Joshua Harris | Institute for Christian Studies - Academia.edu

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Joshua Harris

Institute for Christian Studies, Philosophy, Graduate Student

Institute for Christian Studies, Philosophy, Graduate Student |

Philosophy Of Language

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Papers

ANALOGY IN AQUINAS: THE ALSTON- WOLTERSTORFF DEBATE REVISITED

In the last decade there arose a debate between William P. Alston and Nicholas Wolterstorff on th... more In the last decade there arose a debate between William P. Alston and Nicholas Wolterstorff on the subject of Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of analogia—that is, the position that perfection terms, when properly predicated of God and of creatures, are distinct, yet related in meaning. Whereas Alston interprets Aquinas to hold this well-known position before criticizing it, Wolterstorff argues that Aquinas actually did not hold the position as it is usually presented. In this paper, I show why Alston’s “orthodox” interpretation is more faithful to the letter of Aquinas’s text than is Wolterstorff’s “heterodoxy” and attempt to defuse Alston’s criticisms.

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What is a Transcendental in the thought of Thomas Aquinas?

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Multitudo as a transcendental notion in Thomas Aquinas

In this very rough draft, (a) I clarify what I think are three necessary conditions and markers o... more In this very rough draft, (a) I clarify what I think are three necessary conditions and markers of " transcendentality " in the work of Thomas Aquinas. Then I proceed (b) to demonstrate why multitudo qualifies as transcendental in Aquinas' sense by examining some texts in which the notion is mentioned while entertaining objections from contemporary scholars of Aquinas along the way.

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Does Aquinas Hold a Correspondence Theory of Truth in De Veritate?

At least since Martin Heidegger’s influential reading of Thomas Aquinas’ account of truth as a pr... more At least since Martin Heidegger’s influential reading of Thomas Aquinas’ account of truth as a precursor to modern philosophy’s unfortunate “forgetfulness of being,” it has been popular to classify the Angelic Doctor as one of the forerunners of the modern “correspondence theory” of truth. In what follows, I attempt to answer the question of whether or not this is a correct assessment. I want to suggest that Aquinas’ account of truth has superficial concord but deep conflict with modern correspondence theories. The argument proceeds in two major segments: First, I attempt to establish a working definition of correspondence theory by tracing its development in the work of John Locke, John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russell. Next, in light of these fundamental features of correspondence theory, I sketch out the way in which Aquinas’ own account is in superficial concord but deep conflict with it.

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Some Prolegomena to Any Future Truth Theory in Christian Philosophy

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Aristotle on Money in Politics I.8-10

A short summary of some of the key distinctions in Aristotle's understanding of money in Politics... more

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Is Meaning Being? Plantinga and Dooyeweerd

In this short piece, I defend Herman Dooyeweerd's famous dictum, "Meaning is the being of all tha... more

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Who's Truth? A Response to Davis-Franks

The following points come in response to a paper in Philosophia Christi by W. Paul Franks and Ric... more The following points come in response to a paper in Philosophia Christi by W. Paul Franks and Richard B. Davis (FD) entitled “Against a Postmodern Epistemology.” As the title helps to suggest, the authors argue for the incompatibility of James K. A. Smith’s “postmodern epistemology” with the gospel. In what follows, I respond to three of FD’s particular criticisms in the following manner: (1) by questioning the adoption of the correspondence theory of truth in light of the scriptural witness of John 14; (2) revealing what I take to be an invalid inference drawn from FD’s “Peter’s Axiom” as stated; and (3) offering an alternative account of the “universality” of the gospel.

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Truth and the Relation between Logic and Metaphysics in Frege and Heidegger

This study is an attempt to draw an instructive point of comparison between Frege and Heidegger o... more This study is an attempt to draw an instructive point of comparison between Frege and Heidegger on the question of the meaning of truth. Drawing primarily from Frege’s Grundlagen der Arithmetik and Der Gedanke, as well as Heidegger’s oft-neglected Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Logik, I aim to show that their differences on the meaning of truth can be boiled down to their respective positions on the relationship between logic and metaphysics. For Frege, logic is an unfounded foundation for any and all objective science—metaphysics included. Heidegger, on the other hand, argues that the science of logic as the laws of thinking is intelligible only in light of a metaphysics of being qua being. If successful, this thesis could prove to be important for understanding the fundamental trajectories of these two thinkers and their influence in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The argument proceeds in three major sections: first, with a reading of Frege’s Grundlagen and Der Gedanke; second, with a reading of Heidegger’s Anfangsgründe; finally, with an assessment of an aporia that results from two philosophers’ positions on the question of truth construed as the relationship of logic with respect to metaphysics.

