Title
Affections and Cognition: The Viability of an Integrative Non-Hierarchical Epistemology Through Dialogue with James K. A. Smith, Alvin Plantinga, and Pentecostalism
Date of Award
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS)
College
College of Christian Ministries and Religion
Department
Department of Christian Ministries and Religion
Primary Advisor
Peter F. Althouse, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Joseph H. Davis, Ph.D.
Abstract
"What constitutes our ultimate identities -- what makes us who we are, the kind of people we are -- is what we love." These words of James K. A. Smith capture his main epistemological theme, i.e., that we are fundamentally feeling beings, not thinking or even believing beings as many accept. How do the affections shape our knowledge? According to Smith, the affections carry epistemic value, so that they are not mere emotions. Affections are pretheoretical construals of the world. While Smith constructed this affective epistemology in his earlier works, he aligned it with pentecostalism in Thinking in Tongues. The core idea of his Pentecostal epistemology is that affective knowledge is different than and primary than the cognitive.
Recommended Citation
Shin, Yoon, "Affections and Cognition: The Viability of an Integrative Non-Hierarchical Epistemology Through Dialogue with James K. A. Smith, Alvin Plantinga, and Pentecostalism" (2014). Masters of Theological Studies. 4.
https://firescholars.seu.edu/mats/4