Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

LAMAISM

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of God.” The male Father God remains
central to Lacan’s understanding of the
social-symbolic structures of language,
and so, the condition of all meaning and
values: “His” constitutive role in structur-
ing the language of the unconscious, in
turn, constitutes patriarchal authority,
gender, and relations of sexual difference.
These strongly masculine values lead
feminist psycholinguists like Julia
Kristeva (Tales of Love, 1987) to critical
engagement with Lacanian forms of anal-
ysis. Lacan’s works include a series of his
seminars (in 28 vols., 1954–1980) and
Écrits (1966).

LAMAISM. See DALAI LAMA.

LANGUAGE. See RELIGIOUS
LANGUAGE.

LANGUAGE-GAMES. A term derived
from Wittgenstein who held that there are
different domains of discourse with their
own set of rules and customs. Some claim
that the language game of religion may be
said to be different from the language
game of science. Talk of language games
in the mid-twentieth century was part
of a general philosophy that recognized
diverse, appropriate forms of discourse
and a tendency to displace scientific
discourse as the most prestigious and
authoritative.

LAOZI (a.k.a. Lao-Tzu) (c. 6th BCE).

Laozi (“the Old Master”) is the purported

author of the Daodejing, a text also known

as the Laozi. He is considered the founder

of Daoism. There is no contemporaneous

information on Laozi, and his historicity

is debatable. The text attributed to him

may have had more than one author.

The Daodejing evokes a Dao (“Way”),

an ultimate reality that cannot be

described in language or through rational

discourse, but can only be grasped intui-

tively. Using indirect language, particu-

larly paradox and analogy, the Daodejing

suggests a natural order in opposition to

human institutions. Passivity and humil-

ity are virtues. Water, for example, is soft

and yielding yet able to wear down stone.

The Daodejing rejects the Confucian

stress on ritual, propriety, and moral self-

cultivation. Its ideal of wuwei (“non-

action”) eschews purposeful action in

favor of simple and natural behavior.

LAPLACE, PIERRE SIMON DE (1749–

1827). A French astronomer famous for

claiming that in his science he had no

need for God as a hypothesis. LaPlace

articulated a strong form of determinism.

His most influential work is A Philosophi-

cal Essay on Probabilities (1814).

LEIBNIZ, GOTTFRIED WILHELM

(1646–1716). German rationalist and

defender of the view that the creation is