The Humility of Reason

Philosophy in the Light of Human Development
Erscheinungsjahr 2027
ISBN: 978-0-19-790215-8
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 214 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 138 mm x 216 mm

Among the parameters that ought to shape philosophical inquiry is humanity's developmental status, but it is a missing parameter. The Humility of Reason remedies this deficiency, arguing that in the remedy lie the seeds of a new and fruitful approach to philosophy. J. L. Schellenberg begins the book by contending that, despite our growing technological sophistication, humanity remains at an early stage of development. When we consider the emotional, social, moral, and intellectual growth that we might hope to attain, what we have achieved so far appears, by comparison, rather small. From this early-stage claim arises the early-stage rule—the requirement that we adapt ourselves and our projects to humanity's actual developmental condition—and a new philosophical orientation: stage-sensitivity. Applying stage sensitivity across a wide range of philosophical problems, Schellenberg shows how what initially seems a constraint turns out to be a powerful resource. When we step back and take in the macroscale, we recognize our modest developmental status, but at the same time, a new way forward suggests itself. Some philosophical problems must be scaled to our present capacities; others—more radically—turn out to be stage-defined, requiring entirely new ways of thinking. By attending to these possibilities, The Humility of Reason shows how familiar debates can be clarified, reshaped, and in some cases resolved—offering a striking new vision of philosophical progress.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schellenberg, J. L.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction

- Part I. Our Early Stage Condition

- Chapter 1: The Temporal Background

- Chapter 2: Some Developmental Concepts

- Chapter 3: From Micro to Macro on Human Development

- Chapter 4: H. Sapiens as an Undeveloped Species

- Part II. Stage-Sensitive Philosophy

- Chapter 5: Realism

- Chapter 6: Knowledge

- Chapter 7: Mind

- Chapter 8: Morality

- Chapter 9: Freedom

- Chapter 10: God

- Conclusion

- Appendix A: Non-Ideal Theory, Pragmatism, and the Early-Stage Approach

- Appendix B: An Early-Stage Method?

Über Autor(innen)

J. L. Schellenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Mount Saint Vincent University and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University. He holds a PhD from the University of Oxford. He is the author of ten books and 80 published articles. His first book, Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason, introduced a new argument against theism that remains the subject of much discussion. Also influential is a trilogy from Cornell and subsequent volumes on a skeptical form of religion compatible with the denial of theism. The developmentalist theme of these works is applied to Christianity in Schellenberg's 2024 book from Oxford called What God Would Have Known.