Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

AESTHETICS

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resemble adoptionism; Christ is human
and divine insofar as Christ functions as
God in the world, revealing to all follow-
ers God the Father. On this view, Jesus’
human person and life is adopted by God
to represent or embody the Father’s love
and character in creation.

ADVAITA VEDANTA. Sanskrit, “non-
duality” + “end of the Vedas.” One of the
main schools of thought within Ortho-
dox Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta claims
that Brahman (God or the life-force) and
atman (the soul) are “not two.” Shankara
(c. 788–c. 820 CE) was its leading pro-
ponent. Hinduism includes substantial
teachings and philosophy other than
Advaita, but the Advaita tradition has
received the most philosophical attention
in the West. See also VEDANTA.

ADVENTITIOUS. An idea or concept is
adventitious when it comes to a person
from an external source. Descartes argued
that his idea of God as a perfect reality
had to have its source in God rather than
for it to have been created by him, an
imperfect, finite being. If Descartes is
correct, then some concepts derive their
meaning and origin from an external
reality. If the concept of God is adventi-
tious, it would be akin to the concept of
sunburn: you cannot have a sunburn
unless the burn was somehow caused by
the sun.

AENESIDEMUS OF CNOSSOS (1st

century BCE). A Greek skeptical philoso-

pher, Aenesidemus is most famous for his

Te n Tr o p e s (tropoi) or Modes of Skepticism.

These ten tropes consist of equally defen-

sible but inconsistent claims about facts.

Aenesidemus broke from the Academy

(while it was under Philo of Larissa) and

defended Pyrrhonism. His Pyrrhonian

Discourses influenced Sextus Empiricus.

AESTHETICS. Originally from the

Greek, meaning “sensations,” and coined

first as referring to art in the eighteenth

century by the German philosopher,

Alexander Baumgarten, from “ästhetisch.”

Aesthetics includes philosophy of art, a

study of beauty and ugliness, and reflec-

tion on the emotive features of objects

or events; e.g., the elegant gesture or the

melancholy and wistful storm. Philoso-

phers and theologians have sometimes

argued for the congruence of beauty and

morality (Platonists), but others separate

them (some Kierkegaardians). Religious

experiences have been likened to the aes-

thetics of the sublime. A range of themes

in philosophical aesthetics have a bearing

in philosophy of religion: when does the

meaning of a work of art or a passage in

scripture depend upon the intention of

the artist or writer? Is there a test of time

that can be used in both art and religion

as a mark of authenticity, truth, or value?

What is the imagination? Does the imagi-

nation play a parallel role in creating art

and in religious thought?