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2 - Moral Faith in God

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2020

Allen W. Wood
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
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Summary

Kant’s moral argument for faith in God aims not at converting unbelievers but at offering those who believe a reason for principled assent to the existence of God on moral grounds. It is based on a rational connection between purposive action and assent that applies not only to religious belief but to many other purposes as well, such as what Royce called “loyalty to a lost cause.” The argument in the Critique of Pure Reason differs significantly from its presentation in later works. Kantian moral faith is in tension with Cliffordian evidentialism but not inconsistent with it, and the two together constitute the doxastic virtue lying between the twin vices of uncritical credulity and stubborn incredulity; together they enable us to avoid the complacencies of both despairing resignation and overconfidence.

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Kant and Religion , pp. 27 - 60
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Moral Faith in God
  • Allen W. Wood, Stanford University, California
  • Book: Kant and Religion
  • Online publication: 08 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108381512.003
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  • Moral Faith in God
  • Allen W. Wood, Stanford University, California
  • Book: Kant and Religion
  • Online publication: 08 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108381512.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Moral Faith in God
  • Allen W. Wood, Stanford University, California
  • Book: Kant and Religion
  • Online publication: 08 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108381512.003
Available formats
×