Stewart Sutherland
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263051
- eISBN:
- 9780191734090
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263051.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter discusses the philosophy of religion during the twentieth century. The influence of Immanuel Kant and David Hume on the discussion of theological and religious issues by philosophers is ...
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This chapter discusses the philosophy of religion during the twentieth century. The influence of Immanuel Kant and David Hume on the discussion of theological and religious issues by philosophers is examined in the first section. The dual role of philosophy and the main forms of interaction between philosophy and theology are discussed in the next section. The chapter also examines three main themes: the nature and significance of religious experience, the attempts in the twentieth century to deal with some of the links between religion and reason, and the interaction between religious and moral beliefs.Less
This chapter discusses the philosophy of religion during the twentieth century. The influence of Immanuel Kant and David Hume on the discussion of theological and religious issues by philosophers is examined in the first section. The dual role of philosophy and the main forms of interaction between philosophy and theology are discussed in the next section. The chapter also examines three main themes: the nature and significance of religious experience, the attempts in the twentieth century to deal with some of the links between religion and reason, and the interaction between religious and moral beliefs.
Anthony O'Hear
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199563340
- eISBN:
- 9780191731303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563340.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Religious Studies
There are conceptual tensions in Darwin's own writings on natural selection. It is not clear how far his reading of the theory still has teleological overtones or presupposes a direction of evolution ...
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There are conceptual tensions in Darwin's own writings on natural selection. It is not clear how far his reading of the theory still has teleological overtones or presupposes a direction of evolution towards greater complexity and perfection. What is clear is that in his application of the theory to humanity there is virtually no difference between Darwin himself and what has come to be denigrated as ‘social Darwinism’. It is also suggested that Darwinism may be compatible with a far more ‘anthropic’ reading of creation than interpreters like Monod suggest.Less
There are conceptual tensions in Darwin's own writings on natural selection. It is not clear how far his reading of the theory still has teleological overtones or presupposes a direction of evolution towards greater complexity and perfection. What is clear is that in his application of the theory to humanity there is virtually no difference between Darwin himself and what has come to be denigrated as ‘social Darwinism’. It is also suggested that Darwinism may be compatible with a far more ‘anthropic’ reading of creation than interpreters like Monod suggest.
Wes Morriston
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199661183
- eISBN:
- 9780191785566
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199661183.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion
Drawing on materials in Hume’s Dialogues, this chapter develops an argument for saying that it is unreasonable to accept either the hypothesis that the universe is ruled by perfect benevolence, or ...
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Drawing on materials in Hume’s Dialogues, this chapter develops an argument for saying that it is unreasonable to accept either the hypothesis that the universe is ruled by perfect benevolence, or that it is ruled by perfect malice. It then shows how skeptical theists would respond to this argument, and how their response might be imitated by an imaginary “skeptical demonist” (a defender of the "perfect malice" hypothesis). Finally, this chapter gives reasons for thinking that neither skeptical demonism nor skeptical theism is successful in blunting the force of the Humean challenge.Less
Drawing on materials in Hume’s Dialogues, this chapter develops an argument for saying that it is unreasonable to accept either the hypothesis that the universe is ruled by perfect benevolence, or that it is ruled by perfect malice. It then shows how skeptical theists would respond to this argument, and how their response might be imitated by an imaginary “skeptical demonist” (a defender of the "perfect malice" hypothesis). Finally, this chapter gives reasons for thinking that neither skeptical demonism nor skeptical theism is successful in blunting the force of the Humean challenge.
