Background
Phillips, Dewi Zephaniah was born on November 24, 1934 in Swansea, Wales. Son of David Oakley and Alice Frances (Davies) Phillips.
( Many contemporary philosophers assume that, before one ...)
Many contemporary philosophers assume that, before one can discuss prayer, the question of whether there is a God or not must be settled. In this title, first published in 1965, D. Z. Phillips argues that to understand prayer is to understand what is meant by the reality of God. Beginning by placing the problem of prayer within a philosophical context, Phillips goes on to discuss such topics as prayer and the concept of talking, prayer and dependence, superstition and the concept of community. This is a fascinating reissue that will be of particular value to students with an interest in the philosophy of religion, prayer and religious studies more generally.
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( The concern of this book is the nature of religious bel...)
The concern of this book is the nature of religious belief and the ways in which philosophical enquiry is related to it. Six chapters present the positive arguments the author wishes to put forward to discusses religion and rationality, scepticism about religion, language-games, belief and the loss of belief. The remaining chapters include criticisms of some contemporary philosophers of religion in the light of the earlier discussions, and the implications for more specific topics, such as religious education, are investigated. The book ends with a general attempt to say something about the character of philosophical enquiry, and to show how important it is to realise this character in the philosophy of religion.
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(CONTENTS: Wittgenstein and Religion, Fashionable Criticis...)
CONTENTS: Wittgenstein and Religion, Fashionable Criticisms; Know Where to Stop; Reminders of What We Know?; The Challenge of What We Know, The Problem of Evil; Belief, Change and Forms of Life; Can There Be a Christian Philosophy?; Notes and References; Bibiography; Indeces. PARTIAL list of keywords: language games; Marxism; Freudianism; philosophy; prayer; rationalism; religious accomodation; rituals; theology as grammar; conservatism; etc.
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( In a brilliant series of essays, the distinguished phil...)
In a brilliant series of essays, the distinguished philosopher D. Z. Phillips explores the alternatives for faith after foundationalism. A significant exploration of post-foundationalist thought in its own right, Faith After Foundationalism is also an important evaluation and critique of the theological implications of the views of Alvin Plantinga, Richard Rorty, George Lindbeck, and Peter Berger.Phillips’s own position is that one must resist the philosopher’s tendency to turn religious mystery into epistemological mystery. To understand how religious concepts are formed is to understand that to speak of God as beyond mortal telling” is not to confess a failure of language. God’s hiddenness is part of our concept of hima reflection of the mystery of human life as it is lived.Faith After Foundationalism will be essential reading for philosophers of religion and theologians, as well as for students of contemporary epistemology.
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( Foundationalism is the view that philosophical proposit...)
Foundationalism is the view that philosophical propositions are of two kinds, those which need supporting evidence, and those which in themselves provide the evidence which renders them irrefutable. This book, originally published 1988, describes the battle between foundationalism, which places belief in God in the first category, and various other approaches to the problem of faith – ‘Reformed Epistemology’, hermeneutics; and sociological analysis. In the concluding section of the book, an examination of concept formation in religious belief is used to reinterpret the gap between the expressive power of language and the reality of God.
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(This is a collection of essays by one of the worlds leadi...)
This is a collection of essays by one of the worlds leading philosophers, inviting the reader on a journey of reflection about morality and religion with reference to twentieth-century literature. The journey is one concerned to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Phillips, as a philosopher, believes that this struggle is often better expressed in literature than it is in contemporary moral philosophy or philosophy of religion. The range of writers Phillips engages with through the book is wide to say the least. Including T.S. Elliot, Frank Baum, Wallace Stevens, Nathanael West, Dennis Potter, Philip Larkin, Pirandello, Beckett, Carrodoc Evans, Joan Didion, Tom Stoppard, Kafka, Alice Munro, Hemingway, Isaac Babel, Camus, Barbara Pym, Edith Wharton, Elie Wiesel, R.S. Thomas and Flannery O'Connor, the voices of these writers, as Phillips refers to them, are those that have influenced his philosophy over the years. The book begins in part one by arguing the view that Western culture should by now have put aside the inherent childishness of religious belief. Then in part two Phillips discusses some moral alternatives to religion and in part three he argues the case that there are moral perspectives which are independent of religion and the final part four is a discussion of the possibilities of religious sense often ignored by religious critics.
