Reason Within The Bounds Of Religion

Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason is a key element of the system of philosophy which Kant introduced with his Critique of Pure Reason, and a work of major importance in the history of Western religious thought. It represents a great philosopher's attempt to spell out the form and content of a type of religion that would be grounded in moral reason and would meet the needs of ethical life. It includes sharply critical and boldly constructive discussions on topics not often treated by philosophers, including such traditional theological concepts as original sin and the salvation or 'justification' of a sinner, and the idea of the proper role of a church. This volume presents it and three short essays that illuminate it in new translations by Allen Wood and George di Giovanni, with an introduction by Robert Merrihew Adams that locates it in its historical and philosophical context.

Expanding on his 1976 study of the bearing of Christian faith on the practice of scholarship, Wolterstorff has added a substantial new section on the role of faith in the decisions scholars make about their choice of subject matter.

Werner S. Pluhar's masterful rendering of Kant's major work on religion is meticulously annotated and presented here with a selected bibliography, glossary, and generous index. Stephen R. Palmquist's engaging Introduction provides historical background, discusses Religion in the context of Kant's philosophical system, elucidates Kant's main arguments, and explores the implications and ongoing relevance of the work.

Explores Kant's philosophy of religion and morality through his Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason.

This book examines the transcendental dimension of Kant's philosophy as a positive resource for theology. Firestone shows that Kant's philosophy establishes three distinct grounds for transcendental theology and then evaluates the form and content of theology that emerges when Christian theologians adopt these grounds. To understand Kant's philosophy as a completed process, Firestone argues, theologians must go beyond the strictures of Kant's critical philosophy proper and consider in its fullness the transcendental significance of what Kant calls 'rational religious faith'. This movement takes us into the promising but highly treacherous waters of Kant's Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason to understand theology at the transcendental bounds of reason.

Kant's Religion Within The Bounds of Mere Reason was written late in his life, following his most famous works including Critique of Pure Reason and Groundwork of Metaphysics of Morals. In it he considers the consequences of transcendental criticism for theology. Kant identifies a moral core to the Christian faith and asserts that because of that core and because the faith contains a principle for dispensing with the morally extraneous statutes and history associated with it, this faith can count as a moral, world religion. Seen by most philosophers and theologians as one of the most significant texts by this world famous philosopher, understanding is crucial for completion of any basic theology or philosophical qualification.