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Anselmian Explorations: Essays in Philosophical Theology
264 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 5, 2013
I have been repeatedly impressed by Thomas V. Morris, whose work ranges from titles like If Aristotle Ran General Motors and Philosophy for Dummies to such impressive academic material as his 1986 book The Logic of God Incarnate, which continues to be the most influential work in discussions of the metaphysics of the incarnation today. Anselmian Explorations is a bit different from any of these other titles in that it is a compilation of papers by Morris, most of which were originally published elsewhere. I have grown to appreciate Morris's insightful, intuitive, and rigorous work in philosophical theology, and this book did not disappoint.
As the title suggests, the essays in this volume are united by the theme of Anselmian perfect being theology, or the idea of God as a greatest possible being. The opening paper is a treatment of this very issue, and it is followed by several other papers exploring the attributes of God and his relationship to the rest of reality. A lot of attention is given in this volume to questions about divine moral goodness, the modal status of God's attributes, and God's relationship to the creation. Issues such as whether God is good necessarily or only contingently, whether necessary moral perfection and omnipotence are compatible, God's relationship to abstract objects, and process theology are a few examples of the questions Morris considers under the umbrella of perfect being theology. The only paper that seemed out of place in this regard was an essay near the end on Pascal's Wager. Even so, it was an interesting piece.
Morris is a clear and sharp thinker who takes the tools of analytic philosophy and employs them expertly on problems of great religious significance. And though one does not have to agree with Morris's conclusions to find his work valuable and mind-sharpening, many Christians will be delighted to find that Morris seems to be entirely orthodox in his doctrine as well. Consequently, the essays in Anselmian Explorations constitute exemplary work in Christian philosophy.
As the title suggests, the essays in this volume are united by the theme of Anselmian perfect being theology, or the idea of God as a greatest possible being. The opening paper is a treatment of this very issue, and it is followed by several other papers exploring the attributes of God and his relationship to the rest of reality. A lot of attention is given in this volume to questions about divine moral goodness, the modal status of God's attributes, and God's relationship to the creation. Issues such as whether God is good necessarily or only contingently, whether necessary moral perfection and omnipotence are compatible, God's relationship to abstract objects, and process theology are a few examples of the questions Morris considers under the umbrella of perfect being theology. The only paper that seemed out of place in this regard was an essay near the end on Pascal's Wager. Even so, it was an interesting piece.
Morris is a clear and sharp thinker who takes the tools of analytic philosophy and employs them expertly on problems of great religious significance. And though one does not have to agree with Morris's conclusions to find his work valuable and mind-sharpening, many Christians will be delighted to find that Morris seems to be entirely orthodox in his doctrine as well. Consequently, the essays in Anselmian Explorations constitute exemplary work in Christian philosophy.
February 19, 2013
Perhaps somewhat outdated, but (in short) one of the most accessible defenses of Anselmian perfect-being philosophical theology from a contemporary Analytic philosopher.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews