Alexander J. B. HamptonCorresponding author

The Conquest of Mythos by Logos: Countering Religion without Faith in Irenaeus, Coleridge and Gadamer

Article
12/1 - Spring 2007, pages 57-70
Date of online publication: 15 juin 2007
Date of publication: 01 juin 2007

Abstract

Irenaeus, Coleridge and Gadamer all wrote about religion in distinct historical periods, however the work that each produced reflects the anthropological condition of the middle position. Furthermore, each thinker provides an opportunity for self-reflection about the motivations of faith without requiring the individual to abandon their religious belief in order to do so. In this manner they present a productive alternative to the required external views of the social sciences. The individual's position in mid-creation, his moral freedom and his historical contingence all require the acceptance, commitment and trust of faith. Gnosticism, Empiricist thought and the desire to overcome historical contingency all reveal intellectual impatience in riposte to this condition. This intellectual impatience seeks the absolute without the need for faith. For Irenaeus, Coleridge and Gadamer such absolute, logocentric, complete systems end up alienating man from the reality of the incomplete condition that permeates his existence and the faith-requiring mythos that ultimate realities necessitate in order to be communicated.

Keywords

Cite this article

Hampton, Alexander J. B. “The Conquest of Mythos by Logos: Countering Religion without Faith in Irenaeus, Coleridge and Gadamer.” Forum Philosophicum 12, no. 1 (2007): 57–70. doi:10.35765/forphil.2007.1201.04.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License