GOD

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK

Authors

Keywords:

Religious experience, Epistemology of religion, Intuition, Feeling

Abstract

The sacred writings of a wide variety of religious traditions and the reports of saints and mystics of those same traditions present the spiritual domain in a paradoxical and mysterious manner, often incomprehensible.  Those writings starkly contrast with the philosophical and theological discourse on those matters, which sought to describe clearly and precisely what in them is said ambiguously, metaphorically and indirectly. This paper advances an argument originally put forth by William James, according to which religious beliefs are grounded not on philosophical and theological theories, but on religious experiences. We argue that an epistemology of religion based on those experiences cannot merely imitate an epistemology of ordinary objects (e.g., physical objects), but has to incorporate intuitions and feelings as sources of knowledge alongside more traditional sources. 

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Published

2024-10-27

How to Cite

SEVERO, R.; VASCONCELLOS, M. GOD: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK. Revista Kriterion, [S. l.], v. 65, n. 159, p. e–41949, 2024. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/kriterion/article/view/41949. Acesso em: 21 nov. 2024.

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