Review article
The Cosmological Approaches of St. Thomas Aquinas and Tillich’s Conception of the Cosmological Type of Philosophy of Religion
Dubravko Arbanas
orcid.org/0000-0002-8597-0238
; Edunova IT andd Management School, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
Throughout his life Paul Tillich balanced on »the middle ground« between philosophy and theology, or religion and culture, but philosophy of religion was the strongest and the most permanent impetus that propelled him through all the stages of his intellectual development, so this investigation will try to show the seminal determinants of the cosmological type of philosophy of religion. The investigation focuses on Tillich’s conception of philosophy of religion, which is presented here with special emphasis on his well-known essay »The Two Types of Philosophy of Religion«, whereas the method of investigation also includes an analysis of the relevant ideas propounded by St. Thomas Aquinas. By means of a critical analysis, the author has come to the conclusion that the cosmological approach undermines the immediate awareness of God’s existence, since in this way God is reached through »mediated inference«, that is through an analytical exposition based on the experience of the outer world and God’s deeds. In this way ‘the essence of the ontological approach is nipped in the bud’, whereas the first principles and transcendental categories – being, truth and goodness – become »the created structures of our reason«. Therefore, on the basis of the ontological way, Tillich advocates »a moderate use of the cosmological way«, so that philosophy of religion could make a contribution toward »reconciling religion with secular culture«.
Keywords
St. Thomas Aquinas; Paul Tillich; first principles; proofs of God’s existence; contingency; unconditioned
Hrčak ID:
132999
URI
Publication date:
26.11.2014.
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