Religion and Hume's Legacy (Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion)

Whether one agrees with him or not, there is no avoiding the challenge of Hume for contemporary philosophy of religion. The symposia in this stimulating collection reveal why, whether the discussions concern Hume on metaphysics and religion, 'true religion', religion and ethics, religion and superstition, or miracles. For some, Hume's criticisms of religion are so devastating that religion cannot withstand them. Others disagree, and claim that Hume can be answered on his own terms. For others, while Hume shows us paths we should not take, these open up the way for a consideration of religious possibilities he never considered. These are not peripheral matters. The responses to them determine the style and spirit in which one pursues philosophy of religion today. Front Matter....Pages i-xx Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Playing Hume’s Hand....Pages 3-16 Morality and Religion: Towards Meeting Hume’s Challenge....Pages 17-34 Voices in Discussion....Pages 35-43 Front Matter....Pages 45-45 Hume’s ‘Mitigated Scepticism’: Some Implications for Religious Belief....Pages 47-67 Is There Anything Religious about Philo’s ‘True Religion’?....Pages 68-80 Is Humes’s ‘True Religion’ a Religious Belief?....Pages 81-98 Voices in Discussion....Pages 99-108 Front Matter....Pages 109-109 Hume and the Miraculous....Pages 111-130 Beardsmore on Hume on Miracles....Pages 131-137 Voices in Discussion....Pages 138-150 Front Matter....Pages 151-151 Hume on Superstition....Pages 153-170 Passion and Artifice in Hume’s Account of Superstition....Pages 171-184 Voices in Discussion....Pages 185-190 Front Matter....Pages 191-191 Can Religion be Rational?....Pages 193-205 Overcoming Hume on His Own Terms....Pages 206-220 Religion after Hume: Tightrope Walking in an Age of Enlightenment....Pages 221-234 Voices in Discussion....Pages 235-247 Front Matter....Pages 249-249 Hume on Context, Sentiment and Testimony in Religion....Pages 251-277 Back Matter....Pages 278-282 "Whether one agrees with him or not, there is no avoiding the challenge of Hume for contemporary philosophy of religion. The symposia in this stimulating collection reveal why, whether the discussions concern Hume on metaphysics and religion, 'true religion', religion and ethics, religion and superstition, or miracles. For some, Hume's criticisms of religion are so devastating that religion cannot withstand them. Others disagree, and claim that Hume can be answered on his own terms. For others, while Hume shows us paths we should not take, these open up the way for a consideration of religious possibilities he never considered."--Jacket "This book offers the rare opportunity to assess, within a single volume, the leading schools of thought in contemporary philosophy of religion. Their exponents seek to meet objections made to their point of view and to relate it to the other schools represented. Further discussions between adherents of the different schools make it an ideal text for assessing the deep proximities and divisions which characterise contemporary philosophy of religion. The schools of thought represented are: philosophical theism, Reformed epistemology, Wittgensteinianism, Postmodernism, Critical Theory and Process Thought." -- BOOK JACKET Whether one agrees with him or not, there is no avoiding the challenge of Hume for contemporary philosophy of religion. The symposia in this stimulating collection reveal why, whether the discussions concern Hume on metaphysics and religion, "true religion," religion and ethics, religion and superstition, or miracles. For some, Hume's criticisms of religion cannot withstand them, while others claim that Hume can be answered on his own terms. All responses to Hume determine the style and spirit in which one pursues philosophy of religion today. The contributions of leading Kantian and Kierkegaardian scholars to this collection break down to the simplistic contrast in which Kant is seen as the advocate of a rational moral theology and Kierkegaard as the advocate of an irrationalist faith. This collection is an ideal text for discussion of central issues. The central puzzle of the Dialogues is that Hume seems to draw back from accepting the clear implications of his own account of the infirmities of natural theology.