Kierkegaard

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Kierkegaard Fideism

• Fideism
• The position that religious belief-systems are
  not subject to rational evaluation (Michael
  Peterson et al, Reason Religious Belief an
  Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, 2nd
  ed. (NY Oxford UP, 1998) 49).
• Søren Kierkegaard (Danish, 1813-1855)
• Two ways of knowing
• Objective
• Subjective

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Kierkegaard Fideism

• Which is appropriate for religious faith?
• Religious truth the venture which chooses an
  objective uncertainty with passion of the
  infinite (982nd).

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• drawing of Kierkegaard
• by his 2nd cousin, Niels Christian Kierkegaard
• c. 1840
• Royal Library, Copenhagen

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Kierkegaard Fideism

• Faith risk dread
• Faith the absurd
• Critical evaluation of Fideism
• How does one decide which religious faith to jump
  to? (James Jones Peoples Temple, Jonestown,
  Guyana, 1978)

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Kierkegaard Fideism

• How does one arbitrate conflicts between a
  religious belief-system science?
• The value of Fideism religious faith is more
  than assent to cognitive claims involves passion
  trust relationship with a person

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Cliffords strong rationalism

• Strong rationalism - the position that in order
  for a religious belief-system to be properly and
  rationally accepted, it must be possible to prove
  that the belief-system is true (Peterson et al
  45).
• William Clifford (English, 1845-1879)
• Story about ship owner

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Cliffords strong rationalism

• Conclusion The ship owner had no right to
  believe on such evidence as was before him it
  was morally wrong for him to believe that it was
  safe to sail (Peterson 802nd).

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Cliffords strong rationalism

• Clifford anticipates some objections
• The actions were immoral, not the beliefs.
• Cliffords response Belief action cannot be
  separated beliefs often, almost always, spill
  over into action
• Hence all beliefs have a social dimension they
  affect the lives of others.

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Cliffords strong rationalism

• This is why beliefs may be morally good or bad.
• Therefore one has a moral obligation to accept
  only those beliefs based on evidence careful
  reasoning (Peterson 842nd).
• If evidence is lacking, one should withhold
  belief.

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Cliffords strong rationalism

• Application of his position to religion?
• Critique of Cliffords position
• One may make an intellectual mistake not be
  morally wrong for making such a mistake.
• There is a difference between an intellectual
  mistake a moral evil.

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Cliffords strong rationalism

• We often must act without sufficient knowledge
  (e.g., practice of medicine).
• In his tacit application of his position to
  religion, he assumes that religious faith is a
  leap beyond reason evidence.
• John Polkinghorne You dont have to commit
  intellectual suicide to be a person of religious
  faith.

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Critical rationalism

• Critical rationalism - the position that
  religious belief-systems can and must be
  rationally criticized and evaluated although
  conclusive proof is such a system is impossible
  (Peterson et al 53).
• Cover Ibn Rushd here

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Aquinas on faith reason

• Aquinas (Italian, 1225-1274)
• Two kinds of propositions about God

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Aquinas on faith reason

• Arguments for the appropriateness that although
  truths about God are available through human
  reason, these same truths are also available
  through revelation (reason revelation)

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Aquinas on faith reason

• 1. The pragmatic argument
• 2. Argument based on the frailty of human reason
• Arguments for the appropriateness that there are
  some truths about God which are beyond human
  reason (revelation only)
• 1. Argument based on the satisfaction of the
  transcendent nature of humans

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Aquinas on faith reason

• 2. Argument for richness of our knowledge of God
• 3. Argument for plausibility that knowledge of
  God would be beyond the abilities of human reason
• On the relationship between religious faith
  reason the harmony position (Peterson et al
  712nd)
• Principle vs practice

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Aquinas on faith reason

• Concluding overview of Aquinass position
• 1. Faith precedes reason
• 2. Reason alone cannot arrive at many of the
  propositions of religious faith but once these
  propositions are available (by revelation),
  reason can show that they are reasonable.

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Aquinas on faith reason

• 3. Religious faith is partly proposition it
  makes truth-claims
• 4. In principle, religious faith reason are in
  harmony.
• 5. In practice, they may conflict but when they
  do, reason must be wrong.

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Aquinas on faith reason

• Critique of Aquinas
• On 5, in view of our 20th century awareness of
  the historicity of the development of dogma of
  the interpretation of scripture, why not say that
  in cases of conflict, both religious faith
  reason must reassess their positions?

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Assessment of critical rationalism

• Concluding comments on critical rationalism in
  general
• Religious belief-systems are worldviews.
• Worldviews are very complex include
  metaphysics, epistemology, ethics.
• Thus they are difficult to critically evaluate.
• But it is possible.

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Assessment of critical rationalism

• Some of the standards which may be used
• internal external consistency
• explanatory power (does it offer a comprehensive
  view which is illuminating?)
• agreement with experience
• it offer a coherence unity

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Assessment of critical rationalism

• does it help us make sense of the actual living
  of our lives?

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Assessment of critical rationalism

• Finally, critical rationalism, since it holds
  that conclusive proof is never possible with
  respect to religious belief-systems, involves, as
  Kierkegaard claims, commitment which goes beyond
  pure rationality it involves entrusting
  ourselves to something that goes beyond what we
  have conclusive proof for.