Faith As Rational
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Questioning Divination: the Young Augustine and Friends Divination Is Not an Art One Ordinarily Associates with Augustine Of
Questioning divination: the young Augustine and friends Divination is not an art one ordinarily associates with Augustine of Hippo. His preaching, like that of any other late antique bishop, decisively rejected all forms of magic, and he offered detailed critiques of astrology across many works (e.g., City of God 5). However, Augustine is also an author who gives exceptional—if incomplete—insight into times in his life where he thought differently (see esp. O’Loughlin 1992). In his Confessions and the early dialogue Against the Academics, Augustine paints a series of portraits, of himself but also of lofty and learned associates, who questioned the practical limits of divinatory power. The aim of this paper is to trace out the social context of Augustine’s early and growing skepticism towards divination. The first of the learned men, and the most studied, is the learned Vindicianus, proconsul and sometime court-physician for Valentinian I (Fiorucci 2008). Augustine, who had rejected the help of a haruspex in a poetry contest, did take up astrology. After crowning him the victor, Vindicianus tried to dissuade him, pointing to his own experiences as a young man who had once prepared to become a professional astrologer (Confessions 4.2.3-3.5). Of his reasoning, we hear comparatively little, though Augustine elsewhere lauds him for his medical expertise, whose methods he was able rationally to explain to those who had assumed them sorcerous (Ep. 138.3). The next example is more richly documented. In Contra Academicos 1.6.17-8.23, Augustine’s student Licentius describes a series of divinatory feats performed by Albicerius, a hariolus from Carthage. -
Augustine on Knowledge
Augustine on Knowledge Divine Illumination as an Argument Against Scepticism ANITA VAN DER BOS RMA: RELIGION & CULTURE Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Research Master Thesis s2217473, April 2017 FIRST SUPERVISOR: dr. M. Van Dijk SECOND SUPERVISOR: dr. dr. F.L. Roig Lanzillotta 1 2 Content Augustine on Knowledge ........................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 4 Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 7 The life of Saint Augustine ................................................................................................................... 9 The influence of the Contra Academicos .......................................................................................... 13 Note on the quotations ........................................................................................................................ 14 1. Scepticism ........................................................................................................................................ -
Skepticism and Pluralism Ways of Living a Life Of
SKEPTICISM AND PLURALISM WAYS OF LIVING A LIFE OF AWARENESS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE ZHUANGZI #±r A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PHILOSOPHY AUGUST 2004 By John Trowbridge Dissertation Committee: Roger T. Ames, Chairperson Tamara Albertini Chung-ying Cheng James E. Tiles David R. McCraw © Copyright 2004 by John Trowbridge iii Dedicated to my wife, Jill iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completing this research, I would like to express my appreciation first and foremost to my wife, Jill, and our three children, James, Holly, and Henry for their support during this process. I would also like to express my gratitude to my entire dissertation committee for their insight and understanding ofthe topics at hand. Studying under Roger Ames has been a transformative experience. In particular, his commitment to taking the Chinese tradition on its own terms and avoiding the tendency among Western interpreters to overwrite traditional Chinese thought with the preoccupations ofWestern philosophy has enabled me to broaden my conception ofphilosophy itself. Roger's seminars on Confucianism and Daoism, and especially a seminar on writing a philosophical translation ofthe Zhongyong r:pJm (Achieving Equilibrium in the Everyday), have greatly influenced my own initial attempts to translate and interpret the seminal philosophical texts ofancient China. Tamara Albertini's expertise in ancient Greek philosophy was indispensable to this project, and a seminar I audited with her, comparing early Greek and ancient Chinese philosophy, was part ofthe inspiration for my choice ofresearch topic. I particularly valued the opportunity to study Daoism and the Yijing ~*~ with Chung-ying Cheng g\Gr:p~ and benefited greatly from his theory ofonto-cosmology as a means of understanding classical Chinese philosophy. -
Kant's Theory of Knowledge and Hegel's Criticism
