• Law, Religion, and Metaphors

    Author(s):
    John Witte, Jr. (see profile)
    Date:
    2017
    Subject(s):
    Constitutional law, Law, Metaphor, Religion, Theology
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    Fundamental Beliefs, Law and Religion, Trinitarian Jurisprudence
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/05fq-sz31
    Abstract:
    This chapter explores the role of metaphors in shaping our thought and language in general, and in the fields of law and religion in particular. Drawing on modern cognitive theorists like George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, the article distinguishes and illustrates the roles of “orientation,” “structural,” and “ontological” metaphors in everyday life and language. Drawing on jurists like Robert Cover and Steven Winter, it shows how metaphors work both in describing the law in terms like “the body,” and in prescribing the foundational beliefs and values on which the legal system depends. Finally, the chapter explores the ample use of the sacred number three in the law, and speculates tentatively whether this legal appetite for “triads” might provide traction for the development of a Trinitarian jurisprudence. This chapter is dedicated to Michael Welker, a leading German systematic theologian and Christian philosopher, who has helped build a strong trans-Atlantic discourse on law and religion.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Book chapter     Show details
    Publisher:
    Evangeliche Verlagsanhalt
    Pub. Date:
    2017
    Book Title:
    Risiko und Vertrauen / Risk and Trust: Festschrift für Michael Welker zum 70. Geburtstag
    Author/Editor:
    Günter Thomas and Heike Springhart
    Page Range:
    177 - 195
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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