know God's quidditas, much less "comprehend" it. He then alludes to Martin Luther's distinction between Deus Revelatus who remains Deus Absconditus per essentiam and then Berkhof observes that Calvin believed the act of speculating on God's quiddity is futile, but we can have some knowledge of God's qualities or attributes. The systematic theologian concludes:

"While he [Calvin] feels that God cannot be known to perfection, he does not deny that we can know something of His Being or nature. But this knowledge cannot be obtained by a priori methods, but only in an a posteriori manner through the attributes, which he regards as real determinations of the nature of God. They convey to us at least some knowledge of what God is, but especially of what He is in relation to us" (43-44).

I have related Berkhof's comments and observations extensively, so I will not comment much further on the matter, but his account seems fairly clear and might even align with some things in the Bible. In other words, we humans evidently have some knowledge of God's attributes by virtue of His divine self-disclosure. However, if we are attuned to God's attributes, albeit imperfectly, then why can't we know "what God is" to a certain degree? Not utterly fathoming the Almighty is perfectly understandable, but to know nothing concerning God's whatness or quidditas seems highly problematic from a biblical standpoint.

Additionally, this view is seemingly at loggerheads with a divine revelation model that posits God disclosing himself in the act of special revelation. I admittedly need to do more work on God's simplicity and the implications that attend this doctrine. Nevertheless, I am not comfortable with equating God's essence and existence nor do I think that God and his attributes are all the same (i.e., that God is justice or mercy or that he is equivalent with patience). It seems that there is at least a "formal distinction" (distinctio formalis) between God and his attributes, then thinkers like Berkhof talk about the difference between God's communicable and incommunicable attributes.. 

Opinion, Belief, Understanding and Knowledge in Platonic Thought--How Applied to Theology?

Plato makes the following epistemic distinctions in his work, the Republic (509d-510a). These steps go in ascending order: in other words, d) comes before c), etc. I have called these steps--"the epistemic ladder." Others make use of this terminology but sometimes apply it differently at times; see 

https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context=phil

https://academic.oup.com/book/32898/chapter/276569490

In any event, here are the four distinctions that Plato makes along with the objects of their episteme:

a) dialectic thought (noesis)-contemplation of the Platonic Forms/Ideas

b) understanding (dianoia)-reflection on or use of mathematics/geometry

c) belief (pistis)-immediately apprehends sensory sensation

d) opinion (eikasia)-rooted in sensory phenomena

How do these distinctions apply to theology? Thomas Aquinas delineates one potential way:

"The truths that we confess concerning God fall under two modes. Some things true of God are beyond all the competence of human reason, as that God is Three and One. Other things there are to which even human reason can attain, as the existence and unity of God, which philosophers have proved to a demonstration under the guidance of the light of natural reason" (Aquinas, SCG 1.3).

To be clear, Aquinas' theology owes more to Aristotle than to Plato, but I'm just showing how the epistemic distinctions of Plato might be applied to theological methods in general. Historically, theologians did make use of Platonic philosophy to shape the contours of their thought: Augustine of Hippo and Justin Martyr are prime examples among the church fathers.

Words of the Month (September 2022)

1. One of our words for September is the Greek καρπός ("fruit, crop, harvest"). The NT employs this noun both literally and figuratively: one of the most notable figurative examples is Galatians 5:22-23. But see also Ephesians 5:9; Hebrews 13:15; James 3:17-18. For places where the rendering "harvest" is preferred, see James 5:7, 18.

2. Paradigmatic (English)-"Paradigmatic refers to the relationship between a set of linguistic items that form mutually exclusive choices."

See https://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/paradigmatic.htm

Some examples for paradigmatic relationships might be raw/cooked, sacred/profane, spirit/flesh, hot/cold.

Books I've Read (Part IV)

1. Thompson, John. Modern Trinitarian Perspectives. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

2. Daniélou, Jean. The Angels and Their Mission According to the Fathers of the Church. Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1988. Print.

3. Sullivan, Francis A. From Apostles to Bishops: The Development of the Episcopacy in the Early Church. New York, etc.: The Newman Press, 2001. Print.

4. Marrou, Henri. A History of Education in Antiquity. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982. Print.

5. Toulmin, Stephen E. The Uses of Argument. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.

6. Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology. Wheaton, Ill: Victor Books, 1986. Print.

