From: "Tobin Nellhaus" <nellhaus-AT-gis.net>
Subject: Re: BHA: Speaking of which ...?
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 08:19:31 -0400


Doug wrote:

> After seeing Wendy's comment, I realize I misread Tobin's question.  RB
has
> not joined this other, theological current of critical realism.  The two
> currents, arguing strikingly similar positions, seem mostly unaware of
each
> other, despite happening on the same name for what they are defending.
> Given the history of the name among us, I think it is entirely
> coincidental.

While I myself suspected that the common use of the phrase "critical
realism" was more or less coincidental, underlying my question was some
musing about an implicit rather than a literal conjoining of the two
currents.  In other words, perhaps there are aspects of DCR that potentially
(if not "naturally") dovetail with what Brad has called Theological Critical
Realism (ThCR).  What *does* one make of the "strikingly similar positions"?
Doug is right to mention the history of the name "critical realism" (didn't
Bhaskar call the term a "mongrel"?), but let's also remember another history
of the term "realism" -- a position in medieval theology.  One might say,
the question is what *kind* of coincidence this is.

Still waiting for FEW to arrive outside the UK, T.

---
Tobin Nellhaus
nellhaus-AT-mail.com
"Faith requires us to be materialists without flinching": C.S. Peirce




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