Reasonable Faith » (New Edition)

In this awaited follow up to his book Faithful Reason, the well-known philosopher and Catholic thinker John Haldane brings his unrivalled insight to bear on questions of the existence of God and the nature and destiny of the human soul. His arguments weave elements drawn from philosophy of mind, epistemology and aesthetics, together with recurrent features of human experience to create a structure that simultaneously frames and supports ideas such as that the cosmos is a creation, human beings transcend their material composition, and that human fulfilment lies beyond death. As in many of his other writings this volume blends themes from Aquinas with insights drawn from analytical philosophy and further establishes John Haldane as the leading 'analytical thomist'.

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xi

Part I Reason, faith and God 1

1 Introduction: the prospects for religious philosophy 3

2 A thomist metaphysics 18

3 Metaphysics, common sense and the existence of God 37

4 Meditations, wagers and existential issues 50

5 The restless heart: philosophy and the meaning of theism 66

6 Finding God in nature: beauty, revulsion and art 80

Part II Reason, faith and the soul 95

7 The very idea of spiritual values 97

8 Reason, truth and sacred history 109

9 Rational and other animals 120

10 Human ensoulment and the value of life 129

11 The examined death 145

12 Philosophy, death and immortality 160

13 Causes, reasons and grace 176

Notes 182

Index 198