Religious Philosophy as Multidisciplinary Comparative Inquiry

Wesley J. Wildman

Description

What can philosophy contribute to the study of religion? This book argues that the study of religion needs philosophy in the form of multidisciplinary comparative inquiry. Contradicting the current tendency to regard philosophical reflection and the academic study of religion as independent endeavors best kept apart, Wesley J. Wildman brings them together, offering a broader vision than that of traditional "philosophy of religion" and surmounting many of its difficulties. His newer conception of "religious philosophy" is well suited to the modern, multicultural, secular university. Through multidisciplinary comparative inquiry, religious philosophy allows for a variety of approaches—from historical and analytical work to evocative description and theoretical evaluation of truth claims—and both secular and religious thinkers participate. The tasks and varieties of religious philosophy as they arc across the world's religions and philosophies are discussed along with religious philosophy's modern and postmodern contexts. Wildman's thoughtful and thought-provoking book will be essential reading for all those concerned with the study of religion, present and future.
Preface

1. Religious Philosophy among Kindred Disciplines

Religious Philosophy as a Form of Philosophy
Religious Philosophy as a Form of Religious Studies
Religious Philosophy as a Form of Theology

2. Tasks, Contexts, and Traditions of Religious Philosophy

Tasks of Religious Philosophy
Contexts of Religious Philosophy
Traditions of Religious Philosophy

3. Religious Philosophy, Modernity, and Postmodernity

The Successes and Failures of Modern Epistemology
The Successes and Failures of Postmodern Criticism
Beyond Modernity and Postmodernity
Postmodernism and Apophasis in Religious Philosophy

4. Religious Philosophy and Multidisciplinarity

The Importance of Multidisciplinarity in Religious Philosophy 
Case Studies on Multidisciplinarity
Incommensurability as Invitation

5. Religious Philosophy and Comparison

What is Comparison?
Comparing Approaches to Comparative Philosophy
Comparison and Religious Philosophy

6. A Pragmatic Theory of Inquiry 

Problem Solving and Inquiry
The Biological and Sociological Basis of Inquiry
Controversial Features of the Pragmatic Theory of Inquiry

7. Religious Philosophy and Inquiry

Religious Dimensions of Inquiry
Religious Philosophy and the Demarcation Problem
Case Study: Religious Philosophy, Religion, and Secularism

8. Traditions in Transformation

The Ontotheological Tradition
The Cosmotheological Tradition
The Physicotheological Tradition
The Psychotheological Tradition
The Axiotheological Tradition
The Mysticotheological Tradition
Status Report

Afterword: Religious Philosophy in the Modern University
Summary of the Deconstructive Case in Support of Religious Philosophy
Summary of the Constructive Case in Support of Religious Philosophy
Religious Philosophy and the Diversity of Higher Education

Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Philosophy of religion
• Theology

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 05 novembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438432373
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Religious Philosophy as Multidisciplinary Comparative Inquiry

ENVISIONING A FUTURE FOR THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

W E S L E Y J . W I L D M A N

ReligiousPhilosophyas MultidisciplinaryComparativeInquiry

ReligiousPhilosophyas MultidisciplinaryComparativeInquiry

EnvisioningaFutureforthe PhilosophyofReligion

WesleyJ.Wildman

PublishedbyStateUniversityofNewYorkPress,Albany

©2010StateUniversityofNewYork

Allrightsreserved

PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Wildman,WesleyJ.  Religiousphilosophyasmultidisciplinarycomparativeinquiry: envisioningafutureforthephilosophyofreligion/WesleyJ.Wildman. pc.m. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-1-4384-3235-9(hardcover:alk.paper) 1.Religion—Philosophy. I.Title.