U.Ü. FEN-EDEBİYAT FAKÜLTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER DERGİSİ Yıl: 2, Sayı: 2, 2000-2001 KANT’S THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE AND HEGEL’S CRITICISM A. Kadir ÇÜÇEN* ABSTRACT Kant inquires into the possibility, sources, conditions and limits of knowledge in the tradition of modern philosophy. Before knowing God, being and reality, Kant, who aims to question what knowledge is, explains the content of pure reason. He formalates a theory of knowledge but his theory is neither a rationalist nor an empiricist theory of knowledge. He investigates the structure of knowledge, the possible conditions of experience and a priori concepts and categories of pure reason; so he makes a revolution like that of Copernicus . Hegel, who is one of proponents of the German idealism, criticizes the Kantian theory of knowledge for “wanting to know before one knows”. For Hegel, Kant’s a priori concepts and categories are meaningless and empty. He claims that the unity of subject and object has been explained in that of the “Absolute”. Therefore, the theory of knowledge goes beyond the dogmatism of the “thing-in- itself” and the foundations of mathematics and natural sciences; and reaches the domain of absolute knowledge. Hegel’s criticism of Kantian theory of knowledge opens new possibilities for the theory of knowledge in our age. ÖZET Kant’ın Bilgi Kuramı ve Hegel’in Eleştirisi Modern felsefe geleneği çerçevesinde Kant, bilginin imkânını, kaynağını, kapsamını ve ölçütlerini ele alarak, doğru bilginin sınırlarını irdelemiştir. Tanrı’yı, varlığı ve gerçekliği bilmeden önce, bilginin neliğini sorgulamayı kendine amaç edinen Kant, saf aklın içeriğini incelemiştir. Saf aklın a priori kavram ve kategorilerini, deneyin görüsünü ve bilgi yapısını veren, fakat ne usçu ne de deneyci * Uludag University, Faculty of Sciences and Letters, Dept. -
Dilemmas of Objectivity
SOCIALEPISTEMOLOGY , 2002, VOL. 16, NO . 3, 267–281 Dilemmas of objectivity MARIANNE JANACK Objectivityis a virtuein most circles.As weevaluateour students (even those we don’t like)we tryto be objective. As wedeliberateon juries,we tryto be objective about the accused and thevictim, the prosecutor and thedefence. As wetoteup theevidence for and againsta certainposition or theory, we try to separate our personal preferences fromthe argument, or we try to separate the arguer (and ourevaluation of him/ her) fromthe case presented.Sometimes we do wellat this,sometimes we do lesswell at it,but we recognize something valuable intheeffort. Considerthe following cases inwhich objectivity or its failure is at issue: (1)A professorgives his favourite student an Ainaclass inwhichthe student has done onlymediocre work. (2)A scientistoverlooks evidence that would call intoquestion a theorythat she has goneout on alimbto defend,and has investedmuch timeand energyin pursuing. (3)A scientistskews data inorder to bolster support for a favouritepolitical cause. (4)A particularphilosophy journal, which does not use a blindreview process, only publishesarticles written by men. (5)A memberof a trialjury questions evidence presented in atrialbecause it conicts withracist stereotypes. Some ofthese invocations of objectivity imply that a separationshould exist between thesource or origin of the theory or argument and theargument itself. Some imply thatour deliberations should be answerable only to ‘ theevidence’ or ‘ thefacts’ and notsimply to our own preferences and idiosyncrasies.Some implythat our emotionsor biases (broadly understood to include emotions) should not interfere withour reasoning. Inits ontological guise, the appeal toobjectivity is a wayof appealing to the way thingsare, or to the world as itis independently of our desires about howwe want it tobe. -
David Hume, "The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion," and Religious Tolerance
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Supervised Undergraduate Student Research Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects and Creative Work 5-2020 David Hume, "The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion," and Religious Tolerance Jarrett Delozier [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj Part of the History of Philosophy Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Delozier, Jarrett, "David Hume, "The Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion," and Religious Tolerance" (2020). Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/2382 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Supervised Undergraduate Student Research and Creative Work at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DeLozier 1 Introduction In the history of philosophy of religion and natural theology, David Hume is an immensely influential contributor. One of his most important works in the field is his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, which contains his greatest treatment of natural theology, specifically the design argument. However, there’s a big problem which the Dialogues present to understanding Hume. Eleven of the twelve parts of the Dialogues contain Hume’s sharp criticisms and attacks on the Design argument. But in the final part, in what is often called “Philo’s Reversal,” he seems to completely reverse course by renouncing his skepticism and endorsing the Design argument. -
Ingolf U. Dalferth Varieties of Philosophical Theology Before and After Kant
