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Philosophy Religious

The Will to Imagine

A Justification of Skeptical Religion

by (author) J.L. Schellenberg

Publisher
Cornell University Press
Initial publish date
Jul 2009
Category
Religious, Logic, Philosophy
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780801447808
    Publish Date
    Jul 2009
    List Price
    $76.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780801478529
    Publish Date
    Sep 2012
    List Price
    $47.95

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 18
  • Grade: 12

Description

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.

A singular feature of Schellenberg's book is his claim, developed in detail, that unsuccessful believers' arguments can successfully be recast as arguments for imaginative faith. Out of the rational failure of traditional forms of religious belief, The Will to Imagine fashions an unconventional form of religion better fitted, Schellenberg argues, to the human species as it exists today and as we may hope it will evolve.

About the author

Contributor Notes

J. L. Schellenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Mount Saint Vincent University and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University. He is the author of Prolegomena to a Philosophy of Religion; The Wisdom to Doubt: A Justification of Religious Skepticism; and Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason, all from Cornell.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Kinesis

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