There is a common perception in the pews that is not widely held in the theological world. Most laypeople actually think that their pastors and the teachers of their pastors hold that God exists. By ‘existence’ they mean that God is an entity that has being outside of human awareness, perception, conception and language.
Although this common perception is widespread, it is not accurate. Surprisingly, many pastors and theology professors do not believe that God exists external to human awareness, perception, conception and language. The reasons why they do not believe this are clearly not because they are insincere, bad, or prone to dissimulate. The reasons are rather more complex than that, having to do with the fact that they have been educated in a particular theological ethos where they share a set of theological assumptions and values with other theologically-trained individuals within the academic community. Accordingly, when thinking theologically they quite naturally don’t think as theological realists; they do not hold that God exists independently from human perception, conception, and linguistic practice.
In order to grasp this clearly, we must draw the important distinction between internal and external relations. Traditionally, people have claimed that God’s existence is externally related to human existence. In order to see what this means consider entity A and entity B connected by relation R. A is externally related R-ly to B if and only if the reality of A does not depend upon the reality of B. For example, the genetics of a father is externally related to the genetics of his son, for the reality of the father’s genetic composition does not depend causally upon the reality of the son’s genetic composition. On the other hand, A is internally related to entity B if and only if the reality of A does depend upon the reality of B. Accordingly, the genetics of the son is internally related to the genetics of the father because the son would not be the son genetically without the father’s genetic composition. Traditionally, Christians have held that God is externally related to the universe and the universe is internally related to God.
Philosophers distinguish between realist and anti-realist positions regarding various domains of inquiry. A realist holds that the thing of concern is externally related to human beings: It is what it is apart from human existence. An anti-realist claims that the thing of concern is internally related to human beings: It would not be what it is apart from human existence.
Realists and anti-realists come in many varieties. One can, in fact, be a realist with respect to some domains, and not others. In addition, there are also degrees of realism: One can either be more or less realist, or more or less antirealist.
Some examples might be helpful. One can be a realist (or an antirealist) with respect to any of these: atomic theory, chemical theory, psychological theory, mathematics, aesthetics, ethics, philosophy, and theology.
Philosophical reflection upon the nature of knowledge is called ‘epistemology’, and the adjectival form of this word is ‘epistemological’ or ‘epistemic’. One is an epistemological realist if one believes that the knower is externally related to the thing known, that is, if the thing known is what it is apart from the knowing of it. Alternately, one is an epistemological antirealist if one believes that the knower is internally related to the thing known, that is, if the thing known is constituted in part by the knowing of it.
It seems that we are epistemic antirealists when it comes to knowledge of God; God is beyond human conception so we don’t know exactly what God is in and of Himself. But Epistemic Antirealism does not entail metaphysical antirealism!
Unfortunately, for many theologians, the inability to know the contour of the divine becomes the claim that there is no definite ontological or metaphysical shape to the divine. They think that because what we know about God is internally related to our act of knowing God, so is the being of God internally related to our act of thinking God. This is the position of theological antirealism.
Theological antirealism clearly denies that God’s being is externally related to our own being. On the contrary, the contour of God’s being depends upon the structure of human consciousness and existence. This view seems consistent with affirming theological relativism: God has one ontological shape for person x and another for y. Clearly, this view of things is consistent with our prevailing democratic ethos - - one can believe whatever they want about God. In addition, it coheres with the notion of the “privatization of God.” Many people today no longer believe that God is the kind of thing that can in principle have intersubjective reality. Just as one’s own mental life if private, so is one’s own God. Accordingly, God becomes for each person the ultimate expression of personal individuality.
With a popular culture unwittingly embracing theological antirealism, and a theological culture presupposing much more sophisticated versions of it, it is important perhaps to point out the obvious: The Reformers denied theological antirealism. We shall return to this point in a subsequent post.
"one is an epistemological antirealist if one believes that the knower is internally related to the thing known, that is, if the thing known is constituted in part by the knowing of it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that we are epistemic antirealists when it comes to knowledge of God;"
I don't understand this, as it seems to contradict your previous description of internal and external relationships. If we are the knowers, and God is the thing known, than God is fully independent--externally--in what and who He is apart from us. The thing known, God, is NOT constituted in any part by our knowing Him. Therefore we would be epistemic realists when it comes to the knowledge of God.
We are contingent, dependent beings--and He is fully self-sufficient & independent....without any dependence at all upon us, or any of His creation.
Thanks for this excellent comment.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to draw a distinction between the epistemic and ontological orders, claiming that while we can't know the determinate contour of the divine in itself, there is nonetheless a determinate contour of the divine in itself. That is to say, I was advocating an ontological (or even metaphysical) realism with regard to God, while yet allowing that human beings have limited epistemic access and could never be epistemological realists with respect to God.
I think you are pointing out that I was imprecise in my talk of the relata of the inteneral/external relationship. One is an epistemological antirealist if one believes that the thing known is constituted in part by the knowing of it. But what is the thing known?
Here we must distinguish the object in so far as it is known, from the object in itself that is known. The epistemological antirealist can easily claim claims that the object known is not the same object as the object in itself.