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Review of Paul Ricoeur's Being, Essence and Substance in Plato and Aristotle

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ANALOGY IN AQUINAS: THE ALSTON- WOLTERSTORFF DEBATE REVISITED

In the last decade there arose a debate between William P. Alston and Nicholas Wolterstorff on th... more In the last decade there arose a debate between William P. Alston and Nicholas Wolterstorff on the subject of Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of analogia—that is, the position that perfection terms, when properly predicated of God and of creatures, are distinct, yet related in meaning. Whereas Alston interprets Aquinas to hold this well-known position before criticizing it, Wolterstorff argues that Aquinas actually did not hold the position as it is usually presented. In this paper, I show why Alston’s “orthodox” interpretation is more faithful to the letter of Aquinas’s text than is Wolterstorff’s “heterodoxy” and attempt to defuse Alston’s criticisms.

Views

What is a Transcendental in the thought of Thomas Aquinas?

Views

Multitudo as a transcendental notion in Thomas Aquinas

In this very rough draft, (a) I clarify what I think are three necessary conditions and markers o... more In this very rough draft, (a) I clarify what I think are three necessary conditions and markers of " transcendentality " in the work of Thomas Aquinas. Then I proceed (b) to demonstrate why multitudo qualifies as transcendental in Aquinas' sense by examining some texts in which the notion is mentioned while entertaining objections from contemporary scholars of Aquinas along the way.

Views

Does Aquinas Hold a Correspondence Theory of Truth in De Veritate?

At least since Martin Heidegger’s influential reading of Thomas Aquinas’ account of truth as a pr... more At least since Martin Heidegger’s influential reading of Thomas Aquinas’ account of truth as a precursor to modern philosophy’s unfortunate “forgetfulness of being,” it has been popular to classify the Angelic Doctor as one of the forerunners of the modern “correspondence theory” of truth. In what follows, I attempt to answer the question of whether or not this is a correct assessment. I want to suggest that Aquinas’ account of truth has superficial concord but deep conflict with modern correspondence theories. The argument proceeds in two major segments: First, I attempt to establish a working definition of correspondence theory by tracing its development in the work of John Locke, John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russell. Next, in light of these fundamental features of correspondence theory, I sketch out the way in which Aquinas’ own account is in superficial concord but deep conflict with it.

Views

Some Prolegomena to Any Future Truth Theory in Christian Philosophy

Views

Aristotle on Money in Politics I.8-10

A short summary of some of the key distinctions in Aristotle's understanding of money in Politics... more

Views

Is Meaning Being? Plantinga and Dooyeweerd

In this short piece, I defend Herman Dooyeweerd's famous dictum, "Meaning is the being of all tha... more

Views

Who's Truth? A Response to Davis-Franks

The following points come in response to a paper in Philosophia Christi by W. Paul Franks and Ric... more The following points come in response to a paper in Philosophia Christi by W. Paul Franks and Richard B. Davis (FD) entitled “Against a Postmodern Epistemology.” As the title helps to suggest, the authors argue for the incompatibility of James K. A. Smith’s “postmodern epistemology” with the gospel. In what follows, I respond to three of FD’s particular criticisms in the following manner: (1) by questioning the adoption of the correspondence theory of truth in light of the scriptural witness of John 14; (2) revealing what I take to be an invalid inference drawn from FD’s “Peter’s Axiom” as stated; and (3) offering an alternative account of the “universality” of the gospel.

Views

Truth and the Relation between Logic and Metaphysics in Frege and Heidegger

This study is an attempt to draw an instructive point of comparison between Frege and Heidegger o... more This study is an attempt to draw an instructive point of comparison between Frege and Heidegger on the question of the meaning of truth. Drawing primarily from Frege’s Grundlagen der Arithmetik and Der Gedanke, as well as Heidegger’s oft-neglected Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Logik, I aim to show that their differences on the meaning of truth can be boiled down to their respective positions on the relationship between logic and metaphysics. For Frege, logic is an unfounded foundation for any and all objective science—metaphysics included. Heidegger, on the other hand, argues that the science of logic as the laws of thinking is intelligible only in light of a metaphysics of being qua being. If successful, this thesis could prove to be important for understanding the fundamental trajectories of these two thinkers and their influence in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The argument proceeds in three major sections: first, with a reading of Frege’s Grundlagen and Der Gedanke; second, with a reading of Heidegger’s Anfangsgründe; finally, with an assessment of an aporia that results from two philosophers’ positions on the question of truth construed as the relationship of logic with respect to metaphysics.

Views

Review of Paul Ricoeur's Being, Essence and Substance in Plato and Aristotle

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