ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Axiological assumptions in Qohelet: A historical-philosophical clarification

Jaco W. Gericke

School of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Humanties, North-West University, South Africa

Correspondence

ABSTRACT

The article has as its working hypothesis the proposal that from a philosophical perspective, the Book of Qohelet can be read as having axiology rather than epistemology or existential issues as its core concern. In order to justify this claim, Qohelet's insight regarding what is good is viewed against the backdrop of various categories in value theory. This leads to the conclusion that the author's central message was not about meaninglessness or mystery but about worthlessness.

“Full text available only in PDF format”

References

Fox, M.V., 1989, Qohelet and his Contradictions, JSOT Supplement Series, JSOT Press, Sheffield.         [ Links ]

Johag, H., 1986, s.v. טוב , in G.J. Botterweck & H. Ringgren (eds.), Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. V, pp. 296?317, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids.         [ Links ]

Louise, J., 2004, 'Relativity of Value and the Consequentialist Umbrella', Philosophical Quarterly 54, 518−536.         [ Links ]

Mason, E., 2011, 'Value Pluralism', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2011 Edition), E.N. Zalta (ed.), viewed 18 March 2011, from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2011/entries/value-pluralism/        [ Links ]

Murphy, R., 1992, Ecclesiastes, (World Biblical Commentary Series), Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville.         [ Links ]

Portmore, D., 2005, 'Combining Teleological Ethics with Evaluator Relativism: A Promising Result', Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 86, 95−113.         [ Links ]

Schroeder, M., 2008, 'Value Theory', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), E.N. Zalta (ed.), viewed 04 April 2011, from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/value-theory/        [ Links ]

Smith, M., 2003, 'Neutral and Relative Value After Moore', Ethics 113, 576−598.         [ Links ]

Zimmerman, M.J., 2001, The Nature of Intrinsic Value, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham.         [ Links ]

Zimmerman, M.J., 2010, Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Value', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition), E.N. Zalta (ed.), viewed 21 March 2011, from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2010/entries/value-intrinsic-extrinsic/        [ Links ]