Philosophy of Religion in the Classical American Tradition

J. Caleb Clanton

• Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781621902119
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Atheism

"Always clear and lucid, there are moments in the text that read like intellectual history, and other moments that read like technical analytic philosophy of religion. Yet, and this is truly impressive, these different moments do not conflict with each other. Instead, they contribute to a seamless whole that is as argumentatively compelling as it is relatable."—J. Aaron Simmons, author of God and the Other: Ethics and Politics after the Theological Turn

The years between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of World War II are often seen as a golden age of philosophical thought in the United States, thanks in part to the early development of pragmatism. Together, the pragmatists and other classical American philosophers of the time period addressed many of the issues still under debate in philosophy today, and their influence is still evident. Yet many of their contributions to philosophy of religion have not yet received the critical analysis they deserve.

In Philosophy of Religion in the Classical American Tradition, J. Caleb Clanton reconstructs, evaluates, and extends a variety of views in philosophy of religion drawn from, inspired by, or developed in response to the classical American philosophical tradition. Problem-based and argument-driven, each chapter explores a salient issue in philosophy of religion by engaging with such thinkers as C. S. Peirce, William James, Josiah Royce, George Santayana, John Dewey, and Edward Scribner Ames, as well as two prominent contemporary inheritors of the classical American philosophical tradition, Cornel West and Richard Rorty. Clanton addresses a wide variety of topics, including the reality of God, the veridicality of mystical experience, the problem of evil, the efficacy of petitionary prayer, religious naturalism, and the role of religion in the democratic public square.

For scholars and teachers of philosophy and religious studies, Philosophy of Religion in the Classical American Tradition will serve as a valuable resource for engaging with the history of philosophy of religion in the United States.

J. CALEB CLANTON is professor of philosophy and University Research Professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville. He is the author or editor of several books, includ­ing The Classical American Pragmatists and Religion and The Philosophy of Religion of Alexander Campbell, winner of the Lester McAllister Prize.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 C. S. Peirce and the Reality of God
• 3 William James and the Will to Believe in Mystical Experience
• 4 Josiah Royce, Job, and the Problem of Evil
• 5 George Santayana and the Problem of Petitionary Prayer
• 6 Edward Scribner Ames, John Dewey, and Religious Naturalism
• 7 Richard Rorty, Cornel West and the Problem of Religion in the Public Square
• Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index