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Durham E-Theses Durham E-Theses Philosophical pragmatism and religious belief: interpreting Christian non-realism through john Dewey and Richard Rorty Knight, Philip J. How to cite: Knight, Philip J. (1996) Philosophical pragmatism and religious belief: interpreting Christian non-realism through john Dewey and Richard Rorty, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5308/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 PHILIP J. KNIGHT PHILOSOPHICAL PRAGMATISM AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF; INTERPRETING CHRISTIAN NON-REALISM THROUGH JOHN DEWEY AND RICHARD RORTY DOCTOR IN PHILOSOPHY 1996 ABSTRACT In this thesis I consider the account of religious non-realism in the work of Don Cupitt and in other prominent writers belonging to the 'Sea of Faith' network. I argue that the appropriate context of the non-realists vmderstanding of religious belief is provided by philosophical pragmatism as this is presented in the work of John Dewey and Richard Rorty. This context outlines important aspects of the 'Sea of Faith' religious non-realists' self-understanding; and provides them with an argumentative resource which they can employ against alternative critical-realist approaches to religious belief I show that John Dewey's understanding of religious faith coheres with many of the ideas expressed by religious non-realists and that Rorty's pragmatism provides religious non-realism with a contemporary philosophical articulation of its theology. In order to defend this assertion I argue that Rorty's pragmatism does not necessarily lead to radical subjectivism nor to a dangerous political ideology as some interpreters have suggested. Further, I argue that his ideas are open to theological appropriation and that his rejection of religious belief is tempered by a tolerance toward those who still find a use for it. Rorty, I claim, has such a use. He employs the term 'God' as a backdrop against which he can present his own account of a pragmatic culture. I show that his work contains positive references to the influence that religious belief has had on the development of such a culture and argue that this pragmatic culture fits well with a non-realist understanding of religious belief PHILOSOPfflCAL PRAGMATISM AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF: INTERPRETING CHRISTIAN NON-REALISM THROUGH JOHN DEWEY AND RICHARD RORTY PHILIP J. KNIGHT The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author and information derived from it should be acknowledged. SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR IN PHH OSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements p. 1. Introduction. pp. 2-10. Chapter One pp. 11-32. An Introduction to ttie Religious Non-Realism of the 'Sea of Faith' Theologians 1.1. Introduction p. 11. 1.2. Religion As a Human Creation p. 11. 1.3. The Rejection of Atheism p. 23. 1.4. A Practical Orientation p. 26. 1.5. Conclusion p. 30. Chapter Two pp. 33-74. The Intellectual Heritage of Religious Non-Realism 2.1. Introduction p. 33. 2.2. The Intellectual Heritage of Cupitt's Religious Non- Realism p. 35. 2.3 The Recent Philosophy of Language and Cupitt's Religious Non-realism p. 58. 2.4. Is Cupitt's Account of the Intellectual Heritage of Religious Non-realism Religiously Satisfying? p. 70. 2.5. Conclusion p. 74. Chapter Three pp. 75-100. The Religious and Ethical Appeal of Religious Non-Realism 3.1. Introduction p. 75. 3.2 The Incompatibility of Religious Belief with Realism p. 78. 3.3. The Incompatibility of Ethical Belief and Practice With Realism p. 90. 3.4. Conclusion p. 100. Chapter Four pp. 101-122. Religious Non-Realism and Pragmatism. 4.1. Introduction p. 101. 4.2. A Critique of Cupitt and Sea of Faith Rehgious Non- Realism p. 102. 4.3. Cupitt's Religious Non-Realism and Pragmatism p. 115. 4.4. Conclusion p. 121. Chapter Five pp. 123-154. John Dewey and Religious Non-Realism 5.1. Introduction p. 123. 5.2. The Development of Dewey's Understanding of God p. 123. 5.3. Dewey, the Reality of God and Religion As a Hiunan Creation p. 128. 5.4. Dewey and Religious Non-Realism p. 138. 5.5. Dewey, Neither a Theist Nor an Atheist p. 143. 5.6. Conclusion p. 154. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Six pp. 155-185. Richard Rorty, Pragmatism and Truth 6.1. Introduction p. 155. 6.2. Rorty's Pragmatic Anti-Representationalism p. 158. 6.3. Rorty, Language and Truth p. 165. 