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Realism and religious experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2014

DAVID BROWN
DAVID BROWN*
Affiliation:
Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts, St Mary's College, University of St Andrews, KY16 9JU, UK e-mail: dwb21@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Abstract

In this article three types of objection to a realist account of religious experience are explored: (1) the unusual character of its object; (2) its unusual accompanying conditions; and (3) the conflicting content. In response to (1) it is noted that despite divine freedom not all types of encounter preclude predictability, while parallels are drawn with perception of other complex objects such as persons. At the same time the whole notion of simple perceptions is challenged. In response to (2) parallels to the affective element are found not only in moral and aesthetic experience but more widely. Finally, in response to (3) apparent irreconcilable conflicts are lessened by observing how all such experiences take place within the context of traditions whose surface incompatibility does not necessarily indicate deep divisions.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 497 - 512
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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