Philosophy And The Grammar Of Religious Belief (claremont Studies In The Philosophy Of Religion)

Annotation The papers in this collection are concerned with the epistemology of religious belief. The contributors disagree on such issues as whether philosophers have a role to play in determining the reasonableness or intelligibility of religious beliefs, or whether philosophy properly understood is a descriptive task. But all the papers are informed by the belief that philosophical discussion should proceed by giving attention to the character of the religious beliefs and practices under consideration The Papers In This Collection Present A Diversity Of Views On The Epistemology Of Religious Belief. There Is A Diversity Of Views About The Intelligibility Of Particular Religious Beliefs: For Example, About The Reality Of God's Existence And Of Miracles. There Is Further Disagreement Concerning The Reasonableness Of Religious Belief Itself. Some Contributors Argue That Locating Grounds For Believing In God Is Still A Fruitful Undertaking. Both Issues Raise The Problem Of The Philosopher's Position Vis-a-vis Religious Belief. Are Philosophers In A Privileged Position To Determine Either The Reasonableness Or The Intelligibility Of Religious Belief? Or Is Philosophy, Properly Understood, A Descriptive Task? The Papers In This Collection Present A Diversity Of Views On This Issue, Too. Drawing On The Works Of Kierkegaard, A Few Of The Contributors Argue That Philosophical Description Cannot Be Neatly Divorced From Religious Persuasion. Whatever Their Views On These Issues, However, The Contributors Accept That Philosophical Discussion Cannot Proceed Very Far Without Attention To What Religious Believers Say About Their Beliefs And The Practices In Which They Take Part. At The Mercy Of Method / D.z. Phillips -- Taking The Curse Off Language-games : A Realist Account Of Doxastic Practices / William P. Alston -- The Squirrel Does Not Infer By Induction : Wittgenstein And The Natural History Of Religion / John Churchill -- Anselm And Phillips On Religious Realism / Stephen T. Davis -- Religion And 'really Believing' : Belief And The Real / M. Jamie Ferreira -- Tradition, Authority And The Hiddenness Of God / Gareth Moore -- Can Anything Be Beyond Human Understanding? / Kai Nielsen -- Violations Of Nature And Conditions Of Sense / Anthony Palmer -- Asking Too Many Questions / Peter Winch -- Religion And Wittgenstein's Legacy : Beyond Fideism And Language Games / Richard H. Bell -- Putting Two And Two Together : Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, And The Point Of View For Their Work As Authors / James Conant -- Plantinga And The Rationality Of Religious Belief / Gary Gutting -- Can A Purely Grammatical Inquiry Be Religiously Persuasive? / John H. Whittaker -- Voices In Discussion / D.z. Phillips. Edited By Timothy Tessin And Mario Von Der Ruhr. Based On The Proceedings Of The Fourteenth Annual Conference On The Philosophy Of Religion At The Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, Calif., In Feb. 1993--pref. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xi At the Mercy of Method....Pages 1-15 Taking the Curse Off Language-Games: A Realist Account of Doxastic Practices....Pages 16-47 The Squirrel does not Infer by Induction: Wittgenstein and the Natural History of Religion....Pages 48-78 Anselm and Phillips on Religious Realism....Pages 79-93 Religion and ‘Really Believing’: Belief and the Real....Pages 94-133 Tradition, Authority and the Hiddenness of God....Pages 134-160 Can Anything be Beyond Human Understanding?....Pages 161-185 Violations of Nature and Conditions of Sense....Pages 186-199 Asking Too Many Questions....Pages 200-214 Religion and Wittgenstein’s Legacy: Beyond Fideism and Language Games....Pages 215-247 Putting Two and Two Together: Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein and the Point of View for Their Work as Authors1 ....Pages 248-331 Plantinga and the Rationality of Religious Belief....Pages 332-347 Can a Purely Grammatical Inquiry be Religiously Persuasive?....Pages 348-366 Voices in Discussion....Pages 367-393 Back Matter....Pages 394-395