Analogy

• Strawman argument

  • easy to put down
  • A misrepresentation of an opinion or viewpoint
  • designed to be as easy as possible to refute
• Analogy- an attempt to explain the meaning of something which is difficult to understand by comparing it with something in our frame of reference
• Univocal

  • Using the same description to describe different things
  • E.g. only using colour to describe both an orange and an orange square
• Equivocal

  • Called the same thing, even though they're different
  • E.g. domino's (pizza) and dominoes (the game) are named the same thing despite being different
• Univocal language limits God

  • You're a good dog/ You're a good God
  • Makes God too much like ordinary things to which the word generally refers
• Equivocal language limits God

  • God is loving/ humans are loving
  • If you claim equivocally that God is loving in a way that is nothing at all like human love, then you've said nothing about God. Empties the word 'love' from any meaning
• Aquinas's view on analogy

  • Words, when applied to God, have a partial resemblance to their normal use
  • Univocal- words keep their meaning, limits God
  • Equivocal- Words have different meanings when applied to God, no knowledge of God
• Analogy of attribution

  • Bull's urine analogy- the health of a bull can be determined by the health of its urine as the bull produces the urine.
  • To say that God is good/ love implies that God has the ability to produce these qualities in humans
• Analogy of proportionality

  • An ant is remarkably powerful until:
  • There is a big difference between the power of humans and ants (downward analogy)
  • There is a big difference between the power of God and humans (upwards analogy)
• Weaknesses in talking about God using analogy

  • Have to understand God for it to work
  • Analogy of attribution can be used to prove God is evil as God can produce bad in a person too
  • The idea of proportionality does not work