A Taste for the Infinite: What Philosophy of Biology Can tell Us About Religious Belief

According to Friedrich Schleiermacher, religiosity is rooted in feeling (Gefühl). As a result of our engagement with the world, on which we depend and which we can influence, we have both a sense of dependence and of freedom. Schleiermacher speculated that a sense of absolute dependence in reflectiv...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: De Cruz, Helen 1978- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Open Library of Humanities$s2024- 2022
In: Zygon
Year: 2022, Volume: 57, Issue: 1, Pages: 161-180
Further subjects:B Agency
B Subjectivity
B Friedrich Schleiermacher
B philosophy of biology
B Cognition
B God-consciousness
B cognitive science of religion
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:According to Friedrich Schleiermacher, religiosity is rooted in feeling (Gefühl). As a result of our engagement with the world, on which we depend and which we can influence, we have both a sense of dependence and of freedom. Schleiermacher speculated that a sense of absolute dependence in reflective beings with self-consciousness (human beings) gave rise to religion. Using insights from contemporary philosophy of biology and cognitive science, I seek to naturalize Schleiermacher's ideas. I moreover show that this naturalization is in line with Schleiermacher's outlook on biology, as he already had evolutionary considerations in mind when he wrote the Christian Faith (1830). While Schleiermacher rejects natural theology in a narrow sense (proofs for the existence of God), his project is natural theological in a broader sense, as it roots religion in experiences that we can examine using naturalistic theories.
ISSN:1467-9744
Reference:Kommentar in "Response: Science and Religion—the State of the Art (2022)"
Contains:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12765