BL51.W58625010 210—dc22

10987654321

2009054440

For Bob Neville

Prefaceix

Contents

Chapter1.ReligiousPhilosophyamongKindredDisciplines  ReligiousPhilosophyasaFormofPhilosophy  ReligiousPhilosophyasaFormofReligiousStudies  ReligiousPhilosophyasaFormofTheology

Chapter2.Tasks,Contexts,andTraditionsof ReligiousPhilosophy TasksofReligiousPhilosophy ContextsofReligiousPhilosophy  TraditionsofReligiousPhilosophy

1 1 13 26

35 45 50

Chapter3.ReligiousPhilosophy,Modernity,andPostmodernity 57  TheSuccessesandFailuresofModernEpistemology 57 TheSuccessesandFailuresofPostmodernCriticism 63 BeyondModernityandPostmodernity 72  PostmodernismandApophasisinReligiousPhilosophy 79

Chapter4.ReligiousPhilosophyandMultidisciplinarity  TheImportanceofMultidisciplinarityin ReligiouPshilosophy  CaseStudiesonMultidisciplinarity IncommensurabilitayIsnvitation

Chapter5.ReligiousPhilosophyandComparison WhaitCsomparison? ComparingApproachestoComparativePhilosophy  ComparisonandReligiousPhilosophy

114

8

9

5

5

3

8

5

6

125 126 134 156

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/Contents

Chapter6.APragmaticTheoryofInquiry  ProblemSolvingandInquiry  TheBiologicalandSociologicalBasisofInquiry  ControversialFeaturesofthePragmaticTheoryofInquiry

Chapter7.ReligiousPhilosophyandInquiry ReligiousDimensionsofInquiry ReligiousPhilosophyandtheDemarcationProblem  CaseStudy:ReligiousPhilosophy,Religion,andSecularism

Chapter8.TraditionsinTransformation ThOe ntotheologicaTlradition TheCosmotheologicaTlradition ThPehysicotheologicaTlradition ThPesychotheologicaTlradition TheAxiotheologicaTlradition TheMysticotheologicaTlradition opeRsutStatr

167 168 174 196

248 255 261 273 283 294

Afterword:ReligiousPhilosophyintheModernUniversity  SummaryoftheDeconstructiveCaseinSupport oRfeligiouPshilosophy308  SummaryoftheConstructiveCaseinSupportof ReligiouPshilosophy 311  ReligiousPhilosophyandtheDiversityof HigheErducation Conclusion

Notes319

Bibliography337

Index357

207 207 214 237

247

307

304

313 317

Preface

Isthereafutureforphilosophyofreligion?Canthemanyprojects thatclaimthelabel“philosophyofreligion”berenderedtogetherin suchawaythatconsensusarounddisciplinarytasks,methods,and boundariescanemerge?Moregenerally,whatcanphilosophycon- tributetothestudyofreligion?Andwhatcanphilosophy,inleague withtheacademicstudyofreligion,contributetoourunderstanding ofhumannature,andoftheultimaterealitiesandliberatinglifeways thatreligionspromoteandclaimtoengage?Canphilosophyextend beyondanalysisofthehistoricalcontextandvalidityofarguments aboutreligioussubjectmatterstoofferliteraryevocationsofreligious themes,constructivetheoriesofreligiousobjects,andevaluationsof theclaimsreligionsadvanceaboutreligioustopics? Theanswertothesequestionsmayhavebeenstraightforward atonetime.Ifso,however,atthattimethequestionsneverwould havebeenframedinthisway.Thephrasingofthequestionsalready expressesthetwogreatproblemsthathaunttraditionalphilosophy ofreligioninourtime,namely:itsuffersfromunresolvedcontradic- tionsaboutmethodandscopearisingfrominternaldiversityofits activitiesandfundamentaldisagreementsabouthumanreason,and itissignificantlyoutofstepwiththeacademicstudyofreligion.The questionsalsoexpresstheenormouspromiseofphilosophyofreli- gion—namely,thatitiscreativelyflexibleinmethod,subjectmatter, anddisciplinaryengagement,especiallyamongtheemerginggenera- tionofyoungerphilosophersofreligion. Thisbookoffersananswertothesequestionsthataddresses thesetwofundamentalproblems,justifiestheapparentpromiseof contemporaryworkinphilosophyofreligion,andresolutelycriti- cizestheparochialelementsintraditionalphilosophyofreligion.The resultisadescriptionofapossiblefutureforphilosophyofreligion, notasadisciplinebutasafieldofmultidisciplinarycomparative inquiries—afieldrootedinatheoryofrationalitythatmakessense

ix