Survival, freedom, urge and the absolute: on an antinomy in the subject

This article argues against scientistic arguments of the redundancy of religious belief structures due to the explicability of the physical world, as exemplified here by a discussion of the “popular science” of Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss. It is claimed that the root of belief in “sense” is...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Frauen, Jan-Boje (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Nature B. V 2022
In: International journal for philosophy of religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 91, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-85
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Subject-object problem / Drive (Psychology) / Consciousness / The Absolute / Science
IxTheo Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
VA Philosophy
VB Hermeneutics; Philosophy
Further subjects:B Teleological argument
B Consciousness
B Emergence
B Subjectivity
B Evolution
B Cosmological Argument
B Entropy
B Information
B Complexity
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article argues against scientistic arguments of the redundancy of religious belief structures due to the explicability of the physical world, as exemplified here by a discussion of the “popular science” of Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss. It is claimed that the root of belief in “sense” is in animation, rather than in cosmological creation myths. The paper displays that the ideal of the absolute is linguistically signified by the termini “survival” and “freedom” in human understanding. However, it does not appear through human understanding as an illusion stemming from the illegitimate inference of a pantheistic spirit or prime mover. Instead, human reason builds an analytical understanding upon a fundamental instinct, which long predates human-level consciousness. Approaching the subject’s role in the physical world, the article displays that animation itself, as the primal form of awareness and agency, is the urge to overcome an inherent antagonism in the structure of being. It is argued that the cosmological argument is mirrored by an argument that has no strict theoretical cogency, but is likewise irreducible and irrefutable by science. Science investigates the object empirically but has limited explanatory capabilities when it comes to subjective being.
ISSN:1572-8684
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11153-021-09812-z