6.4. Conclusion ^ p. 185. Chapter Seven pp. 186-218. Richard Rorty, Pragmatism and the Socio-Political Good 7.1. Introduction p. 186. 7.2. Rorty's Anti-Representationalism and the Social Concerns of Philosophy p. 187. 7.3. Rorty's Pragmatism and the Severed Vocabularies of Public Solidarity and Private Self-Creation p. 190. 7.4. Rorty's Pragmatism and the Reconsideration of the Fracture of Public and Private Vocabularies p. 198. 7.5. Conclusion p. 217. Chapter Eight pp. 219-245. Richard Rorty's Pragmatism and Religious Non-Realism 8.1. Introduction p. 219. 8.2. Rorty's Rejection of Religious Belief, and His Use of the Divine as a Trope p. 221. 8.3. Rorty's Philosophy and Religious Non-Realism p. 229. 8.4. Rorty's Use of a Religious Vocabulary p. 239. 8.5. Conclusion p. 244. Chapter Nine pp. 246-274. Conclusion 9.1. Introduction p. 246. 9.2. Prophetic Liberal Ironism and Christian Ironism p. 249. 9.3. Rorty's Pragmatism and the Debate Between Religious Non-realists and Religious Critical Realists p. 259. 9.4. Conclusion p. 272. Bibliography pp. 275-293. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks are due to the British Academy which has supported me financially throughout the course of the writing of this thesis, to the staff of St. John's College Ehirham and Durham University's theology department. In particular thanks are due to the patience and dedication of Dr. Colin Crowder who has supervised this thesis through its various stages of development. This thesis is dedicated to my parents Jim and Sheila and to all my other teachers. INTRODUCTION The subject matter of this thesis deals with an approach to religious belief that has met with a good deal of opposition, hostility and ridicule.' Nevertheless, John Hick claims that the concerns which separate religious realists like himself from religious non-realists like Don Cupitt highlight "the most fundamental of all issues in the philosophy of religion today. The first three chapters of this thesis will consider the ways in which the non-realist side of this debate, associated with the work of Cupitt and other writers belonging to the 'Sea of Faith' network, has expressed itself The remaining chapters will argue that an appropriate context for understanding the non-realist account of religious belief is provided by philosophical pragmatism. I shall defend this link between religious non-realism and pragmatism by highlighting in chapter five the religious ideas of John Dewey and the parallels between these ideas and those of the religious non-realists. I shall then defend this association of ideas further by arguing in chapters six and seven respectively that Richard Rorty's contemporary philosophical pragmatism does not necessarily lead to radical subjectivism nor to a dangerous political ideology as some interpreters have suggested. I shall further argue, in chapter eight, that his rejection of religious belief is not absolute. He has a use for religious belief and employs the term 'God' as backdrop against which he can present his own accoimt of pragmatic culture. His tolerance of private religious belief and the positive picture he sometimes presents of the religious influence on the development of a pragmatic culture, makes it possible to argue that Rorty allows to such a culture a non-realist understanding of religious belief In chapter nine I conclude by suggesting that a theological appropriation of Rorty's work is possible and that the consequences of such an ' Witness the contentious nature of the debate around the publication of Anthony Freeman's God In Us and his consequent dismissal from the teaching post that he had held in the Church of England. A good summary of this debate is found in Mtist a Priest Believe a transcript of a BBC Heart of the Matter" programme transmitted on 19th September 1993. 2 John Hick, "Religious Realism and Non-realism: Defining the Issue' in Joseph Runzo (ed) Is God Reed? (London: Macmillan, 1993) p. 3. appropriation by 'Sea of Faith' religious non-realists would help to develop aspects of their own self-understanding as well as providing them with an argumentative resource which they can employ against alternative critical-realist approaches to religious belief The phrase 'Sea of Faith' is taken from Matthew Arnold's poem Dover Beach, in which he compares the ebbing tide with the slow withdraw of a religious faith centred upon a benevolent, purposefiil creator. Without God, the poem concludes, the world, lacks peace, love, joy and purpose on its own account.
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