Essays in Philosophy of Religion (Jostarhaye Falsafeh Din)

The relation between language and the transcendental in the religious diversity problem; a critical study

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Mehdi Akhavan

Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Allameh Tabatabai University

Abstract
The relation between language and fact in philosophy, generally, and in philosophy of language, particularly, raises issues in semantics and reference theory. Every philosophical approach to the phenomenon of diversity and the plurality of religions should consider these linguistic issues. The reference and semantic theories that are chosen to deal with religious diversity problem shouldn’t undermine the integrity and consistency of the theory. The incompatibility among religious propositions and different language of religions to talk about the transcendental is one of most important philosophical problems of which different approaches try to offer a reasonable explanation, in such a way that they could defend the existence of the transcendental, its unity, and the possibility of different, event incompatible, words on this reality, simultaneously. Analyzing the linguistic presuppositions of the transcendent in the religious diversity problem, we attempt to study Hick’s two mythical narratives and Byrne’s metaphorical narrative of contemporary pluralism, comparatively.

Keywords

Language
Religion
Religious diversity
Pluralism
Hick
Byrne
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