Is religious education possible? : a philosophical investigation / Michael Hand.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hand, Michael.

Series:

Continuum studies in education

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religious education--Philosophy.

Religious education.

Physical Description:

viii, 160 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, [2006]

Summary:

Is Religious Education Possible? tackles a well-established problem in the philosophy of education. The problem is the threat posed to the logical possibility of non-confessional religious education by the claim that religion constitutes an autonomous language-game or form of knowledge. Defenders of this claim argue that religion cannot be understood from the outside, and therefore that it is impossible to impart religious understanding unless one is also prepared to impart religious belief. Michael Hand argues for two central points: first, that non-confessional religious education would indeed be impossible if the claim that religion is a distinct form of knowledge were true; and, second, that this claim is in fact false.

Contents:

1 A Philosophical Problem 1

The philosophical debate 2

Paul Hirst 3

Roger Marples 9

David Attfield 12

Peter Gardner 16

A related debate 19

2 Understanding a Form of Knowledge 25

The forms of knowledge thesis 25

Hirst's presentation of the thesis 26

Criticisms of Hirst 37

Knowledge, propositions and truth 41

A restatement of the thesis 46

Understanding a form of knowledge 52

3 Is there a Religious Form of Knowledge? 57

Six accounts of religious belief 57

Wittgenstein 58

D.Z. Phillips 64

W.D. Hudson 69

John Wisdom 76

Allen Brent 84

Michael Leahy and Ronald Laura 87

4 The Meaning of Religious Propositions 93

The concept of religion 93

Metaphorical applications of the term 'religion' 94

Two criteria of religion 95

Two anxieties about the concept of religion 99

The meaning of religious propositions 105

The concept of god 107

A note on the term 'God' 109

The logic of disputes about gods 111

5 Mental and Material Propositions 119

Mental and material propositions 119

The autonomy of mental propositions 122

Descartes' argument 124

The behaviourist case 127

Knowledge without observation 137

The problem of other minds 140.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [155]-158) and index.

ISBN:

0826491502

OCLC:

68771704