Critical Survey of Bernard Blanshard’s Religious Epistemology

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Jalal Paykani 1
Sayyed Ali Alamolhoda 2
1 Assistant Professor at the Department of Islamic Philosophy and Kalam, Payame Noor University, Tabriz, Iran, (Corresponding Author)
2 Assistant Professor at the Department of Islamic Philosophy and Kalam, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
10.30497/prr.2013.1479
Abstract
Brand Blanshard is one of the contemporary famous philosophers, especially because of his Ideas on religious epistemology. He defends rationalism and evidentialism in religious epistemology and therefore criticizes fideism. He holds that rationality is the main character   of all kinds of beliefs, including religious belief. But, in his Idealism, Blansahrd finds a place for the source of being and universe, which stands in sharp contradiction with traditional concept of God. In this paper we show that some times, his evidentialism is very radical and in compatible with contemporary steams. Some of his claims are not acceptable, such as this assertion that today scientific approach is absolutely dominate and religious approach is absolutely condemn.
Keywords
evidentialism
Absolute Idealism
religious belief
Brand Blanshard
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Philosophy of Religion Research
Volume 11, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
November 2014
Pages 123-144