How to do philosophy of religion: towards a possible speaking about the impossible
Abstract
It is postulated from different philosophical traditions, and explicitly
in recent literature, that there is no further need for doing philosophy
of religion – it has become an impossible task. I argue, however, that
there remains a philosophical space for this practice and that this
space determines greatly how philosophy of religion can be done.
The starting point of my argument is the current discussion in the
SAJP between De Wet and Giddy and the significance of my article
is that it puts this debate within the broader international philosophical
context by engaging the work of Trakakis and Desmond to resolve
some of the apparently intractable issues raised. Trakakis discusses
the divide between the analytic and continental philosophical
traditions in which De Wet and Giddy’s work is further
contextualized and clarified. Desmond’s work is seminal in its search
for a metaxology wherein he advocates a new ‘in between’ position
for doing philosophy of religion. I take this view of Desmond further
by applying it to the current debate in South Africa and also using it
to indicate some possibilities of speaking about the impossible
Collections
- Faculty of Humanities [2042]