We cordially invite you to the next lecture in the series "Forum Religionsphilosophie" (see also attachment for this and the following lecture).

György Geréby* (Central European University PU, Vienna)
Thursday, March 9, 2023, 15:00-16:30,
Lecture Room 2H, 1090 Universitätsstraße 7 (NIG), 2nd floor

Theistic fallacies. What are the epistemic problems with irenic approaches in the philosophy of religion?

Theism argues for the existence of a single transcendent personal god who is a creator and governor of the world. Theism does not identify itself with any religion in particular since it maintains that it can establish the essential core of religious beliefs, or at least of the ‘monotheistic’ beliefs. R. Swinburne, or differently, J. Hick suppose that ‘central’ religious tenets are rational, that is, logically justifiable, and that the tenets are consistent. Consequently, theism supports the widespread opinion that the ‘monotheistic’ religions worship the same god and that religious differences are the result of diverse historical developments. In my talk, I will challenge this program by showing that the ‘core identity’ assumption founders on epistemic logic, in particular, because of the Hooded Man (cognosco venientem) paradox. Establishing the ‘rational core doctrine’ is shown to be an illusion because of the non-substitutivity of identicals in epistemic (or intensional) contexts. Medieval theologians (e.g. Walter Burleigh or Albert of Saxony) were aware of this problem and offered criteria for correct inferences. In the end, I plead that religious tolerance can only be based on developments internal to the different religions.