tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078331897510807942.post7069453971551597580..comments2023-12-28T01:11:49.188-08:00Comments on Cum Lazaro: The cat is on the mat. God is in heaven.Lazarushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09716412032074416331noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078331897510807942.post-33685387772690852792015-02-10T04:42:54.602-08:002015-02-10T04:42:54.602-08:00Are the Loch Ness Monster and Wittgenstein wonders...Are the Loch Ness Monster and Wittgenstein wonders we can talk about, using words to make them seem different? kailyard ruleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11098989013431186162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078331897510807942.post-11056477129970306792015-02-09T07:14:17.831-08:002015-02-09T07:14:17.831-08:00You know, my straightforward answer to that is tha...You know, my straightforward answer to that is that I don't know. (Or more exactly: it can be defined in the sense that people have defined it. The question is whether it can be defined successfully.) I've waded through a lot of the literature on (eg) the difference between existence and essence, which people like Gilson insist is a key element of St Thomas and where later writers go wrong, and I still harbour the suspicion that a lot of the disagreement is purely verbal rather than substantive. Whatever the truth of that, (again) my hunch is that a very large mountain of ethical/theological disagreement is being erected on a very narrow metaphysical point: sort of, 'being and essence are distinct, so we need to stop thinking like an ossified neo-Thomist and start thinking like Kierkegaard (and pass the bong)'. <br /><br />When stressed, I go all Wittgensteinian and start looking for language embedded in actual forms of life. I don't know whether I can define existence, but I do know how to talk about whether or not the Loch Ness Monster exists.Lazarushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716412032074416331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078331897510807942.post-78955021511931700202015-02-09T06:38:06.664-08:002015-02-09T06:38:06.664-08:00Is existence beyond the power of words to define?Is existence beyond the power of words to define?kailyard ruleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11098989013431186162noreply@blogger.com