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Can faith be a doxastic venture?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2005

ANDREI A. BUCKAREFF
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Franklin & Marshall College, PO Box 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003

Abstract

In a recent article in this journal, John Bishop argues in defence of conceiving of Christian faith as a ‘doxastic venture’. That is, he defends the claim that, in exercising faith, agents believe beyond ‘what can be established rationally on the basis of evidence and argument’. Careful examination reveals that Bishop fails adequately to show that faith in the face of inadequate epistemic reasons for believing is, or can even be, a uniquely doxastic venture. I argue that faith is best conceived of as a sub-doxastic venture that involves pragmatically assuming that God exists.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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