William Abraham on soft rationalism
Religions are “grand systems”
As such they should be judged by the
standards of grand systems
Other grand systems?
Assessment of grand systems
Not a matter of simple demonstration &
probabilistic reasoning
Abraham on soft rationalism - slide 1
William Abraham on soft rationalism
Coherence
Accumulation over time
No one starting point
Personal judgment plays an important role
Hard rationalists are not happy with this
They demand hard evidence and strict
proof
Abraham on soft rationalism - slide 2
William Abraham on soft rationalism
But, according to Abraham, this asks for
too much.
“Hard rationalists set the standards for
rationality too high for the subject
matter” (Peterson et al 86)
Illustration of soft rationalism
Rachel’s imaginary pilgrimage
Abraham on soft rationalism - slide 3
William Abraham on soft rationalism
Abraham: this is the “rationality of
religious faith . . . Soft rationalism . . .”
(90)
Abraham on soft rationalism - slide 4