The will to imagine : a justification of skeptical religion / J.L. Schellenberg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schellenberg, J. L., 1959-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religion--Philosophy.

Religion.

Belief and doubt.

Skepticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (285 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part. I. Purifying Faith Why the Best Religion Is the Most Skeptical

Part II. Testing Faith Is the Best Religion Good Enough (to Satisfy Reason's Demands)?

Part III. Renewing Faith (1) How Skeptical Proof Subsumes Believing Argument - Evidentialism

Part IV. Renewing Faith (2) How Skeptical Proof Subsumes Believing Argument - Nonevidentialism

Part V. Keeping Faith Skeptical Religion as Reason's Demand

Conclusion

Appendix A: Definitions

Appendix B: Principles

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8014-7852-9

0-8014-5926-5

OCLC:

726824174