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Rationality as Virtue: Towards a Theological Philosophy ,
Author(s) -
Pattison George
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
reviews in religion and theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1467-9418
pISSN - 1350-7303
DOI - 10.1111/rirt.13035
Subject(s) - rationality , virtue , philosophy , faith , constructive , skepticism , epistemology , philosophical theology , philosophy of religion , theology , computer science , process (computing) , operating system
Lydia Schumacher's two‐volume essay in constructive philosophical theology is an attempt to model a new approach to the relationship between philosophy and theology that might offer a constructive and positive response to the way in which many modern conceptions of rationality involve skepticism about the rationality of faith. Having laid the foundations of this approach in Volume 1 ( Rationality as Virtue ), Volume 2 develops what the author calls a pro‐theology philosophy. Both parts rely strongly, though not slavishly, on Aquinas, and, as in Thomist thought, the anthropological starting point is a view of the human being as a rational animal. This is an impressive project, but by taking its point of departure in such a view of the human essence, Schumacher's project is isolated from major currents of modern philosophy. Questions are also raised about the transition to Trinitarian theology and the lack of worked examples, the latter making it difficult to see just how this ‘pro‐theology philosophy’ would relate to concrete issues of life.