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Scriptures and the Guidance of Language

Scriptures and the Guidance of Language

Scriptures and the Guidance of Language

Evaluating a Religious Authority in Communicative Action
Steven G. Smith, Millsaps College, Mississippi
December 2018
Hardback
9781108473217
£94.00
GBP
Hardback
USD
eBook

    In this book, Steven G. Smith focuses on the guidance function in language and scripture and evaluates the assumptions and ideals of scriptural religion in global perspective. He brings to language studies a new pragmatic emphasis on the shared modeling of life-in-the-world by communicators constantly depending on each other's guidance. Using concepts of axiality and axialization derived from Jaspers' description of the 'Axial Age', he shows the essential role of scripture in the historical progress of communicative action. This volume clarifies the formative power of scriptures in religions of the 'world religion' type and brings scripture into philosophy of religion as a major cross-cultural category of study, thereby helping philosophy of religion find a needed cross-cultural footing.

    • Uses the concept of guidance to develop a pragmatic view of the powers of language within which scripture plays an arguably necessary role
    • Uses the concept of guidance to establish a cross-culturally fair definition of scripture and to identify evaluative issues associated with the scripture premise
    • Examines the possibility of a multiscripturalist human future

    Product details

    December 2018
    Hardback
    9781108473217
    328 pages
    235 × 160 × 22 mm
    0.59kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Part I. Problematics of Communicative Action: Introduction: on the powers and problematics of language
    • 1. The guidance problematic
    • 2. The speaking problematic
    • 3. The writing problematic
    • 4. The religious language problematic
    • Part II. Problematics of Scripture:
    • 5. What is scripture?
    • 6. Evaluating the scripture premise
    • 7. The scripturalist
    • 8. Multiscripturalism
    • Concluding thoughts on the necessity of guidance and ideal scripturalism.
      Author
    • Steven G. Smith , Millsaps College, Mississippi

      Steven G. Smith is a professor of philosophy and religious studies at Millsaps College, Mississippi and the author of numerous works in philosophy of religion and related fields, including The Concept of the Spiritual (1988), Gender Thinking (1992), Worth Doing (2004), Appeal and Attitude (2005), Full History (2016), and Centering and Extending (2017).