Is Religious Education Possible? A Philosophical Investigation

by Hand, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780826491503
• ISBN10: 0826491502
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781847143891
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-14
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

This fascinating monograph tackles a well-established problem in the philosophy of education. The problem is the threat posed to the logical possibility of non-confessional religious education by the claim that religion constitutes an autonomous language-game or form of knowledge. Defenders of this claim argue that religion cannot be understood from the outside: it is impossible to impart religious understanding unless one is also prepared to impart religious belief. Michael Hand argues for two central points: first, that non-confessional religious education would indeed be impossible if it were true that religion constitutes a distinct form of knowledge; and, second, that religion does not in fact constitute a distinct form of knowledge.

Author Biography

Michael Hand is Lecturer in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
A Philosophical Problem	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The philosophical debate	p. 2
Paul Hirst	p. 3
Roger Marples	p. 9
David Attfield	p. 12
Peter Gardner	p. 16
A related debate	p. 19
Conclusion	p. 23
Understanding a Form of Knowledge	p. 25
Introduction	p. 25
The forms of knowledge thesis	p. 25
Hirst's presentation of the thesis	p. 26
Criticisms of Hirst	p. 37
Knowledge, propositions and truth	p. 41
A restatement of the thesis	p. 46
Understanding a form of knowledge	p. 52
Conclusion	p. 55
Is there a Religious Form of Knowledge?	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
Six accounts of religious belief	p. 57
Wittgenstein	p. 58
D.Z. Phillips	p. 64
W.D. Hudson	p. 69
John Wisdom	p. 76
Allen Brent	p. 84
Michael Leahy and Ronald Laura	p. 87
Conclusion	p. 91
The Meaning of Religious Propositions	p. 93
Introduction	p. 93
The concept of religion	p. 93
Metaphorical applications of the term 'religion'	p. 94
Two criteria of religion	p. 95
Two anxieties about the concept of religion	p. 99
The meaning of religious propositions	p. 105
The concept of god	p. 107
A note on the term 'God'	p. 109
The logic of disputes about gods	p. 111
Conclusion	p. 117
Mental and Material Propositions	p. 119
Introduction	p. 119
Mental and material propositions	p. 119
The autonomy of mental propositions	p. 122
Descartes' argument	p. 124
The behaviourist case	p. 127
Knowledge without observation	p. 137
The problem of other minds	p. 140
Conclusion	p. 148
Conclusion	p. 151
Bibliography	p. 155
Index	p. 159
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