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Reason and belief: Based on Gifford lectures at St. Andrews and Noble lectures at Harvard
Blanshard’s long-awaited book is the third and final portion of a philosophical trilogy, of which the first two parts were Reason and Analysis and Reason and Goodness, both published more than ten years ago. This final volume is devoted to the relations between reason and religion. The book is long (more than 600 pages) and rich in content. Not since Santayana’s Reason in Religion in 1910 (one of the five volumes of his “Life of Reason” series) has a philosopher stood back from the religious scene with such an objective eye—sympathetic, yet critical—and shared with his readers so much wisdom on the subject. The book is written in Blanshard’s inimitable philosophical style, smooth and polished, always to the point, full of well-turned phrases and quotable quotes.
- GenresPhilosophy
616 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
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April 16, 2021
"Reason and Belief" is the third volume of a magisterial philosophical trilogy by this eminent American philosopher.
The earlier volumes were "Reason and Analysis" and "Reason and Goodness".
In the preface to "R&B" Blanshard states: "The three volumes, Reason and Analysis, Reason and Goodness, and Reason and Belief make a sequence in which I have tried to sketch the office of reason in the theory of knowledge, ethics, and religion respectively. They all continue a line of reflection begun many years before in The Nature of Thought."
And so they do.
But what, more specifically, is to be found in this hefty third volume?
"R&B" is divided into three parts: "Reason and Faith: The Catholic View", "Reason and Faith: The Lutheran Succession", and "Ethics and Belief". In the first two parts Blanshard is concerned to determine whether Christianity, in its Catholic or Protestant forms, can genuinely accommodate reason and still remain Christianity. Or with a slight shift in perspective one might ask whether reason and science can accommodate Christianity and still remain reason and science.
This question has been on the boil at least since Kant wrote "Religion Within the Bounds of Reason Alone" (which is what Blanshard advocates for in part three of "R&B").
The answer to this question as set forth in "R&B" is: No, with some qualification, they are oil and water.
Blanshard's approach to the resolution of any philosophical issue remained constant throughout his long career: he typically begins with an exceptionally clear statement of the problem; goes on to canvas the most plausible of the existing assessments; systematically critiques these previous views; and then, in light of these critiques goes on to offer his own conclusions. This exhaustively systematic approach makes for rather long books, but also for unexpectedly compelling reading because the outcome of the process is a growing sense of clarity attained and certainty achieved as every relevant argument is tied off, one step at a time.
In this case, the result is the most comprehensive critique of Christianity that has ever been set forth - and, almost certainly, that ever will be.
Many readers, and particularly committed Christians, could probably only read "R&B" with a growing sense of horror and dismay, because the critique, which leaves no stone left un-turned, is devastating indeed. On the other hand, however, the third part of the book, in which Blanshard goes on to consider what sort of religion remains defensible, sheds an immense amount of light on that subject, and rescues the reader from any idea that some sort of nihilism is the only alternative. This is very far from being the case and, indeed, Blanshard's remarks open the door to a far more palatable alternative.
The definitive solution to one aspect of America's "culture" war can be found here, and, really, only here. But, as with all wars, there will be those who are pleased with the outcome, and those who are very much angered and embittered.
Yet one thing is certain: nobody could accuse Blanshard of being unfair or biased. He has his judges' robe on throughout, and is scrupulously just on every page.
The earlier volumes were "Reason and Analysis" and "Reason and Goodness".
In the preface to "R&B" Blanshard states: "The three volumes, Reason and Analysis, Reason and Goodness, and Reason and Belief make a sequence in which I have tried to sketch the office of reason in the theory of knowledge, ethics, and religion respectively. They all continue a line of reflection begun many years before in The Nature of Thought."
And so they do.
But what, more specifically, is to be found in this hefty third volume?
"R&B" is divided into three parts: "Reason and Faith: The Catholic View", "Reason and Faith: The Lutheran Succession", and "Ethics and Belief". In the first two parts Blanshard is concerned to determine whether Christianity, in its Catholic or Protestant forms, can genuinely accommodate reason and still remain Christianity. Or with a slight shift in perspective one might ask whether reason and science can accommodate Christianity and still remain reason and science.
This question has been on the boil at least since Kant wrote "Religion Within the Bounds of Reason Alone" (which is what Blanshard advocates for in part three of "R&B").
The answer to this question as set forth in "R&B" is: No, with some qualification, they are oil and water.
Blanshard's approach to the resolution of any philosophical issue remained constant throughout his long career: he typically begins with an exceptionally clear statement of the problem; goes on to canvas the most plausible of the existing assessments; systematically critiques these previous views; and then, in light of these critiques goes on to offer his own conclusions. This exhaustively systematic approach makes for rather long books, but also for unexpectedly compelling reading because the outcome of the process is a growing sense of clarity attained and certainty achieved as every relevant argument is tied off, one step at a time.
In this case, the result is the most comprehensive critique of Christianity that has ever been set forth - and, almost certainly, that ever will be.
Many readers, and particularly committed Christians, could probably only read "R&B" with a growing sense of horror and dismay, because the critique, which leaves no stone left un-turned, is devastating indeed. On the other hand, however, the third part of the book, in which Blanshard goes on to consider what sort of religion remains defensible, sheds an immense amount of light on that subject, and rescues the reader from any idea that some sort of nihilism is the only alternative. This is very far from being the case and, indeed, Blanshard's remarks open the door to a far more palatable alternative.
The definitive solution to one aspect of America's "culture" war can be found here, and, really, only here. But, as with all wars, there will be those who are pleased with the outcome, and those who are very much angered and embittered.
Yet one thing is certain: nobody could accuse Blanshard of being unfair or biased. He has his judges' robe on throughout, and is scrupulously just on every page.
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