Research Forum with Lawrence Pasternack
Posted on: Sep 29, 2015
Religious Assent and the Question of Theology: Making Room for Historical Faith
Part One: Tuesday, October 20 – 4 to 5 p.m.
Part Two: Tuesday, October 27 – 4 to 5 p.m. – HA015
Presented by Visiting Research Scholar, Lawrence Pasternack
In the 1787 Preface to the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant writes that among the goals of his Critical Project is to determine the “limits to knowledge” in order to “make room for faith”. Although this comment has long been treated as an empty bromide, recent “affirmative” interpretations of Kant’s philosophy of religion have come to take it more seriously. The purpose of this paper is to (a) explain Kant's understanding of faith; (b) why he regards faith rather than knowledge as the proper mode of religious assent; and (c) how best to understand the relationship between what he calls "Pure Rational Faith" and "Historical Faith," i.e., faith in those principles he regards as essential to our salvation vs. faith is religious claims of miracles and revelation that are in themselves, inessential.