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Can We Communicate Ultimate Reality? Illinois Wesleyan University Digital Commons @ IWU Honors Projects Philosophy 1962 Can We Communicate Ultimate Reality? David M. Newcomer Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/phil_honproj Part of the Communication Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Newcomer, David M., "Can We Communicate Ultimate Reality?" (1962). Honors Projects. 17. https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/phil_honproj/17 This Article is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Commons @ IWU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this material in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This material has been accepted for inclusion by faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ©Copyright is owned by the author of this document. Oan Vie Oommunicate Ult1mateReality ? by David M. Newcomer :ARCHIVES J J I N54\c Honors Paper Illinois Wesleyan University June IJ 1962 / BUCK MEMOiUAL UBRARY �Ii WBIlIIiLln"msny ANt..lMY Prefcce I would like to express my indebtedness to the faoul ty of Illinois Wesleyan Universi ty fa r pre se nting iD me the OppOI tuni ty to wri te an honors paper. The initial interest in the field of religious language stems from lectures on �The Meaning of ReI! gious LanguE�gefl which y�ere pres en ted by Profes SOT Paul Hessert. These lectures were given in the Philosophy of Religion c ourse offerfed in the spring of 1961. I would also like to thank Professor John Vander'v'Vaal, cha.irman of t..L e F):lilosophy Department at Wesleyan, for his personal gUidance and encouragement during' the prep2.r2tion of this papar . Under �.is direction the Buck Memorial Libra ry is rapidly attempting to compensate for its great deficiency in source materiEl pertcdning to tili s subj ect. Appreci2tion is also due to those ce:rt·qin professors in vcriou8 fields, who by their earnest concern for },:nowlecige and fine schole.rship 2.. 8 exhibited in their classroom, inspire many students to plunge i nto an undertaking which from the inception these individuals eludes an adequate expression. OUTLINE I. Preface II. Introduotion A. Man's concern f or a direc ted existence B.M£n is a social being , as a linguistic being C.Are our linguistics rooted in and do they communicate the intended reality? D. Proclamation of contemporery Zar8thustra E.Three religious claims 11. Ontology A,Traditional function of philosophy B. Knowing par'ti cipfltes in being- antic relation O. Greek philo sophy- se8.rch for D.Oommon nature to eiistence E.Relation of metaphysics to sc ienc� E�Ahti-metaphys ical theologians G.Distinction between philosophy and theology on III. Contempor8ry Re volu ti in. Philoso)hy A. Lingui stic therapy B.Essential terms of semantics C.Sources of i nfluence �nd m�in schools D.Preoccupation with meanin� E.Logic�l positivists semantical approach to SEman tlOS F.Evaluation and 2Gpraisal IV. j., :F'unctional A nalysis of Religious Language A.The nature of faith B. Takin g on of signi ficance C.The introduction of mystery D.Variou s functions: 1. Existential ;:; . E th ical 3.Belief 4."QuasiH factual 5. A ttitudi n81 6."Directing 2.ttentionfl 7.Convictional p. ImpropTi sty 9. III wHination through images E.Langer's p�esentational acmsntic8 F .l\:c:n 8_S 2. symbol ic Emimal G.Different levels of real ity , therefore different levels of language V. Conclusion A.Jesus- the Christian model of ontology and communication means I.His most effective of communicating" ul timate :reelity W8.S by what he "vas and by what he did B.The different levels of langbl.age and the other me?ns of communication must simultaneously be developed to t h eir utmost VI. Footnotes VII. Bibliography -, ..i. From the moment of conception, the organism design- " 2.. ted by th e Greek term II�Y0l'wtfO$" is invol veLl in a process 01 growing into a complex and highly dev eloped structure. The instant the egg: and sperm unite, a zygote is formed and an individual is e ng ag ed in being or existence. Every being of necessity must resDond to his existence. Man's response comprizes his lif e, and his life is what he experi ences. Every man lought' to live in an awareness of his state of affairs - the human condition of an exi sting being. Indeed, from the incept- i on of thi S peper' , presuppositi ons ar e pres ented, but this should not appeEr unreasonable. The expli ci t essu!'f1ption is that man's life or response to his existence concerns man's attempt to be an eXistentially authentic bei Man as a being engaged in existence is preoccupied with the meaning of existenoe, S existence. T n man's ultimate response is to orientate imsclf to the cosmos. It is not adequate, according to Mirc�a Eliade, for man to s imp ly say that he is in the world or If just here". response is made only which ve;etEtee, not an 2uthentic being. Once ain, the explicit and implicit assumption of this r�per is that man , in full awareness of his state of being, necessarily seeks to orientate himself to the cosmos; this eXistential concern i8 for a directed existence, an B.uthentic being. 