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( A collection of essays which explores the significance ...)
A collection of essays which explores the significance of Wittgenstein for the Philosophy of Religion. Explorations of central notions in Wittgenstein's later philosophy are brought to bear on the clash between belief and atheism; understanding religious experience; language and ritual; evil and theodicies; miracles; and the possibility of a Christian philosophy.
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(Professor Phillips argues that human beings need "Interve...)
Professor Phillips argues that human beings need "Interventions in Ethics" to counteract our tendancies to generalize about moral issues. There is a gap between the tidiness of ethical systems and the hetrogeneity of morals. We need not only to criticize attempted definitions of the essence of morality, but also to give up the search for such an essence. In this collection of essays, written between 1965 and 1990, this need is explored in relation to such issues as the nature of moral endeavour; the request for a justification of moral endeavour; the appeal to human flourishing; the nature of the good life; the nature of moral endeavour; the appeal to human flourishing; the nature of the good life; the nature of moral change; and moral relativity. Professor Phillips argues his case in relation to the work of contemporary philosophers including A.G.N.Amcombe, Annette Baier, Max Black, Cora Diamond, Thomas Nagel, Bernard Williams and Peter Winch.
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(This new edition gives students all the tools they need t...)
This new edition gives students all the tools they need to succeed on the new TOEFL® iBT integrated-skills test. Providing both a comprehensive language-skills course and a wealth of practice for all sections of the test, the Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL iBT® Test, Third Edition is appropriate for courses in TOEFL test preparation or as a supplement to more general ESL courses. New to the Third Edition: • New guidelines and strategies for note-taking. • New tips and hints throughout the practice sections. • Downloadable audio program and teacher’s materials, including lesson plans and classroom activities. • Access to MyEnglishLab: TOEFL: the easy-to-use online learning program, with extensive additional practice activities, pre- and post-tests, and three full-length tests. Features: • Updated material for all the new types of test passages and questions. • Diagnostic pre-tests and post-tests that allow students to identify strengths and weaknesses and assess improvement in each section. • Practice for all four skills: • Reading provides practice exercises in the new test formats, including filling in a table or chart • and paraphrasing. • Listening provides authentic conversations in an academic setting and academic lectures with new • questions about a speaker’s attitude or purpose. • Speaking includes personal and expository tasks and integrated tasks. • Writing consists of writing and expository tasks. • Eight Mini-Tests that preview the test’s integrated four-skills format. • Two complete Practice Tests that familiarize students with the actual test format, including length and level of difficulty.
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(Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFLA (R) Test: Next ...)
Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFLA (R) Test: Next Generation (IBT), written by Deborah Phillips, gives students all the tools they need to succeed on the new TOEFLA (R) integrated-skills test. Providing both a comprehensive language skills course and a wealth of practice for all sections of the test, the Longman Preparation Course is appropriate for courses in TOEFLA (R) Test preparation or as a supplement to more general English courses. Note: You must have the audio program to use the listening material (the Skills Practice, the Mini-Tests, and the Complete Tests) in the textbook. Click here to order the audio program (on CD or audiocassette). The Student Book features: *Authentic material for all the new types of passages and questions on the test. *Diagnostic pre-tests and post-tests that allow students to identify strengths and weaknesses and assess improvement in each section. *Practice sections for the four skills: *Reading provides practice exercises in the new test formats, including filling in a table or chart and paraphrasing.* Listening provides authentic conversations between two people in an academic setting and academic lectures with new questions about a speaker's attitude or purpose. *Speaking includes personal and expository tasks and integrated tasks. *Writing consists of expository and integrated tasks: reading/listening/writing.*Eight mini-tests that preview the test's integrated four-skills format. *Two complete practice tests that familiarize students with the actual test format and timing. Note that a CD-ROM component is also available. The CD-ROM features: *Completely different material from the Student Book. *Practice sections for all parts of the test, including speaking. *Eight mini-tests, and two complete tests. *Pop-up explanations for all items on the CD-ROM. *Easy-to-use scoring and record-keeping to monitor progress. Click here to purchase the CD-ROM.
