If the philosophers of the Enlightenment had hoped to establish, once and for all, that reason is the primary source of human orientation, twentieth century philosophy has demonstrated all too clearly that reason is far from having clear boundaries. In this respect, Immanuel Kant's contemporaries and critics, Johann Georg Hamann and Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, look surprisingly modern. Faith is now increasingly recognized as intrinsic to social identity and thus no more capable of taking a permanently subordinate role to reason-whatever that may be-than reason is capable of an existence free from social embodiment. This collection of thirteen essays focuses upon major philosophical and theological debates from the past three hundred years. Written by leading international scholars, this remarkable text takes the reader through major transitions in the modern understanding of faith and reason. It thus provides an invaluable guide to the history of modern philosophical theology whilst informing readers why the relationship between faith and reason remains an issue of major social and philosophical importance.
A highly accessible and illuminating collection... A book for everyone with an interest in modern religious belief confronting the challenges (and occasional pretensions) of reason. -Paul Crittenden, Ph.D., emeritus professor, School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, The University of Sydney This is a wonderful collection orientated on what is, or ought to be, a key issue for any philosophical mind with an interest in issues of faith, religion and rationality. -Philip Quadrio, Ph.D., School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales
Foreword Heung-wah Wong Introduction Wayne Cristaudo 1 Faith and Reflexivity: Reflections on Language and the "Semiotic Turn" Christopher Hutton 2 The Destructive Potential of the God of Reason (Reimarus) Englehard Weigl 3 The Material God in Diderot's D'Alembert's Dream Miran Bozovic 4 Anthropologist of Enlightenment: Purity, Pollution, and Forbidden Mixtures in Hamann's Metacriticism Peter J. Leithart 5 Hegel on Kant, Fichte, Jacobi: Being Reasonable about Faith and Knowledge Wayne Cristaudo 6 Beyond Paradox: Faith and Reason in the Thought of Soren Kierkegaard Murray Rae 7 Nature, Nurture and Nietzsche's Faith in Life Nalin Ranasinghe 8 Reason and Faith: A Comparison of Immanuel Kant and Albert Schweitzer Predrag Cicovacki 9 Faith and Reason: Shestov and Gilson Mathew Del Nevo 10 Karl Barth: Reason Beyond Autonomy? Phillip Tolliday 11 Consciousness and Transcendence: Voegelin and Lonergan on the Reasonableness of Faith Glenn Hughes 12 Reason and Violence in Girard's Mimetic Theory: The Anthropology of the Cross Robert Hamerton-Kelly 13 The Spirit Has Reasons That Rationalists Cannot Fathom: The Emergence of Christian Dao-ology in Late Twentieth Century China Lauren Pfister Index Contributors
