Will to Imagine

L. Schellenberg J.

Description

The Will to Imagine completes J. L. Schellenberg's trilogy in the philosophy of religion, following his acclaimed Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Religion and The Wisdom to Doubt. This book marks a striking reversal in our understanding of the possibility of religious faith. Where other works treat religious skepticism as a dead end, The Will to Imagine argues that skepticism is the only point from which a proper beginning in religious inquiry-and in religion itself-can be made.For Schellenberg, our immaturity as a species not only makes justified religious belief impossible but also provides the appropriate context for a type of faith response grounded in imagination rather than belief, directed not to theism but to ultimism, the heart of religion. This new and nonbelieving form of faith, he demonstrates, is quite capable of nourishing an authentic religious life while allowing for inquiry into ways of refining the generic idea that shapes its commitments. A singular feature of Schellenberg's book is his claim, developed in detail, that unsuccessful believers' arguments can successfully be recast as arguments for imaginative faith.Out of the rational failure of traditional forms of religious belief, The Will to Imagine fashions an unconventional form of religion better fitted, Schellenberg argues, to the human species as it exists today and as we may hope it will evolve.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Philosophy of religion

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801459269
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

The Will to Imagine

Also by J. L. Schellenberg

Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason

Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Religion

The Wisdom to Doubt: A Justication of Religious Skepticism

The Will to Imagine

A Justification of Skeptical Religion

j. l. schellenberg

Cornell University Press

ithaca and london

Copyright © 2009 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For informa tion, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2009 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schellenberg, J. L., 1959–  The will to imagine : a justification of skeptical religion/ J. L. Schellenberg.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801447808 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. Religion—Philosophy. 2. Belief and doubt. 3. Skepticism. I. Title.

BL51.S4265 2009 211'.7—dc22

2009004247

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally respon sible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In loving memory of my sister, Lois Faith Wimble (1947–1997)

Contents

Preface xi

Introduction

par t i . puri fyi ng fai th: why the best reli gi on i s the most skepti cal 1 1

1. Ultimism and the Aims of Human Immaturity 1. A Diachronic Conception of Religion 13 2. Faith and Ultimism 15 3. The Openness Aim Explained 17 4. The Implications of Openness 23 5. Other Rational Aims of the Immature 25 6. Conclusion 29

2. Faith without Details, or How to Practice Skeptical Religion 1. The Emptiness Objection 30 2. The Feasibility of Skeptical Propositional Faith 35 3. The Clarity of Skeptical Operational Faith 36 4. The Substantiality of Skeptical Operational Faith 44 5. Some Further Objections 48 3. Simple Faith and the Complexities of Tradition 1. Is Skeptical Religion Unrealistic? 53 2. An Example: Skeptics and Christians 56 3. The One-to-Many Option 60 4. Results of Our Discussion 65

vii

1

13

30

53

viiiContents

par t i i . testi ng fai th: i s the best reli gi on good enough (to sati sfy reason’ s demands)? 6 7

4. The Structure of Faith Justification 1. Principles of Negative Justication 69 2. Negative and Positive Justication 73 5. How Skeptical Faith Is True to Reason 1. Pure Skepticism More Pure than Pure Faith? 75 2. A Practice of Self-Deception? 85 3. Mill on Religious Imagination 89 4. A New Challenge 94

par t i i i . renewi ng fai th (1): how skepti cal proof subsumes beli evi ng argument—evi denti ali sm 9 7

6. Anselm’s Idea 1. Where Ontological Reasoning Should Lead Us 101 2. A Second Skeptical Ontological Argument? 114 7. Leibniz’s Ambition 1. The Lure of Cosmological Understanding 118 2. Religion and the Promotion of Understanding 123 3. Skeptical Responses to the Skeptical Ambition 129 8. Paley’s Wonder 1. The Vicissitudes of Teleological Argumentation 138 2. Paleys Wonder and Skeptical Religion 142 3. General Conclusion to Part III 155

par t i v. renewi ng fai th (2): how skepti cal proof subsumes beli evi ng argument—nonevi denti ali sm 1 5 7

9. Pascal’s Wager 1. The Form and Content of the Wager Discussion 159 2. Evaluating the Pascalian Dominance Argument 170 3. The Skeptical Dominance Argument 173

69

75

101

118

138

159

Contents

10. Kant’s Postulate 1. Morality and God in Kant 184 2. The Kantian Contribution to Skeptical ReligionStage 1 193 3. The Kantian ContributionStage 2 202

11. James’s Will 1. The Many Faces of Jamesian Belief 207 2. How Generic Is Jamess Religion? 215 3. The Competing Duties Argument 220 4. The Ought-to-Be-True Argument 226 5. General Conclusion to Part IV 233

par t v. keepi ng fai th: skepti cal reli gi onas reason’ s demand 2 3 5

12. Faith Is Positively Justified: The Many Modes of Religious Vision 1. Our Fundamental Results: Ten Modes of Skeptical Religion 237 2. The Modes Combined: Personal, Moral, Aesthetic, and Intellectual 241 3. The Completeness Mode 245 4. The Unity Mode 246 5. The Integration Mode 247

Conclusion 251

Appendix A: Denitions

Appendix B: Principles

Index 263

ix

183

205

237

255

259