2. As this distinct being evolves, he continually attempts to orientate himself in his existence ih a meaningful manner. When anything becomes meaningful, mom inevitably tries to communicate that which he understands as being the answer to authentic existence. Simultaneously with the development of man's social re12.tions, linguistic communice.tion plays B.D increasingly important role. Language, as a means of comrnunication, not only e.ssists in the c12.rification of our own thoughts but serves as a means of commun- ica ting our idea.. s to others. We can therefore see that language is an integral part of social existence. Langua�e is a priceless possession that must be employed with a conscious effort to use it properly. If our efforts to use language precisely deteriorate, our ability to communicate with meaning and c12rity will greatly. diminish. An essential "dialogue" w·ill thereby be lost to the ages, and a significant part of our meaningful existence will also be sacrificed. These thoughts introduce us immediately to the concern of this paper. We need to ask ourselves if our concepts c2tch hold of and convey the meanings we intend to communicate, i.e. are our linguistic rooted in the re�11ity we seek to know, B.ppE'ratUB l others. ( ) . to and do tt1ey COR11lmnlC8.l.Je, � th.. --!�."t real,_'ty Ludwig Wittgenstein implies a similar, yet more emphatic consideration when he states, "In propositions there must be exactly as much distinguished ( Gleich soviel zu unterscheiden ) as in the state of affairs 2 that it represents.n ( ) Language cannot be discussed without involving the facts to which they refer. Semantics and ontology 2.re the ([;a1n 2,reas to be invest- igated. Another preliminary consideration is that the very nature of that which is known is irdi cated by the approach to bnd solution of these problems. This contemporary concern cannot an� uust not be glossed over lightly by anyone who would be and think as a philosopher or theologian in the realms of scholar- Due to the influence end questions being raised by the proponents of philosophical movements associated ,d th lingui etic analysis, the validity of theological statements is being questionec.. Someone mIl attempt to answer these questions, and it would be preferable if there would be a feasible response from within the discipline being att2�cked. In E� previous p2.per, I have tri eo to expla.in why le.nguage is the bat tleground of Twentieth Century philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the cognitive i ications of theolog'ical langu2cge, and wi thin this undertaking 4. to xecognize any c h a nge in the txadi ti ona.l functi on of philosophy. It was a little over a half-century ago that Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) spoke his prophetic words through the character of Zarathustra. Zarathustra came down from the mountain "satiated with wisdom" and "descended into the lower world" in order that he might save mankind. Zarathustrafs proclamation that God is dead is mild compared to the prophetic voices of the "doing" philosophers of today, Briefly, their Z arathustra vyoulc. state th at theolog'ical language is dead, traditional philosophy is dead, and philosophy is functione.l only as a linguistic theraphy. If the philosopher can clarify the different usages of language, man will be better able to understand what claims are being made by a certain la.nguage. The claims made through religious language are the i terns that confront every individual e,nd require a response from him. In general, all religious claims to fact incorporate and procls.im an understanding in 2� lerger dirnension than the stclndard spacio-temporal reference. The religious claim is that there is in every y:lc'cn a soul thcJt is answerC'.ble to God, This realm irresistably confronts every auther:tically existing being. In addition to this most basic 5. consideration, there are the implioit claims to kno.� ledge.
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