7. Vermes, Geza. Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981. Print.

8. Bulgakov, Sergej N., and Boris Jakim. The Comforter. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2004. Print.

9. Sternberg, Robert J. The Triarchic Mind: A New Theory of Human Intelligence. New York: Peguin Books, 1994. Print.

10. Witherington III, Ben, and Laura M. Ice. The Shadow of the Almighty: Father, Son, and Spirit in Biblical Perspective. Grand Rapids: MI, 2002.

11. Copan, Paul, and William L. Craig. Creation Out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005. Print.

12. Hoffman, Joshua, and Gary S. Rosenkrantz. The Divine Attributes. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. Print.

13. Lonergan, Bernard J. F. The Way to Nicea: The Dialectical Development of Trinitarian Theology: a Translation [from the Latin] by Conn O'Donovan from the First Part of De Deo Trino. London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1976.

14. Crick, Francis. The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul. Scribner Books Company, 1995.

15. Casey, Maurice.  From Jewish Prophet to Gentile God: The Origins and Development of New Testament Christology. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991.

16. Bailey, Wilma A. "You Shall Not Kill" or "You Shall Not Murder"?: The Assault on a Biblical Text. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005. Print.

17. Ayres, Lewis. Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.

18. Jungmann, Josef A, Christopher P. Irvine, John Coyne, and Paul F. Bradshaw. Christian Prayer Through the Centuries. London: SPCK, 2007. Print.

19. Ward, Keith. God, Chance and Necessity. Oxford: Oneworld, 1996. Print.

20. McInerny, Ralph. Ethica Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. Washington, D.C: Catholic University of America Press, 1997. Print.

21. Russell, David S. The Method & Message of Jewish Apocalyptic, 200 BC-AD 100.
Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1964.

22. Morris, Charles G, and Albert A. Maisto. Understanding Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print. 

 

23. Padgett, Alan G. Science and the Study of God: A Mutuality Model for Theology and Science. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2003.

 

24. Fabricatore, Daniel J.  Form of God, Form of a Servant: An Examination of the Greek Noun μορφή in Philippians 2:6-7. Lanham: University Press of America, 2009.

25. Gerhardsson, Birger.  Reliability of the Gospel Tradition. Hendrickson, 2001.

Books I've Read (Part III)

1. Cambridge Latin Course (Four Volumes). Published by Cambridge University Press.

2. Brown, Peter (editor) and Augustine of Hippo. Confessions. Reprint edition. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.

3. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture. London: Methuen; New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

4. Austin, J.L. How to Do Things with Words: The William James Lectures delivered at Harvard University. Editors, J.O. Urmson and Marina Sbisà), Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962 [updated in 1975].

5. Tillich, Paul. The Courage To Be. Yale University Press, 1952. Print.

6. Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. Seventh edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.

7. Pustejovsky, James. The Generative Lexicon. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995. Print.

8. Saeed, John I. Semantics. Second edition. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. Print.

9. Niditch, Susan. War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print.

10. Fretheim, Terence E. The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Print.

11. Palmer, Michael W. Levels of Constituent Structure in New Testament Greek. New York: Peter Lang, 1995. Print.

12. Hengel, Martin. Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross. Translated by John Bowden. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977. Print.

13. Frankl, Viktor. Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, 2006. Print.

14. Cooper, John W. Our Father in Heaven: Christian Faith and Inclusive Language for God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998. Print.

15. Cooper, John W. Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989. Print.

16. Meye Thompson, Marianne. The Promise of the Father: Jesus and God in the New Testament. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000. Print.

17. Kasper, Walter. Jesus the Christ. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1977. Print.

18. Ozment, Steven. The Age of Reform, 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1980. Print.

19. Metzger, Bruce M. The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English Versions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001. Print.

20. Giles, Kevin. The Trinity & Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God and the Contemporary Gender Debate. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002. Print.

21. Hallman, Joseph M. The Descent of God: Divine Suffering in History and Theology. Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1991.

22. O'Collins S.J., Gerald. The Tripersonal God; Understanding and Interpreting the Trinity. Mahway, NJ: Paulist Press, 1999. Print.

23. Bradley, James and Richard A. Muller. Church History: An Introduction to Research. Methods and Resources. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995 [updated in 2016]. Print.

24. Studer, Basil, and Andrew Louth (translator). Trinity and Incarnation: The Faith of the Early Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1993. Print.

25. Burgess, Stanley M. The Holy Spirit: Eastern Christian Traditions. Hendrickson, 1989.