Susan James
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199698127
- eISBN:
- 9780191740558
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199698127.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The first six chapters of the Treatise explicate the revealed teaching of the Bible, focusing on what it does not require. The middle section of the work now challenges the views of the Reformed ...
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The first six chapters of the Treatise explicate the revealed teaching of the Bible, focusing on what it does not require. The middle section of the work now challenges the views of the Reformed Church (and others) about how the Bible should be interpreted, and elaborates the hermeneutic method that Spinoza has so far been relying on. This chapter explicates and contextualizes Spinoza's view that biblical interpretation is a form of enquiry grounded on imagination, a version of what Descartes calls analysis and Bacon calls history, and explores its relation to the rational method of philosophical reasoning. On the one hand, Spinoza argues, interpreting Scripture is a rational process that anyone can in principle engage in. On the other hand, and contrary to the scandalous view of his friend Loedwijk Meyer, Scripture cannot be entirely understood by means of a strictly philosophical method. Theology and philosophy therefore remain distinct.Less
The first six chapters of the Treatise explicate the revealed teaching of the Bible, focusing on what it does not require. The middle section of the work now challenges the views of the Reformed Church (and others) about how the Bible should be interpreted, and elaborates the hermeneutic method that Spinoza has so far been relying on. This chapter explicates and contextualizes Spinoza's view that biblical interpretation is a form of enquiry grounded on imagination, a version of what Descartes calls analysis and Bacon calls history, and explores its relation to the rational method of philosophical reasoning. On the one hand, Spinoza argues, interpreting Scripture is a rational process that anyone can in principle engage in. On the other hand, and contrary to the scandalous view of his friend Loedwijk Meyer, Scripture cannot be entirely understood by means of a strictly philosophical method. Theology and philosophy therefore remain distinct.
Roland Enmarch
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264331
- eISBN:
- 9780191734106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264331.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter presents a continuous transliteration and translation of The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All, approaching the poem through hermeneutic methods.
This chapter presents a continuous transliteration and translation of The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All, approaching the poem through hermeneutic methods.
Frederick C. Beiser
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- October 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198859857
- eISBN:
- 9780191892240
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198859857.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
The main subject of this chapter is Strauß’s method in Das Leben Jesu. It argues that Strauß’s method was simply historical and that it had no definite philosophical or theological presuppositions. ...
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The main subject of this chapter is Strauß’s method in Das Leben Jesu. It argues that Strauß’s method was simply historical and that it had no definite philosophical or theological presuppositions. Its aim was simply to determine the reliability of the historical statements in the New Testament; Strauß took into consideration all the factors determining that reliability, viz., the reliability of witnesses, their consistency among each other, whether their account was first- or second-hand. The role of the principle of causality in Strauβ’s method is then discussed. This chapter also considers the charge that Strauß’s method was too negative, guaranteeing its results by simply presupposing the principle of causality. It is argued that Strauß’s method was not only critical but also hermeneutic, attempting a historical understanding of the intentions behind a text. Finally, the question is broached of the Hegelian influence on Strauß’s method. It is argued that Strauß presupposed no Hegelian metaphysics in the application of his method, but that certain aspects behind its form—that it is hermenetical and internal—are still Hegelian.Less
The main subject of this chapter is Strauß’s method in Das Leben Jesu. It argues that Strauß’s method was simply historical and that it had no definite philosophical or theological presuppositions. Its aim was simply to determine the reliability of the historical statements in the New Testament; Strauß took into consideration all the factors determining that reliability, viz., the reliability of witnesses, their consistency among each other, whether their account was first- or second-hand. The role of the principle of causality in Strauβ’s method is then discussed. This chapter also considers the charge that Strauß’s method was too negative, guaranteeing its results by simply presupposing the principle of causality. It is argued that Strauß’s method was not only critical but also hermeneutic, attempting a historical understanding of the intentions behind a text. Finally, the question is broached of the Hegelian influence on Strauß’s method. It is argued that Strauß presupposed no Hegelian metaphysics in the application of his method, but that certain aspects behind its form—that it is hermenetical and internal—are still Hegelian.