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Phillips, Dewi Zephaniah was born on November 24, 1934 in Swansea, Wales. Son of David Oakley and Alice Frances (Davies) Phillips.
Bachelor, University College Swansea, Wales, 1956. Master of Arts, University College Swansea, Wales, 1958. B. Little, Oxford University, 1961.
Assistant lecturer in philosophy Queen's College, Dundee, Wales, 1961-1962, lecturer Wales, 1962-1963, University Bangor, Wales, 1963-1965, University College Swansea, 1965-1967, senior lecturer, 1967-1970, professor philosophy, department head, from 1971, dean faculty arts, 1982-1985, vice-principal, 1989-1992. Danforth professor philosophy of religion University California, Claremont, 1992—2006. Lecturer in field.
(CONTENTS: Wittgenstein and Religion, Fashionable Criticis...)
(Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFLA (R) Test: Next ...)
( Foundationalism is the view that philosophical proposit...)
(This is a collection of essays by one of the worlds leadi...)
( Many contemporary philosophers assume that, before one ...)
(Professor Phillips argues that human beings need "Interve...)
( The concern of this book is the nature of religious bel...)
(This new edition gives students all the tools they need t...)
( A collection of essays which explores the significance ...)
(According to Wittgenstein, philosophical puzzles are due ...)
( In a brilliant series of essays, the distinguished phil...)
(First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylo...)
(Book by Phillips, D.Z)
Author: The Concept of Prayer, 1965, Faith and Philosophical Enquiry, 1970, Death and Immortality, 1970, (with H.O. Mounce) Moral Practices, 1970, (with Ilham Dilham) Sense and Delusion, 1971, Anthronyddu Am Grefydd, 1974, Religion without Explanation, 1976, Through A Darkening Glass: Philosophy, Literature, and Cultural Change, 1982, Belief, Change and Forms of Life, 1986, R.S. Thomas: Poet of the Hidden God, 1986, Faith After Foundationalism, 1988, From Fantasy to Faith, 1991, Interventions in Ethics, 1992, Wittgenstein and Religion, 1993. Editor: (books) Religion and Understanding, 1967, Saith Ysgrif Ar Grefydd, 1967, (with J.L. Stocks) Morality and Purpose, 1969, (with Rush Rhees) Without Answers, 1969, (John Anderson) Education and Inquiry, 1980, (with Jakob Fries) Dialogues on Morality and Religion, 1982, (with Peter Winch) Wittgenstein: Attention to Particulars, 1989. Philosophical Investigations Journal, 1982-2006, Swansea Studies in Philosophy, 1989-2006.Contributor numerous articles to professional journals.
Phillips’s major contribution has been in the philosophy of religion, where he has opposed the idea that religious belief involves metaphysical commitments. The reality of God, according to Phillips, is to be found in the religious believer’s ‘forms of life’ and their ‘language games’. He spelled this out in The Concept of Prayer (1965), where he argued that genuine prayers are not an attempt to communicate with a supernatural being, but rather ways of coming to understand, and come to terms with, oneself.
Their specifically religious dimension is given by the language which the believer finds to be essential to the activityMuch of Phillips’s work has been devoted to exploring and defending this general conception of religion, a conception on which the traditional attempt to find a rational justification for belief in God is radically misconceived.
In a similar way, Phillips has opposed the desire to look for a theoretical, and external, justification for ethical beliefs. The rationale for an ethical belief is to be found in the form of life to which it gives partial expression, and such forms of life are irreducibly diverse. Phillips’s work has been extensively discussed.
Its major influence has been amongst those sympathetic to a certain interpretation of Wittgenstein. Others have generally felt that its denial of a theoretical commitment in religious and ethical beliefs is implausible. Sources: Who’s Who 1992.
Personal communication.
Member of the Gorsedd, National Eisteddfod of Wales. Avocation: tennis.
Ethics; philosophy of religion. Philosophy and literature.
Soren Kierkegaard, Simone Weil, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Rush Rhees.
Married Margaret Monica Hanford, September 2, 1959. Children: Aled Huw, Steffan John, Rhys David.