Grice on "philosophical eschatology"

I copy and paste below the uses recognised in the OED2 under 'eschatology'. I look forward to OED3 having:

Phil. As used by Grice, quite a different animal!

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eschatology:


1844 G. Bush Anastasis (1845) Pref. v,
Scriptural Eschatology.


1858 J. Martineau Stud. Chr. 228

The Eschatology of the Apocalypse and the Epistles.

1879 Baldw. Brown in Chr. World 24 Dec. 825/3

Eschatology, the science of the last things, is, as a science, one of the most baseless.

"b In recent theological writing, esp. as `realized eschatology' (see quot. 1957), the sense of this word has been modified to connote the present `realization' and significance of the `last things' in the Christian life."

1950 Scottish Jrnl. Theol. III. 90

Correspondingly for Christians..eschatology is being anticipated in the here and now, and the glory of the parousia throws its light backwards into the present life of the Church."

1957 Oxf. Dict. Chr. Ch. 462/1

"In modern Protestant theology eschatology has been given a new meaning, esp. through the studies of A. Schweitzer... Acc. to him, primitive Christianity was exclusively an eschatological preaching of judgement and salvation. Eschatological considerations are also a dominant factor of the teaching of K. Barth and his school..which sees the life of the individual Christian and of the Church as a series of `decisions' invested with an eschatological character... Recently many attempts have been made to draw out the present and abiding significance of future eschatological happenings, e.g. by C. H. Dodd in his conception of `realized eschatology'"

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In Grice's usage, eschatology deals with issues that Doctorow relates with dimensions and boundaries. The term for Grice would be 'category', 'categorial epithet' and 'transcategorial' or 'crosscategorial' epithet. I.e. an epithet may have originated within the dimension or border of ONE category. But via analogy, and metaphor (which are tropes accepted in THEOLOGICAL eschatology) you should rather not inhibit the philosopher to 'eschatologise' as he pleases, provided it pleases you, too.