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Philosophy and the Study of Religions
A Manifesto
"Schilbrack's important book proposes a transformation of the philosophy of religion which would, if taken seriously, remove its vices while preserving its virtues. He shows, with panache, that the insularity and intellectualism of the field can be overcome by extending its range to include nonwestern and nontheistic forms of religion, and by attending as much to practice as to belief. And he does this without compromising the seriousness of religious claims to truth. It's a considerable achievement." "This book is much-needed and long overdue. Kevin Schilbrack is concerned with a set of controversies that have agitated the field of religious studies for the past generation and more – controversies in which both the proper shape and very legitimacy of the field have seemed to be at stake. Patiently and thoroughly, Schilbrack works through these and sets out a series of robust and well-argued answers. The book not only articulates a program for philosophy of religion, but also displays that program in operation."
—Paul J. Griffiths, Warren Chair Catholic Theology, Duke University
—Andrew Dole, Amherst College
Kevin Schilbrack (Author)
9781444330526, Wiley
Hardback, published 14 February 2014
248 pages
23.9 x 16 x 1.8 cm, 0.454 kg
"Here, informed by the work of a wide range of social theorists, anthropologists, and others, Schilbrack seeks to draw philosophers of religion out of their cultural insularity, through a consideration of concepts such as 'embodied knowledge,' to contemplate what 'religion' might be, feel like, and mean in 'the rest' of the world." (Church Times, 4 September 2015) "The book adds considerable momentum to the most innovative developments in philosophy of religion today." (Int J Philos Religion, 1 March 2015) "Schilbrack concludes with strong arguments on the cross-cultural study of religion and suggests a combination of functional (the work religion does in human lives) and substantive (what religion enables people to know). Each chapter includes a bibliographic essay that will make this book a delight for classroom use. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above." (Choice, 1 January 2015) "This book is a valuable resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in either field. Similarly, scholars will find important issues raised in this volume that they often ignore given, as Schilbrack argues, the insularity that characterizes the philosophy of religion." (Religious Studies Review, 1 September 2014)
Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto advocates a radical transformation of the discipline from its current, narrow focus on questions of God, to a fully global form of critical reflection on religions in all their variety and dimensions.
Preface xi Acknowledgments xix Chapter 1: The Full Task of Philosophy of Religion 1 i. What is “Traditional Philosophy of Religion”? 3 ii. The First Task of Philosophy of Religion 10 iii. The Second Task of Philosophy of Religion 14 iv. The Third Task of Philosophy of Religion 19 v. What is the Big Idea? 24 Bibliographic Essay 25 Endnotes 27 Chapter 2: Are Religious Practices Philosophical? 29 i. Toward a Philosophy of Religious Practice 31 ii. Embodiment as a Paradigm for Philosophy of Religion 33 iii. Conceptual Metaphors and Embodied Religious Reason 36 iv. Religious Material Culture as Cognitive Prosthetics 40 v. A Toolkit for the Philosophical Study of Religious Practices 47 Bibliographic Essay 49 Endnotes 51 Chapter 3: Must Religious People Have Religious Beliefs? 53 i. The Place of Belief in the Study of Religions 55 ii. Objections to the Concept of Religious Belief 57 iii. Holding One’s Beliefs in Public 61 iv. What We Presuppose When We Attribute Beliefs 66 v. The Universality of Belief 70 Bibliographic Essay 76 Endnotes 80 Chapter 4: Do Religions Exist? 83 i. The Critique of “Religion” 85 ii. The Ontology of “Religion” 89 iii. Can There be Religion Without “Religion”? 92 iv. “Religion” as Distortion 96 v. The Ideology of “Religion” 101 Bibliographic Essay 105 Endnotes 110 Chapter 5: What Isn’t Religion? 113 i. Strategies for Defining Religion 115 ii. Making Promises: The Functional or Pragmatic Aspect of Religion 121 iii. Keeping Promises: The Substantive or Ontological Aspect of Religion 127 iv. The Growing Variety of Religious Realities 129 v. What this Definition Excludes 135 Bibliographic Essay 141 Endnotes 147 Chapter 6: Are Religions Out of Touch With Reality? 149 i. Religious Metaphysics in a Postmetaphysical Age 151 ii. Antimetaphysics Today 154 iii. Constructive Postmodernism and Unmediated Experience 158 iv. Unmediated Experience and Metaphysics 163 v. The Rehabilitation of Religious Metaphysics 167 Bibliographic Essay 171 Endnotes 172 Chapter 7: The Academic Study of Religions: a Map With Bridges 175 i. Religious Studies as a Tripartite Field 177 ii. Describing and Explaining Religious Phenomena 180 iii. Evaluating Religious Phenomena 185 iv. Do Evaluative Approaches Belong in the Academy? 189 v. Interdisciplinary Bridges 197 Bibliographic Essay 203 Endnotes 205 Works Cited 207 Index 223
Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]
