The Will to Imagine
A Justification of Skeptical Religion

J. L. Schellenberg (Author)

9780801478529

Paperback / softback, published 13 September 2012

288 pages
22.2 x 14.9 x 2.1 cm, 0.454 kg

Those who are familiar with and enjoy reading Schellenberg will find The Will to Imagine to be a welcome addition to his body of work. It is a highly thought provoking text that offers readers—specialists and non-specialists alike—much to consider and digest. The Will to Imagine is bound to inspire new ideas about how it could be that generic Ultimism is true.

The Will to Imagine completes J. L. Schellenberg's trilogy in the philosophy of religion, following his acclaimed Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Religion and The Wisdom to Doubt. This book marks a striking reversal in our understanding of the possibility of religious faith. Where other works treat religious skepticism as a dead end, The Will to Imagine argues that skepticism is the only point from which a proper beginning in religious inquiry—and in religion itself—can be made. For Schellenberg, our immaturity as a species not only makes justified religious belief impossible but also provides the appropriate context for a type of faith response grounded in imagination rather than belief, directed not to theism but to ultimism, the heart of religion. This new and nonbelieving form of faith, he demonstrates, is quite capable of nourishing an authentic religious life while allowing for inquiry into ways of refining the generic idea that shapes its commitments.