New insights into Kant’s thinking about religion Nathan Jacobs is Assistant Professor of Theology in the School of Biblical and Religious Studies at Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill. He has authored many articles on Kant and other topics and is a contributor to Kant and the New Philosophy of Religion. Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion Merold Westphal, editor Cover illustration: Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904–1989), Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus), 1954. Oil on canvas, 76 1/2 x 48 3/4 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of The Chester Dale Collection, 1955. (55.5) Photograph © 1986 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. © 2008 Salvador Dalí, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 In Defense of Kant’s Religion Kant’s Religion Chris L. Firestone is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill. He has authored many articles on Kant and is editor, with Stephen R. Palmquist, of Kant and the New Philosophy of Religion (Indiana University Press, 2006). In Defense of Chris L. Firestone and Nathan Jacobs integrate and interpret the work of leading Kant scholars to come to a new and deeper understanding of Kant’s difficult book, Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. In this text, Kant’s vocabulary and language are especially tortured and convoluted. Readers have often lost sight of the thinker’s deep ties to Christianity and questioned the viability of the work as serious philosophy of religion. Firestone and Jacobs provide strong and cogent grounds for taking Kant’s religion seriously and defend him against the charges of incoherence. In their reading, Christian essentials are incorporated into the confines of reason, and they argue that Kant establishes a rational religious faith in accord with religious conviction as it is elaborated in his mature philosophy. For readers at all levels, this book articulates a way to ground religion and theology in a fully fledged defense of Religion which is linked to the larger corpus of Kant’s philosophical enterprise. Firestone and Jacobs Philosophy / Religion INDIANA Chris L. Firestone and Nathan Jacobs foreword by nicholas wolterstorff in defense of kant’s religion Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion Merold Westphal, editor In Defense of Kant’s Religion Chris L. Firestone and Nathan Jacobs f o r e w o r d b y n i c h o l a s w o lt e r s t o r f f INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington & Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders Fax orders Orders by e-mail 800-842-6796 812-855-7931
[email protected] ∫ 2008 by Chris L. Firestone and Nathan Jacobs All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Firestone, Chris L., date In defense of Kant’s religion / Chris L. Firestone and Nathan Jacobs ; fore