Open-mindedness and Religious Devotion
Sophia (Browse Results) (forthcoming)
| Abstract | Abstract To be open-minded is to be willing to revise or entertain doubts about one’s beliefs. Commonly regarded as an intellectual virtue, and often too as a moral virtue, open-mindedness is a trait that is generally desirable for a person to have. However, in the major theistic traditions, absolute commitment to one’s religious beliefs is regarded as virtuous or ideal. But one cannot be completely resolved about an issue and at the same time be open to revising one’s beliefs about it. It appears, then, that religious devotion is inconsistent with open-mindedness. The more religiously devout a person is, the more firmly she will hold to her convictions. And the stronger her belief commitments, the less open-minded she will be regarding these beliefs. So there appears to be a paradox here, where from the standpoint of religious devotion, it is virtuous to display an intellectual vice, namely closed-mindedness. I discuss this problem and explore some potential routes of escape from the paradox. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s11841-012-0305-5 Authors James S. Spiegel, Taylor University, 236 West Reade Ave., Upland, IN 46989, USA Journal Sophia Online ISSN 1873-930X Print ISSN 0038-1527 | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,705 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesWayne Riggs (2010). Open-Mindedness. Metaphilosophy 41 (1):172-188.
William Hare (2003). Is It Good to Be Open-Minded? International Journal of Applied Philosophy 17 (1):73-87.
Jason Baehr (2011). The Structure of Open-Mindedness. Canadian Journal of Philosophy 41 (2):191-213.
William Hare (2004). Open-Minded Inquiry. Inquiry 23 (3):37-41.
Connor Wood (forthcoming). Review of Owen Flanagan, The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized. [REVIEW] Sophia (Browse Results).
Robert McKim (2001). Religious Ambiguity and Religious Diversity. Oxford University Press.
BSc (2003). Open-Mindedness: A Virtue for Professional Practice. Nursing Philosophy 4 (1):17–24.
Derek Sellman (2003). Open-Mindedness: A Virtue for Professional Practice. Nursing Philosophy 4 (1):17-24.
Dwayne Raymond (forthcoming). Comments on Justin Barrett's Why Would Anyone Believe in God? Sophia (Browse Results).
William Hare & T. H. Mclaughlin (1994). Open-Mindedness, Commitment and Peter Gardner. Journal of Philosophy of Education 28 (2):239–244.
Michael McKenna (forthcoming). The Metaphysical Importance of the Compatibility Question: Comments on Mark Balaguer's Free Will as an Open Scientific Problem. Philosophical Studies.
Jason S. Baehr (2006). Character in Epistemology. Philosophical Studies 128 (3):479--514.
Shelley Wilcox (forthcoming). Do Duties to Outsiders Entail Open Borders? A Reply to Wellman. Philosophical Studies.
Robert Kane (forthcoming). Torn Decisions, Luck, and Libertarian Free Will: Comments on Balaguer's Free Will as an Open Scientific Problem. Philosophical Studies.
William Hare (1985). Open-Mindedness in the Classroom. Journal of Philosophy of Education 19 (2):251–259.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2012-04-07Total downloads7 ( #133,587 of 549,426 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,397 of 549,426 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
