Traditional Religion and Its Natural Function in Aristotle
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9673252 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mor Segev (0000-0001-7305-5553, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 111 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 295-320 |
| Publication date | 2018-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical World (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8418 • E-ISSN: 1558-9234 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/clw.2018.0020 |
| OpenAlex | W2765233918 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 5 |
Aristotle thinks the content of traditional religion is false. However, he also holds that traditional religion is necessary if any city is to exist and flourish. Traditional religion is necessary, I argue, because it prepares the ground for what Aristotle considers the pinnacle of human endeavor: attaining knowledge of first philosophy. Religion performs this function by exposing citizens to anthropomorphic depictions of divinity. These, in turn, generate in the citizens with the right potential the sense of "wonder" at divinity that guides them from such mythological conceptions to an inquiry into the nature of the true god(s) of Aristotle's Metaphysics
Divinity · Epistemology · Function (biology) · Metaphysics · Mythology · Natural (archaeology) · Theology · Wonder · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Hannah Arendt's Political Philosophy · History · Philosophy · Religious, Philosophical, and Educational Studies
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,56 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |