Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God

<p>Cornelius Ernst’s doctrine of God as the meaning of meaning corresponds to the implicit theological ontology around which Michael Polanyi’s fiduciary epistemology coheres. Conversely, Polanyi’s account of cognitive dynamics supplements Ernst’s metaphysics of meaning with a concrete account...

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Main Author: Keenan, O
Other Authors: Ward, G
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
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author Keenan, O
author2 Ward, G
author_facet Ward, G
Keenan, O
author_sort Keenan, O
collection OXFORD
description <p>Cornelius Ernst’s doctrine of God as the meaning of meaning corresponds to the implicit theological ontology around which Michael Polanyi’s fiduciary epistemology coheres. Conversely, Polanyi’s account of cognitive dynamics supplements Ernst’s metaphysics of meaning with a concrete account of the involvement of the embodied subject. Both Polanyi and Ernst seek to re-orientate their respective disciplines of theological and natural science within an intrinisicist perspective of meaning. Ernst’s theological ontology secures a thematic metaphysics in which the unity of the semantic cosmos is located in the divine triunity of Meaning. This is achieved by a doctrine of creation, in which the world is always already charged by God’s self-communication (corresponding to Polanyi’s efforts to generate a biosemiotic ontology). Within this proposed ontology of meaning, the unicity of theological knowledge is safeguarded by an account of the incarnation as an ‘ontological metaphor’, which is non-identically repeated in the act of faith. As an ontological metaphor, faith has a vocative character, addressing God in an act of worship that is simultaneously doxological and doxastic. This is framed by the action of the Holy Spirit, mediated by the Church: doctrinal frameworks are semantic tools that are indwelt in worship in such a way that theological knowledge becomes connatural. The result is a ‘semantic dogmatics in outline’ which emphasises the pedagogical role of theology, balancing the necessary integrity of dogmatics with its proper eschatological provisionality.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:b5f43df6-76f1-4b22-9f1d-7788b590ee962023-08-30T08:46:19ZSemantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of GodThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:b5f43df6-76f1-4b22-9f1d-7788b590ee96Theological epistemologyphilosophy of sciencePolanyi, Michael, 1891-1976Dogmatic theologySystematic theologyEnglishORA Deposit2018Keenan, OWard, G<p>Cornelius Ernst’s doctrine of God as the meaning of meaning corresponds to the implicit theological ontology around which Michael Polanyi’s fiduciary epistemology coheres. Conversely, Polanyi’s account of cognitive dynamics supplements Ernst’s metaphysics of meaning with a concrete account of the involvement of the embodied subject. Both Polanyi and Ernst seek to re-orientate their respective disciplines of theological and natural science within an intrinisicist perspective of meaning. Ernst’s theological ontology secures a thematic metaphysics in which the unity of the semantic cosmos is located in the divine triunity of Meaning. This is achieved by a doctrine of creation, in which the world is always already charged by God’s self-communication (corresponding to Polanyi’s efforts to generate a biosemiotic ontology). Within this proposed ontology of meaning, the unicity of theological knowledge is safeguarded by an account of the incarnation as an ‘ontological metaphor’, which is non-identically repeated in the act of faith. As an ontological metaphor, faith has a vocative character, addressing God in an act of worship that is simultaneously doxological and doxastic. This is framed by the action of the Holy Spirit, mediated by the Church: doctrinal frameworks are semantic tools that are indwelt in worship in such a way that theological knowledge becomes connatural. The result is a ‘semantic dogmatics in outline’ which emphasises the pedagogical role of theology, balancing the necessary integrity of dogmatics with its proper eschatological provisionality.</p>
spellingShingle Theological epistemology
philosophy of science
Polanyi, Michael, 1891-1976
Dogmatic theology
Systematic theology
Keenan, O
Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
title Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
title_full Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
title_fullStr Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
title_full_unstemmed Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
title_short Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
title_sort semantic dogmatics in outline cornelius ernst s meaning of meaning as michael polanyi s absent doctrine of god
topic Theological epistemology
philosophy of science
Polanyi, Michael, 1891-1976
Dogmatic theology
Systematic theology
work_keys_str_mv AT keenano semanticdogmaticsinoutlinecorneliusernstsmeaningofmeaningasmichaelpolanyisabsentdoctrineofgod