Religious Pluralism and the Divine: Another Look at John Hick's Neo-Kantian Proposal

Eddy, Paul Rhodes

doi:10.1017/s0034412500023118

Cited by 15 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Alvin Plantinga expresses one familiar line of criticism when he objects: ‘If we know nothing about the Real, we have no reason to pick the personae Hick picks as authentic manifestations of it’ (Plantinga (2000), 59). Paul Eddy argues that, as a result of its ineffability, Hick's noumenal Real is ‘a purely unnecessary and unjustifiable construct’ (Eddy (1994), 478). Hick's sharp distinction between the ineffable Real in itself and phenomenal realities, as Peter Byrne argues, ‘posits too great a gulf between belief and its object’ (Byrne (1982), 299).…”

Section: Major Criticisms Of Hick's Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Likewise, Robert McKim points out that, in Hick's account, all that can be said about the Real as a source of information ‘is just that it is a source’ (McKim (2012), 9). Again, Eddy objects that ‘such non-informative “information” hardly offers hard data’, and he disagrees with Hick that a transcendent source of ‘information’ can be an essential constitutive element of religious experience (Eddy (1994), 477). Also on a critical note, George Mavrodes remarks on the tension between the ineffability of the Real in itself and its causal, or quasi-causal, function in Hick's theory (Mavrodes (2010), 67).…”

Section: Major Criticisms Of Hick's Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Buddhist reconfiguration of John Hick's pluralistic hypothesis: a Madhyamaka perspective

Zhao¹

2020

Rel. Stud.

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In presenting his theory of religious pluralism, John Hick discussed the Buddhist concept of śūnyatā, emptiness, which he regarded as functionally equivalent to his postulated noumenal Real. This article introduces Hick's pluralistic hypothesis and reviews the major criticisms of his theory. It then investigates Hick's understanding of śūnyatā, before arguing that a Madhyamaka interpretation of śūnyatā, within the context of the Buddhist theory of ‘two truths’, differs considerably from Hick's understanding. The article suggests that the Madhyamaka interpretation of śūnyatā can be used to reconfigure Hick's pluralistic hypothesis, thereby avoiding the major criticisms Hickian pluralism faces, for it provides a new way of thinking about the relation between ultimate reality and the reality that we experience.

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Section: Major Criticisms Of Hick's Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Major Criticisms Of Hick's Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Buddhist reconfiguration of John Hick's pluralistic hypothesis: a Madhyamaka perspective

Zhao¹

2020

Rel. Stud.

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“…6 6 Eddy (‘Religious Pluralism and the Divine’) and Seeman (‘What if the Elephant Speaks?’) provide excellent discussions of Hick’s adoption of Kantian views and the resulting difficulties he faces. …”

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confidence: 99%

The Incompatibility Problem and Religious Pluralism Beyond Hick

Ruhmkorff

2013

Philosophy Compass

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Religious pluralism is the view that more than one religion is correct, and that no religion enjoys a special status in relation to the ultimate. Yet the world religions appear to be incompatible. How, then, can more than one be correct? Discussions and critiques of religious pluralism usually focus on the work of John Hick, yet there are a number of other pluralists whose responses to this incompatibility problem are importantly different from Hick's. This article surveys the solutions of Hick, Harrison, Heim, Byrne, and Knitter to the incompatibility problem. I conclude that, while none of these views is without weakness, there are several promising pluralist solutions to this problem. Moreover, confessionalists (i.e. exclusivists and inclusivists) must also address issues related to incompatibility.Religious pluralism 1 is the view that more than one religion is correct, and that no religion enjoys a special status in relation to the ultimate. Religious pluralists (henceforth 'pluralists' unless context demands greater precision) appear to have two central motivations. First, pluralists find value and connectedness with the transcendent in the religious experiences and moral teachings of many established religions. Second, pluralists want to preserve the integrity and dignity of established religions, especially in the context of a history of religious violence, oppression, and colonialism. The various attempts to develop pluralism have been intensely contested both by those who think that they are misguided in intent and by those who think that they fail to be sufficiently pluralistic. In this article, I outline various pluralist responses 2 to one of the main objections to pluralism: the incompatibility problem.The incompatibility problem lies in the fact that the world religions appear to be incompatible, yet religious pluralists assert that more than one of them is correct. Discussions and critiques of religious pluralism usually focus on the work of John Hick, but there are a number of other pluralists whose responses to the incompatibility problem are importantly different from Hick's. Accordingly, this article surveys the solutions of Hick, Harrison, Heim, Byrne, and Knitter. I conclude that, while none of these views is without weakness, there are several promising pluralist solutions to the incompatibility problem. Moreover, those opposing pluralism have an incompatibility problem of their own.

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John Hick’s Religious Pluralism: Home and Abroad

Sugirtharajah

2023

Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion

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Religious Pluralism and the Divine: Another Look at John Hick's Neo-Kantian Proposal

Cited by 15 publications

References 16 publications

A Buddhist reconfiguration of John Hick's pluralistic hypothesis: a Madhyamaka perspective

A Buddhist reconfiguration of John Hick's pluralistic hypothesis: a Madhyamaka perspective

The Incompatibility Problem and Religious Pluralism Beyond Hick

John Hick’s Religious Pluralism: Home and Abroad

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