RT Article
T1 Imagining the human: applying the philosophy of religious studies to Jonathan Z. Smith
JF Religion
VO 54
IS 4
SP 660
OP 676
A1 Fujiwara, Satoko 1963-
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1905378513
AB Distinguishing between philosophy of religious studies as intra-scientific methodological reflection and philosophy of religion as extra-scientific commitment to values, this article demonstrates the benefits of integrating both, applying critical reflection to the latter as well. As a case study, it focuses on Jonathan Z. Smith’s concepts of humanity and history. Smith’s strategic blend of history and morphology aligns with his extra-scientific vision of humanity, which derived not merely from methodological choices but from philosophical reflection. By comparing Smith’s structuralist arguments with Lévi-Straussian structuralism – interpreted as antihumanism – the article reveals that Smith’s humanistic orientation was embedded in North-American social and academic contexts. It thus advocates for a nuanced examination of religious studies’ philosophical underpinnings, suggesting that, without such analysis, the work of even empirical scholars like Smith might be misconstrued.
K1 Humanity
K1 History
K1 Structuralism
K1 Claude Lévi-Strauss
K1 Jonathan Z. Smith
K1 Philosophy of religion
K1 Philosophy of religious studies
DO 10.1080/0048721X.2024.2388433