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- Title
Edwards' Natural Typology and the Problem of Subjectivity.
- Authors
Světlíková, Anna
- Abstract
The article discusses Edwards' theory of natural typology in his "Types" notebook with respect to the conception of the self that underlies the difficulty of Edwards' argument. This is identified by Edwards himself and by modern critics as the problem of subjectivity, the difficulty of distinguishing between the believer's subjective ideas and divinely warranted interpretations of the created world. In this perspective it can be argued that Edwards' typological theory fails to settle the issue convincingly and that the rules he provides for distinguishing between true and false types are insufficient. Such criticism presupposes that ultimately the self is in control of typology. If the difficulties of Edwards' theory are taken seriously, however, they are seen to imply that Edwards' understanding of the self might be quite different and incompatible with this presupposition. This suggestion is supported by a consideration of the self in the larger context of Edwards' thought. If Edwards' radical claim that the self depends on nothing but the immediate and continuing action of God, as he argues in the Original Sin and in other texts, is extended to his typology, subjectivity can no longer be considered its central problem.
- Subjects
TYPOLOGY (Theology); EDWARDS, Jonathan, 1703-1758; SUBJECTIVITY; CRITICISM; PRESUPPOSITION (Logic); ORIGINAL sin
- Publication
Jonathan Edwards Studies, 2013, Vol 3, Issue 1, p27
- ISSN
2159-6875
- Publication type
Article