Faith, Hope, and Love: The Theological Virtues and Their Opposites (Boston Studies in Philosophy, Religion and Public Life, 10)

These essays consider the three traditional theological virtues―faith, hope, and love―alongside their opposites―doubt, despair, and hate, from a scholarly perspective. The volume includes contributions not just from philosophers of religion, but also from psychologists, sociologists, and film and literature scholars, to paint a complex and nuanced picture of these virtues, both of how we might understand them, and how we can hope to embody them ourselves. While these virtues make up a core part of the Christian tradition, the chapters here go far and wide in search of different cultural conceptions of these universal human concerns. Inquiries are made into these virtues within Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic thought, alongside philosophers including Aristotle, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Levinas, and Murdoch. The resulting tapestry is often beautiful, sometimes horrific, but always thoroughly human. This text appeals to students and researchers working in these fields. Chapter [9] is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. Contents Contributors Chapter 1: Introduction: Virtue and Vice Part I: Faith and Doubt Chapter 2: Faith (and Doubt?) Among the Virtues “Recovering” The Virtues Aquinas on Faith and Doubt Vitoria and Las Casas Descartes and Locke Faith in the Contemporary World References Chapter 3: Restoring Faith, Curing Doubt: Kṛṣṇa’s Instruction in the Bhagavad Gītā Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Faith, Belief, and the Gītā The Gītā’s Teaching on Faith and Doubt A Side Glance at Krister Stendahl and St. Paul The Gītā and Ourselves References Chapter 4: Faith, Doubt, and the Buddhist Path of Enlightenment References Chapter 5: Kierkegaard on Faith, Doubt, and Uncertainty The Nature of Belief Is Belief Occurrent or Dispositional? Does Belief Come in Degrees? Do We Have Control Over Our Beliefs? Kierkegaard on Uncertainty Uncertainty and Epistemological Fallibilism What We Can Learn from Ancient Skepticism: Doubt and the Will Belief as Resolution Christian Belief or Faith References Chapter 6: Wilfred Cantwell Smith: Scholar, Mentor, and Humanist Methodology for the Study of Comparative Religion Faith, Belief, and Cumulative Traditions The Scholar as Public Intellectual and Activist References Part II: Hope and Despair Chapter 7: Dante’s Commedia: from Despair to Hope to Glory References Chapter 8: Radical Hope, Despair and Time: Responses to Nietzsche Introduction Nietzsche Heidegger Levinas and Derrida References Chapter 9: Hopeful Pessimism: The Kantian Mind at the End of All Things Kant’s Third Question Classical/Christian Conflations of (What We Would Call) Hope and Expectation Kant on Hope and Expectation The Moral-Psychological Argument Against Despair Sustaining Hope in the Anthropocene Expectation in the Eschaton Conclusion: Homo Religiosus and Homo Sperans References Part III: Love and Hate Chapter 10: How to “Love Thy Neighbor”: Lessons from G.W.F. Hegel on Conflict and Reconciliation Love as a Source of Unity? Neighbor-Love in the Phenomenology of Spirit Lessons from Hegel on Conflict and Reconciliation References Chapter 11: Making Lovers: Emmanuel Levinas and Iris Murdoch on Moral Formation Apathy and Empathy Levinas and the Ethics of the Other Rorty and Sentimental Education Murdoch and the Cultivation of Attention References Chapter 12: Empathy and Its Critics References Chapter 13: What Muslim Scholars Talk About When They Talk About Love Introduction: Love in Islam (and in Islamic Studies) The Many Locations of Love in Islamic Thought Ibn Taymīya’s Qāʿida fī al-maḥabba Ibn Taymīya’s Views in Context Conclusion References Chapter 14: Bhakti and Accidental Grace: Hate as Love in the Hindu Tradition Introduction Hate as the Opposite of Love in the Kamasutra Hate-Devotion (dvesha-bhakti) in the Myth of Kamsa The Liebestod of Mahisha A Turning Point Accidental Grace Shri Vaishnava Monkeys and Cats Accidental Grace in Sanskrit Texts By the Grace of Dog Blame-Praise (ninda stuti) Sexual Violence in bhakti Poetry, or, the Dark Side of Flower Power Conclusion References Chapter 15: Obedience and Love in Christian Ethics The Terminology of Love Obedience and Love Friendship with God Respect and Love Vocation References Chapter 16: The Happiness of Promise: Ferdinand Hodler and Alexander Nehamas on Love and Care Valentine Godé-Darel, as She was Dying Unfinished Work Value and Time A Promise of Happiness Promises and Obligations References "These essays consider the three traditional theological virtues--faith, hope, and love--alongside their opposites--doubt, despair, and hate. The volume includes contributions not just from philosophers of religion, but also from psychologists, sociologists, and film and literature scholars, to paint a complex and nuanced picture of these virtues, both how we might understand them, and how we can hope to embody them ourselves. And while these virtues make up a core part of Christian tradition, the essays here go far and wide in search of different cultural conceptions of these universal human concerns. Inquiries are made into these virtues in Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic thought, alongside philosophers including Aristotle, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Levinas, and Murdoch. The resulting tapestry is often beautiful, sometimes horrific, but always thoroughly human."--Cover page 4