Ingolf U. Dalferth Varieties of Philosophical Theology Before and After Kant 1. Prehistory, History, and Posthistory of Philosophical Theology Philosophical theology (PT),1 which replaced natural and rational theology after Kant, began its modern career as a distinct philosophical project, based not on faith and religion but on reason and reflection and/or nature, experience, and science. However, it has never been a monolithic endeavour, and its impact on Christian thinking has been constructive as well as critical or even destructive. Its prehistory that is sometimes mistakenly taken to be part of it includes such diverse factors as Platonist dualism, the Aristotelian pattern of causality, Stoic immanentism, Philonean personalism, Neoplatonist negative theology and Sozinian antitrinitarian- ism. From its most ancient roots the theology of the philosophers in the Western tradition was intimately bound up with the rise of reason and science in ancient Greece. When the gods ceased to be part of the furniture of the world, God (the divine) became an explanatory principle based not on the traditional mythological tales but on cosmo- logical science, astronomical speculation, and metaphysical reflection. Its idea of God involved the ideas of divine singularity (there is only one God), of divine transcendence (God is neither part nor the whole of the world) and of divine immanence (God’s active presence can be discerned in the order, regularity, and beauty of the cosmos). And even though it took a long time to grasp those differences clearly, the monotheistic difference between gods and God, the cosmological difference between God and the world, and the metaphysical difference between the transcendence and immanence of God have remained central to the intellectual enterprise of theological reflection in philosophy. -
Is It Rational to Have Faith? Looking for New Evidence, Good’S Theorem, and Risk Aversion
Lara Buchak, November 2009 DRAFT DO NOT CITE Is it rational to have faith? Looking for new evidence, Good’s Theorem, and Risk Aversion 0. Introduction Although statements involving ascriptions of faith are quite common, faith and rationality are often thought to conflict; at best, they are thought to have nothing to say to each other. In this paper, I analyze the concept of faith: in particular, I give an account that unifies statements of faith in mundane matters and statements of religious faith. My account focuses on spelling out the sense in which faith requires going beyond the evidence, and I argue that faith requires stopping ones search for further evidence. I then turn to the question of whether it is rational to have faith, taking into account both epistemic rationality and practical rationality. I argue that faith need not conflict with epistemic rationality at all; however, whether faith can be practically rational hinges on which attitudes towards risk it is rationally permissible to adopt when making decisions: more specifically, it hinges on how one should respond to the risk of misleading evidence. I have argued elsewhere that practical rationality permits a wider range of attitudes towards risk than is commonly supposed, and if this is right, then it is also rationally permissible to have faith; indeed, depending on the attitude towards risk that one decides to adopt, it is sometimes rationally required.1 1. Faith Statements I begin by sketching some characteristics that faith statements have in common. By faith statements, I simply mean statements involving the term faith. -
Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Nietzsche, and Heidegger
German Philosophers: Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Nietzsche, and Heidegger Daniel Ferrer at Matrin Heidegger’s Todtnauberg haunt (Die Hütte, Rütte, Todtnauberg, Black Forest, Schwarzwald, Germany) By Daniel Fidel Ferrer 1 2011 Daniel Fidel Ferrer. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, digital, optical or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented; or otherwise without the prior permission in writing and signed by the author, Daniel Fidel Ferrer. Photo of Daniel Fidel Ferrer at Heidegger’s Todtnauberg haunt copyright ©Daniel Fidel Ferrer. Photo taken by Dr. Harald van Veghel with my 35 MM camera. Location: front page, title page. Die Hütte, Rütte, Todtnauberg, Black Forest, Schwarzwald, Germany, Deutschland. Some brief cataloging. Ferrer, Daniel Fidel (1952- ) German Philosophers: Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Nietzsche, and Heidegger Includes bibliographical references. Index. 1. Ontology. 2. Metaphysics. 3. Philosophy, German. 4.Thought and thinking. 5. Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804. 6. Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von, 1775-1854. 7. Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831. 8. Philosphy, Asian. 9. Philosophy, Indic. 10. Philosophy, Modern -- 20th century. 11. Philosophy, Modern -- 19th century. 12. Practice (Philosophy). 13. Philosophy and civilization. 14. Postmodernism. 15. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900. 16. Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976. -- 17. g r una nd cent. I. Ferrer, Daniel Fidel, 1952-. Dedication and Acknowledgements Family members. Families: Ferrer, Reavis, Kuhn, Lindstrom, Schmidt, and Yeager. -
Skill in Epistemology I: Skill and Knowledge
