Religion,Philosophy and Family Resemblances

Wittgenstein's concept of family resemblances has been adopted by some writers either to explain the use of the word ‘religion’ or to advocate a use in the context of a definition. The purpose of this definition is supposedly to avoid an essentialist definition of religion such as ‘belief in God or gods’ which is seen as too parochially tied to Judaeo-Christian theistic origins of the word, while at the same time guaranteeing a distinctive role for religion as a universally applicable analytical concept. However, if an essentialist definition is not smuggled in for the purpose of maintaining a distinction between the ‘religion’ family and other neighbouring families such as ideologies, worldviews, values or symbolic systems, then the family becomes so indefinite that the word ceases to pick out any distinctive aspect of human culture. And this definitional dilemma in fact reflects the actual use of the word ‘religion’ by the scholarly community. Analysis of ‘religion’ texts shows that the word is used in such a large range of contexts that it is devoid of analytical value. Consequently, there is an obligation on the community of scholars to reconceptualize the wide and valuable range of work which is being carried out in ‘religion’ departments.     

试论当代宗教哲学的历史背景和主要论域

本文不仅尖锐地提出了在后休谟-康德时代,特别是在后逻辑实证主义时代,宗教哲学是否能够继中世纪和近代"再次成为哲学的可以承认的分支学科"的问题,而且从"现代经验主义的英美哲学传统"的理论维度描述了当代宗教哲学产生和存在的"历史背景",并对当代宗教哲学的主要论域,如"上帝的本性"、"宗教语言"、"对有神论的辩护"、"宗教经验"及"恶的问题"等,作了颇具特色的概述.     

Robert Cummings Neville,Defining Religion: Essays in Philosophy of Religion

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

基于宗教、哲学和传统的创造

文明之间的对话总是源于压力和挑战,但机遇也随之而来。机遇在于,能否在对其他文明的学习、理解和观照中重新找到自信。没有这种自信,文明之间的对话将没有意义,也不可能真正发生。自信意味着在新的时空坐标中不断地对自己传统之宗教信仰、哲学理念和生命意识的重新反思、批判和再造。通过对话,重新理解、发现、再造并坚持自己,这是犹太哲学发展史所带来的重要启示。再造自己的传统和文明,不是回归,而是复兴,是基于新的时空可能性创造新的传统。     

James F. Harris,Analytic Philosophy of Religion

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

The Future of Philosophy of Religion

This paper develops proposals for the future of philosophy of religion as a global discipline by replying to the responses to Philosophy and the Study of Religions from Andrew Irvine, J. Aaron Simmons, and James McLachlan.     

Jeffrey L. Kosky,Levinas and the Philosophy of Religion

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Faith, Belief and Perspective: Peter Winch's Philosophy of Religion

Peter Winch's philosophy of religion is controversial, accused of mere “perspectivism” and fideism, and for avoiding discussion of any existential reference for the object of belief. This essay examines what Winch meant by a “perspective.” It first deals with problems of first person propositions of belief. For Wittgenstein and Winch belief and the fact it believes are inextricably bound together. Thus Winch argues that what is said cannot be divorced from the situation of the sayer; understanding requires making shifts in perspective. Finally I compare Winch's use of religious language to Augustine's doctrine of the “inner word,” arguing that there are important parallels in Winch to pre‐Lockean theological understandings of faith.     

John Hick, Philosophy of Religion, and the Clarity of God's Existence

Book reviewed in this article:
David Cheetham, John Hick: A Critical Introduction and Reflection     

Philosophy,Religion and Education American Style: A Literature Review

This literature review presents an overview of Christian higher education in the United States with particular attention to philosophical trends and their influence on institutions of Christian origin. This literature review is situated in the context of the discussion of the need, or lack thereof, for helping students integrate their faith with the learning they acquire in colleges and universities.     

Reason,Religion, and Sexual Difference: Resources for a Feminist Philosophy of Religion in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit

Reading Hegel's 1827 Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion alongside his Phenomenology of Spirit, I argue that his vision for becoming a self‐conscious subject—or seeing (oneself as) “spirit”—requires taking responsibility for the insight that every act of reason expresses an experience of sexual difference. It entails working to bring into being communities whose conceptions of gender and the absolute realize this idea.     

Reflections on Israel Scheffler's Philosophy of Religion

The burden of this piece is to draw together into a coherent whole the somewhat diverse strands of Israel Scheffler's thought on the philosophy of religion. Extrapolating from personal discussions with Professor Scheffler, various of his books, articles, and other unpublished materials authored and kindly provided by him, I contend that he adumbrates a post-empiricist rendering of religious belief which masterfully avoids some philosophical problems, while unwittingly giving rise to others. Committed to the view that the methodology of science – in one or other of its more acceptable guises – provides the most reliable measure of the content and structure of reality. Scheffler is bound conceptually to redefine Jewish belief in such a way that the traditional conflict between religion and science never emerges. Consistent with this end, he is concerned to divest traditional Judaism of its metaphysical garb, so that what remains are simply the matters of living to which religion ought properly on his view address itself. The Bible is thus reconceptualized as a piece of rich literature, of no real difference in logical kind to any other piece of rich literature, except that it defines uniquely, along with the Torah and other relevant Jewish literature, the history of the particular community whose perception of human values and meaningfulness forms the core of what it is to be Jewish.While I have no quibble whatsoever with Scheffler that the Bible and other religious teachings provides a profound reservoir for cognitive insight into the matters of quality living and appropriate social interaction, I argue that the divorce of religious values from the metaphysics of religion is in the end misguided. My problem with Scheffler's philosophy of religion is not so much with what he has found to be central to religion, as what he has failed to find in religion. By jettisoning its metaphysical basis, he has jettisoned what is inevitably fundamental to Judaism – namely, a resolute belief in God. This being so, an atheist could more readily adopt Scheffler's version of Judaism than could the theist – an outocme which should be problematic for both the theist and the atheist.     

The Field of Science and Religion as Natural Philosophy

“Natural philosophy” is an important term from the history of science because it was used to describe the study of nature during medieval and early modern Europe. This article gives an overview of the history of natural philosophy, since the use and eventual disuse of the term helps one to understand the emergence of modern science. Following a suggestion by the historian of science Peter Dear, I argue that the term deserves to be rehabilitated because it draws attention to the complexities of scientific theorizing. The article concludes with an argument that the field of science and religion should be seen as an updated version of natural philosophy.