Disputatio philosophica: International Journal on Philosophy and Religion

Catholic Action

2024-02-13T08:38:07+01:00

The centuries–old model of the Church as a community of lay people and clerics who inspire and guide them was entering a functional crisis. In the era of revolutions and liberalism, the laity found itself in a new, contradictory position: at the same time, they are believers loyal to the Church and citizens loyal to secular society. Looking for a way out of the crisis, the Church relied on the democratic capacity of the laity, who promoted Christian values with their social presence, but also fought for the Church’s political rights. The organized Catholic laity had a specific role: to form, culturally and morally, the lay classes. The prehistory of the creation of the Catholic lay movement (Catholic Action) gives insights into the complexity of societies in the second half of the 19th, and the beginning of the 20th century, but also the high level of inventiveness of both the laity and the hierarchy in activating the laity, which will turn out to be an epoch–making success of the Church of the 20th century.

Disputatio philosophica

2024-02-13T08:15:59+01:00

Disputatio philosophica: International Journal on Philosophy and Religion, Vol. 25 No. 1, 2023

Simposio scientifico internazionale — 1 dicembre 2023. “La Lega Aquilina Croata e l’Azione Cattolica”

2024-02-13T09:37:28+01:00

Simposio scientifico internazionale — 1 dicembre 2023. “La Lega Aquilina Croata e l’Azione Cattolica”

David L. McConnell, Marilyn D. Loveless, Nature and the Environment in Amish Life. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018, 312 pp.

2024-02-13T09:43:25+01:00

David L. McConnell, Marilyn D. Loveless, Nature and the Environment in Amish Life. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018, 312 pp.

Valentin Goranko, Temporal Logics. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2023, IV + 112 pp.

2024-02-13T09:45:28+01:00

Valentin Goranko, Temporal Logics. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2023, IV + 112 pp.

Research on Boethius’s Views on the Nature of Good and Evil

2024-02-13T08:49:03+01:00

This inquiry delves into the nuanced perspectives of Boethius on the existence of evil, placing a particular emphasis on its ontological dimensions within the overarching framework of absolute good. The primary focus of this analysis centers around Boethius’s seminal works, The Consolation of Philosophy and Hebdomads which serve as the key repositories of his philosophical reflections. In the former, Boethius conducts a profound exploration of the problem of evil and good, with a specific focus on the ontological realm. The latter work, Hebdomads contributes a metaphysical foundation for a more profound comprehension of these philosophical concepts. This study bifurcates the thematic exploration into two core aspects: the ontological–metaphysical dimension, scrutinizing the concepts of good and bad beyond the realm of human action, and the ethical– moral dimension, acknowledging its importance for a comprehensive understanding of the metaphysical. This dualistic approach enriches the hermeneutic perspective, facilitating a more holistic understanding of Boethius’s intricate thoughts on the nature of good and evil. The synthesis of these levels not only illuminates Boethius’s intellectual journey but also contributes to the broader discourse on the philosophical exploration of ontological dimensions within the context of absolute good.

Examination of Christian Liturgy in the Journal Islamska misao

2024-02-13T09:06:19+01:00

What characterizes Islam is its openness to other religions and the “spirit of dialogue”, which is one of the essential ideas of the Holy Qur’an. For the dialogue to take place, the Other is required, the one who will try to understand. The journal Islamska misao (Islamic Thought) was partly dedicated to the said idea, which is substantiated by the texts that we aim to analyze in this paper. All of this testifies to a slow opening that characterized the period in which the journal was published, and both political emancipation, as well as the need to understand others to whom Muslims are directly addressed in their totality. Special emphasis is placed on the Christian ritualistic aspect, where we show numerous conceptual similarities in many religions, as well as peculiarities, all of which contribute to a more diverse religious spectrum which is in Islam perceived as a reflection of the divine plan or will. This is what Muslim authors had in mind when choosing topics in the journal.

Date and Authorship of the Ātmabodha

2024-02-13T08:20:10+01:00

The article examines the authorship and dating of Ātmabodha, a popular philosophical poem that, in a popular and poetically imaginative manner, expounds on the main teachings of the Indian philosophical school of Advaita Vedānta. Although traditionally attributed to the renowned philosopher Śaṅkara (8th century), the article presents arguments for placing the work several centuries after Śaṅkara. In addition to the state–of–the–art stylometric method, the General Imposters Framework, which does not recognize Ātmabodha as Śaṅkara’s work, Ātmabodha also does not meet Hacker’s colophon criterion. The paper places particular emphasis on instances of post–Śaṅkarite doctrinal and terminological developments in Ātmabodha, specifically in the comprehension of the concept of ignorance, alongside the introduction of later terminology and concepts. The available evidence suggests a tentative dating of the work between the 11th and early 14th centuries.

Religion, Theology, and Philosophical Skills of LLM–Powered Chatbots

2024-02-13T08:26:30+01:00

In this study, I demonstrate how religion and theology can be useful for testing the performance of LLMs or LLM–powered chatbots, focusing on the measurement of philosophical skills. I present the results of testing four selected chatbots: ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, and Llama2. I utilize three examples of possible sources of inspiration from religion or theology: 1) the theory of the four senses of Scripture; 2) abstract theological statements; 3) an abstract logic formula derived from a religious text, to show that these sources are good materials for tasks that can effectively measure philosophical skills such as interpretation of a given fragment, creative deductive reasoning, and identification of ontological limitations. This approach enabled sensitive testing, revealing differences among the performances of the four chatbots. I also provide an example showing how we can create a benchmark to rate and compare such skills, using the assessment criteria and simplified scales to rate each chatbot with respect to each criterion.

Wittgenstein, Religious Belief, and Incommensurability

2024-02-13T08:33:07+01:00

Wittgenstein begins his Lectures on Religious Belief by saying that he would not contradict a religious person’s belief in the Last Judgement, even though he personally does not share such beliefs. Later, he expresses uncertainty about whether religious believers and non–believers truly understand each other. Some philosophers interpret these remarks as showing that Wittgenstein thought that the religious and the non–religious discourse are incommensurable, in the sense that a non–religious person cannot understand a religious person when they are talking about their beliefs, and that religious beliefs are immune to outside criticism as a consequence of the supposed incommensurability. Hilary Putnam claimed that Wittgenstein believed that the dialogue between religious and non–religious individuals involves talking past each other, not due to incommensurability but for other reasons. I propose an alternative perspective on the “no contradiction situation” and Wittgenstein’s stance on religious belief, while agreeing with Putnam that the incommensurability thesis cannot be attributed to Wittgenstein.