Skill in Epistemology I: Skill and Knowledge Carlotta Pavese Abstract Knowledge and skill are intimately connected. In this essay, I discuss the question of their relationship and of which (if any) is prior to which in the order of explanation. I review some of the answers that have been given thus far in the literature, with a particular focus on the many foundational issues in epistemology that intersect with the philosophy of skill. 1 Introduction Knowledge and skill are intimately connected. Scientists cannot get new knowledge without developing their skills for devising experiments. And skilled artists, scientists, and mathematicians must know a lot about their area of expertise in order to perform skillfully and routinely manifest that knowledge through their skillful performances. Despite this obvious interrelationship, knowledge and skill have received different treatment in analytic epistemology. While philosophers in this tradition have long been in the business of understanding and defining knowledge, the topic of skill has been marginalized. It is only quite recently that skills have made a powerful entrance in two epistemological debates: the debate on virtue epistemology and the debate on the nature of know how. In this essay, I discuss the question of the relationship between skill and knowledge (Section §2) and of which (if any) is prior to which in the order of explanation (Section §3), with an eye to highlighting the many foundational issues in epistemology that intersect with the philosophy of skill. In section §3, I will start discussing the relationship between skill and know how, which will be the main topic of the sequel to this essay. -
Preliminary Conclusions in the Search of Philosophical Grounds for Contemporary Unitarian Identity
Preliminary Conclusions in the Search of Philosophical Grounds for Contemporary Unitarian Identity By Neville Buch The Unitarian denomination itself always remained small, of course, but the Harvard moralists had resigned themselves to this very early. “Our object is not to convert men to our party, but to our principles,” they declared. “Unitarians have done more…by promoting a real though gradual change for the better in the opinions of other sects, than by building up their own denomination”. [Daniel Walker Howe. The Unitarian Consciencei] Whether it be Utilitarianism or Unitarianism, [William] James argued in 1868, the philosopher’s role includes not only crystallizing the doctrine but also presenting it in the most persuasive light to the populace. [Gerald E. Myers. William James: His Life and Thought ii]. William James remark on the philosopher’s role in a letter to Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1868 is a direct challenge to a disempowering attitude that has unfortunately prevailed in Unitarianism since the remark of James Walker in 1830 as quoted by Daniel Howe above. The disempowering attitude is unfortunate because it can be shown that its own advocacy is eroded by an apparent meaninglessness when clear preciseness is demanded. To deconstruct Walker’s statement -- what has been overlooked is that ‘our party’ and ‘our principles’ are related in an inseparable Unitarian identity. “Our party” is the Unitarian body. “Our principles” are Unitarian principles, that is, principles belonging to the Unitarian body. They are principles marked out as Unitarian because Unitarians have claimed them as their own. The philosophical reasons for this claim are not yet apparent. -
The Etienne Gilson Series 21
The Etienne Gilson Series 21 Remapping Scholasticism by MARCIA L. COLISH 3 March 2000 Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies This lecture and its publication was made possible through the generous bequest of the late Charles J. Sullivan (1914-1999) Note: the author may be contacted at: Department of History Oberlin College Oberlin OH USA 44074 ISSN 0-708-319X ISBN 0-88844-721-3 © 2000 by Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies 59 Queen’s Park Crescent East Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C4 Printed in Canada nce upon a time there were two competing story-lines for medieval intellectual history, each writing a major role for scholasticism into its script. Although these story-lines were O created independently and reflected different concerns, they sometimes overlapped and gave each other aid and comfort. Both exerted considerable influence on the way historians of medieval speculative thought conceptualized their subject in the first half of the twentieth cen- tury. Both versions of the map drawn by these two sets of cartographers illustrated what Wallace K. Ferguson later described as “the revolt of the medievalists.”1 One was confined largely to the academy and appealed to a wide variety of medievalists, while the other had a somewhat narrower draw and reflected political and confessional, as well as academic, concerns. The first was the anti-Burckhardtian effort to push Renaissance humanism, understood as combining a knowledge and love of the classics with “the discovery of the world and of man,” back into the Middle Ages. The second was inspired by the neo-Thomist revival launched by Pope Leo XIII, and was inhabited almost exclusively by Roman Catholic scholars.