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190 : Śramaņa, Vol 57, No. 3-4/July-December 2006
Intuitive or the mystical character of religious experience is claimed to be outside the scrutiny of reason. The answer is that the very credibility of intuitive knowledge is provided by reason. In case of a conflict between intuition and non-intuition, the judgement is given by reason. And the supremacy of judicial agency is obvious.
The third objection to the possibility of philosophy of religion is from the authoritarian character of religion. It is claimed that religious knowledge is grounded in revelation and this is of divine origin, hence beyond the scope of reason. Samkara could be taken as a advocate of this view in India. Karl Barth represents the European position of this view. The Hegelian answer to this argument is that revelation does not exclude reason. There is no absolute opposition between the two. Distinction between 'contrary to reason' and 'above reason' is also to be made. Moreover, the authenticity to authority is provided by reason itself (manana). The scripture and its followers use reason for defensive as well as offensive purposes. The example of lion and the forest (vana-siṁha nyāya) is aptly cited to explain the relation in the Indian context. John Caird, on his part, refutes the materialistic position as well to establish the viability of the discipline. He says that matter is not self-explanatory. Matter requires reason to explain its origin and growth. Moreover, even the materialists admit that spirit or reason is a later evolute. How, one may ask, the later evolute could be inferior to the earlier one? Hence the position of the materialists is self-contradictory. For a consistent explanation of their theory they have to depend on reason. Once the basic position of materialism is shaken, the structure collapses and the superiority or reason is established.
To come back to the main theme of the discussion, philosophy of religion undoubtedly deals with religion. It discusses issues of origin and development of religion, the relation between religion and philosophy, psychology, history and morality etc. It centers
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