Incarnation and Detachment—Philosophy, Prayer and Taking Positions

Greg Restall (University of Melbourne)

In this talk, I will explore some of the connections between logic and philosophy of language on the one hand, and theology—or religious practice—on the other.

Instead of focussing on the role of logic and semantics as a prolegomena to theology, or as a guide or corrective or standard for it—the standard picture of the relationship between logic and theology—I will draw other connections between the two disciplines.

First, I will draw on some contemporary insights in the philosophy of language in order to shed light on the structure and semantics of prayer.

Second, I will show how there are some significant parallels between the phenomenology or the pragmatics of logical judgements and the kinds of cognitive shifts which are modelled in certain kinds of articulate prayer.

The talk will involve more suggestions than arguments, and the aim is to provide opportunities for new and different interactions between philosophy and theology.