Abstract
This paper presents a feminist intervention into debates concerning the relation between human subjects and a divine ideal. I turn to what Irigarayan feminists challenge as a masculine conception of ‘the God’s eye view’ of reality. This ideal functions not only in philosophy of religion, but in ethics, politics, epistemology and philosophy of science: it is given various names from ‘the competent judge’ to the ‘the ideal observer’ (IO) whose view is either from nowhere or everywhere. The question is whether, as Taliaferro contends, my own philosophical argument inevitably appeals to the impartiality and omni-attributes of the IO. This paper was delivered during the APA Pacific 2007 Mini-Conference on Models of God.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
I am indebted for the conception of this intellectual virtue to Fricker (2003): reflective critical openness is cultivated as a cognitive disposition by developing capacities for testimonial sensibility; that is, sensibilities concerning who to believe and how to avoid unfair stereotypes, especially stereotypes that have rendered women untrustworthy knowers. For an account of reflective critical openness in feminist philosophy of religion, see Anderson (2004, pp. 89–92 and 98–98).
For a critical literary exploration of what it would be like to be immortal, in a way deified by timelessness, see Beauvoir (2003).
This claim should be seen in relation to a counter-claim concerning the profound significance that the Virgin Mary has had for women in the history of Christianity and could have for feminist philosophy of religion. For criticism of the position taken in the present paper, and strong defence of Mariology, including Irigaray’s contribution on the Virgin Mary, see Beattie (2004, pp. 107–122).
For a sustained defence of the symbolic meaning of Mary for contemporary Roman Catholic Theology, see Beattie (2002) For a concise theological and feminist defence of the profound role that can be played by Mary’s virginity on several levels of interpretation, see Beattie (2004, pp. 111–113 and 115–118)
References
Anderson, P. S. (1998). A feminist philosophy of religion: The rationality and myths of religious belief. Oxford: Blackwell.
Anderson, P. S. (2004). An epistemological-ethical approach to philosophy of religion: Learning to listen. In P. S. Anderson & B. Clack. (Eds.), Feminist philosophy of religion: Critical readings (pp. 87–102). London: Routledge.
Anderson, P. S. (2005). What’s wrong with the God’s eye point of view: A constructive feminist critique of the ideal observer theory. In H. A. Harris & C. Insole. (Eds.), Faith and philosophical analysis: A critical look at the impact of analytical philosophy on the philosophy of religion (pp. 85–99). Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Anderson, P. S. (2006a). Divinity, incarnation and intersubjectivity: On ethical formation and spiritual practice (electronic version). Philosophy Compass, (1/3), 335–356. doi:101111/j.17479991.2006.00025.x
Anderson, P. S. (2006b). Life, death and (inter)subjectivity: Realism and recognition in continental feminism. International Journal of Philosophy of Religion (Special edition: Issues in Continental Philosophy of Religion) 60(1–3), 21–39.
Anderson, P. S. (2007). Transcendence and feminist philosophy: On avoiding apotheosis. In G. Howie (Ed.), Women and the divine: Transcendence in contemporary feminism. USA: Palgrave Macmillan (in press).
Beattie, T. (2002). God’s mother, Eve’s advocate: A Marian narrative of women’s salvation. London: Continuum Press.
Beattie, T. (2004). Redeeming Mary: The potential of Marian symbolism for feminist philosophy of religion. In P. S. Anderson & B. Clack (Eds.), Feminist philosophy of religion: Critical readings (pp. 107–122). London: Routledge.
Beauvoir, S. de (1997). The second sex (Translated by H. M. Parshley). London: Random House, Vintage Classic.
Beauvoir, S. de (2003). All men are mortal (Translated by L. M Friedman, Introduction by J. Rose). London: Virago Press.
Blond, P. (Ed.) (1998). Post-secular philosophy: Between philosophy and theology. London: Routledge.
Fricker, M. (2003). Epistemic justice and a role for virtue in the politics of knowing. Metaphilosophy, 34(1–2), 154–171 (January).
Irigaray, L. (1993). Divine women (Translated by G. C. Gill). Sexes and genealogies (pp. 57–72). New York: Columbia University Press.
Irigaray, L. (1996). Introducing: Love between us. (Translated by A. Martin). In I love to you: Sketch of a possible felicity in history (pp. 19–33). London: Routledge.
Irigaray, L. (2002). La Mystérique’. Divine women. When the Gods are born. In M. Joy, K. O’Grady & J. L. Poxon. (Eds.), French feminists on religion: A reader (pp. 28–39, 40–48 and 59–67, respectively; With a foreword by C. Clèment) London: Routledge.
Irigaray, L. (2007). Towards a divine in the feminine. In G. Howie (Ed.) Women and the divine: Transcendence in contemporary feminism. London: Palgrave Macmillan (in press).
Jantzen, G. M. (1998). Becoming divine: Towards a feminist philosophy of religion. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Le Doeuff, M. (2002). The philosophical imaginary (Translated by C. Gordon). New York: Continuum.
Le Doeuff, M (2003). The sex of knowing (Translated by K. Hamer & L. Code). New York: Routledge.
Le Doeuff, M. (2006). Hipparchia’s choice: An essay concerning women, philosophy, etc. (Translated by T. Selous) (2nd edition). New York: Columbia University Press.
Martin, A. (2000). Luce Irigaray and the question of the divine. Leeds: Maney Publishing.
Milbank, J. (1992). Problematizing the secular: The post-postmodern agenda. In P. Berry & A. Wernick (Eds.), Shadow of the spirit: Postmodernism and religion (pp. 30–34). London: Routledge.
Taliaferro, C. (2005a). Evidence and faith: Philosophy and religion since the seventeenth-century (especially pp. 204–214). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Taliaferro, C. (2005b). The God’s eye point of view: A divine ethic. In H. A. Harris & C. Insole (Eds.), Faith and philosophical analysis: A critical look at the impact of analytical philosophy on the philosophy of religion (pp. 76–84). Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Ward, G. (1999). Bodies: The displaced body of Jesus Christ. In J. Milbank, C. Pickstock & G. Ward (Eds.), Radical orthodoxy: A new theology (pp. 163–181). London: Routledge.
Williams, B. (2006). The human prejudice. In A. W. Moore (Ed., selected and introduced), Philosophy as a humanistic discipline (pp. 135–152). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Zagzebski, L. T. (2004). Divine motivation theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anderson, P.S. Feminist Challenges to Conceptions of God: Exploring Divine Ideals. Philosophia 35, 361–370 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-007-9083-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-007-9083-7