Kant and Theology (Philosophy and Theology)

133 Pages·2010·0.79 MB·English

by  Pamela Sue Anderson

Kant and Theology
Other titles in the Philosophy and Theology series include:
Zizek and Theology, Adam Kotsko
Nietzsche and Theology, Craig Hovey
Girard and Theology, Michael Kirwan
Wittgenstein and Theology, Tim Labron
Hegel and Theology, Martin J. De Nys
Derrida and Theology, Steven Shakespeare
Badiou and Theology, Frederiek Depoortere
Vattimo and Theology, Thomas G. Guarino
Kant and
Theology
Pamela Sue Anderson
and
Jordan Bell
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Copyright © Pamela Sue Anderson, Jordan Bell, 2010
Pamela Sue Anderson and Jordan Bell have asserted their right under
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the
Author of this work.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 13: 978-0-567-03414-4 (Hardback)
978-0-567-03415-1 (Paperback)
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[Kant’s] island1 . . . dates from the eighteenth century, and
marks an epoch: philosophers had previously been in the habit
of offering us more joyful and directly desirable things at the
end of the path of knowledge – holding out in their discourse a
prospect of islands to which we might more happily transport
ourselves. In considering then, the historical singularity of the
Kantian island, one should also not forget the historical
situation . . . of a dated historical formation which strives to
think . . . on questions which are those of an epoch, and of a
social category . . .
. . .[an] ancient happiness is no longer thinkable in the
eighteenth century, as Kant does not fail to acknowledge, closing
the Critique of Pure Reason, for example, with some
thoughts on nature as cruel stepmother, and on the veneration
we owe the creator ‘as much for what he has refused us as for
what he has given us in recompense’. . . [the first Critique]
points in this direction, but at the same time its metaphor
annuls this and organizes a seduction into renunciation by
depicting an island already discovered . . . A restoration of
paradise on earth, through the work and progress of the . . .
sciences, is declared possible and even already begun, despite and
notwithstanding everything – even if the system cannot found
this hope on reason. But without this hope, can there be a
Critique of Pure Reason?2
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Contents
Preface ix
Introduction Kant: His Life and Theology 1
1 Themes from Transcendental Idealism 11
Introducing Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason 11
The Problem of Metaphysics 13
Transcendental Idealism 17
From Theoretical Reason to Practical Reason 21
2 ‘Moral Religion’ for Theologians 27
Kant’s Morality: The Second Critique and
the Groundwork 27
Practical Reasoning, Freedom and
Autonomy: Critical Distinctions 35
3 Theoretical and Practical Arguments
for Theism 47
The Concept and Existence of God 47
The Speculative Proofs: A Critique of
Pure Theoretical Reason 49
Kant’s Moral Argument: Belief in Practical Reason 55
Conclusion: On the Proofs for Theists 57
4 Immortality, Corruption/‘Radical Evil’
and Salvation 59
Religion as Shared Rationality versus Religion
as Service to God 59
Rationality and Immortality: Working towards
Salvation by Way of Moral Certainty 61
vii
Contents
Corruption and Freedom: ‘Is heaven our
kind of place?’ 67
Christ and Human Salvation 70
Conclusion Critical Reception of Kantian
Autonomy: Or, A Lesson for Theologians 75
Obstacles to Kant: Autonomy as Sinful and
Masculine Pride 75
Theologians against Autonomy: Learning a
Lesson from Feminist Reformers 77
Kant’s Philosophical Contribution to
Theological Hermeneutics 82
Conclusion 86
Notes 89
Bibliography 107
Index 117
viii
Preface
Kant and Theology
by Pamela Sue Anderson and Jordan Bell
The philosophy of Kant is widely acknowledged to have had
a major impact on theology. However, due to the vastness and
complexity of Kant’s philosophical system, contemporary theo-
logians and ethicists tend to steer clear of his actual writings and
often exhibit a misunderstanding of his central ideas on reason,
morality and religion. Anderson and Bell aim to make Kant
accessible again to new generations of students and to challenge
twenty-first-century academics to return to Enlightenment
rationality. Kant and Theology takes a fresh look at freedom, evil
and human autonomy in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Ground-
work of the Metaphysics of Morals and Critique of Practical Reason, as
well as his Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason and ‘An
Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?’, demonstrating
how these core texts can inform debates about a range of topics
including salvation, heaven, ritual practices and the role of reason
for religious people today. Teachers of theology, philosophy of reli-
gion, ethics and feminist philosophy will find novel insights for
solving practical and theoretical disputes over what place human
agents and ‘moral religion’ have in a world shaped by ever-new
scientific and cross-cultural advances. This book in the Philosophy
for Theologians series includes a selective biography of Kant’s life
and theology, four main chapters and a conclusion focusing on
critical reception of Kant.
The authors of Kant and Theology offer two acknowledgements.
First, they would like to thank the Oxford philosopher A. W. Moore
ix