Challenging the New Atheism : Pragmatic Confrontations in the Philosophy of Religion.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (225 pages)
- Routledge Studies in American Philosophy Series .
- Routledge Studies in American Philosophy Series .
Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- 1 The New Atheism: A Threefold Challenge -- The Three Challenges of the New Atheism -- What's "New" about the New Atheism? -- The Three Challenges: A Critical Exposition -- The Three Challenges and the "God Debate" -- Conclusion -- 2 Contemporary Philosophy of Religion vs. the Threefold Challenge -- The Mythology behind the Consequences Challenge -- The Truth Challenge and Analytic Philosophy of Religion -- Ayer on Religion -- Wittgensteinian Philosophy of Religion -- Plantinga's Realism and Reformed Epistemology -- Conclusion on Analytic Philosophy of Religion -- Empirical Philosophy of Religion -- "Explaining" Religion-Naturally -- On Empirical Philosophy of Religion and the Three Challenges -- Gestures in the Right Direction for Addressing the Meaning Challenge -- Conclusion -- 3 Modern Origins of the Threefold Challenge -- Essentialism and Skepticism in Modern Philosophy of Religion -- The Social Dimension in Modern Philosophy of Religion -- Kant's Philosophy of Religion -- Post-Kantian Philosophy of Religion: Schleiermacher and Hegel -- Conclusion -- 4 A Postmodern Approach to the Truth and Meaning Challenges -- Postmodernism in Contemporary Continental Philosophy of Religion -- Vattimo's Nihilistic Secularization -- The Truth and Meaning Challenges in Postmodernity -- Marion: Theologizing an Impossible God -- Caputo's Radical Theology and Postmodern Philosophy of Religion -- Conclusion -- 5 Challenging Meaning: Pragmatic Reflections on Metaphilosophical Issues -- A Metaphilosophical Interlude -- Advancing the Challenge: Pragmatist Philosophy of Religion -- Pragmatist Philosophy of Religion and the Three Challenges -- Pragmatist Philosophy of Religion: Toward "Integration" -- 6 Integration and "More than Pragmatist" Philosophy of Religion. The Meaning of "Integration" -- Conceptual Elements of Religious Integration -- "More-than-Pragmatist" Philosophy of Religion -- Concluding Remarks -- Bibliography -- Index.
This book presents a pragmatic response to the New Atheism movement. The author argues that analytic and empirical philosophies of religion are methodologically unequipped to address New Atheist thinkers and settles upon a modified version of pragmatism that he concludes is best suited for articulating the stakes of the God Debate.