Badania nad strukturą zdania teologicznego

Abstract

In the modern theological methodology a controversy has been held on whether there is a difference, and of what kind, between scientific (or ordinary) and theological language, and hence, between the sentences of science and of theology. The author tries to answer this question with the help of the most recent formulations, especially, made by the methodologists linked with Catholic theologists, referring however to moderate analytic philosophy. The author claims that theological sentences, like scientific ones, develop from ordinary language in a sense. Ordinary language is growing partially religious by referring to another non-empirical object, i.e. to God. The theological and scientific senteces do not differ in form, especially in terms of logic and methodology. However, they do differ in origin, because theological sentences stem from faith and from experience guided by faith. Faith however does not enter the very structure of sentences. Similarly, the humanities are based on the so-called natural faith. Theological language, like ordinary one, has two dimentions: assertive and non-assertive. Both these dimentions refer to two subject planes: empirical and non-empirical. Assertive clauses are fundamental but the importance of a non-assertive one increases, especially as an object of a predicate. In conclusion, the structure of a theological sentence is as follows: we have assertive clauses with the established scientific status, non-assertive clauses seeking for such status, and communication, i.e. the way both these planes are related to man, and especially to faith, which generates them.