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292Newman and Quasi‐Fideism : A Reply to Duncan PritchardHeythrop Journal 64 (5): 695-706. 2023.In recent years, Duncan Pritchard has developed a position in religious epistemology called quasi‐fideism that he claims traces back to John Henry Newman's treatment of the rationality of religious belief. In this paper, we give three reasons to think that Pritchard's reading of Newman as a quasi‐fideist is mistaken. First, Newman's parity argument does not claim that religious and non‐religious beliefs are on a par because both are groundless; instead, for Newman, they are on a par because both…Read more
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377Newman the FallibilistAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 97 (1): 29-47. 2023.The role of certitude in our mental lives is, to put it mildly, controversial. Many current epistemologists (including epistemologists of religion) eschew certitude altogether. Given his emphasis on certitude, some have maintained that John Henry Newman was an infallibilist about knowledge. In this paper, we argue that a careful examination of his thought (especially as seen in the Grammar of Assent) reveals that he was an epistemic fallibilist. We first clarify what we mean by fallibilism and i…Read more
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Maximus on the beginning and end of rational creaturesIn Friedrich Wilhelm Horn, Ulrich Volp, Ruben Zimmermann & Esther Verwold (eds.), Ethische Normen des frühen Christentums: Gut - Leben - Leib - Tugend, Mohr Siebeck. 2013.
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11The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2017.This work features forty-one original essays which reflect a broad range of perspectives and methodological assumptions. It focuses on standard epistemic concepts that are usually thought of as questions about norms and sources of theology. Furthermore it explores general epistemic concepts that can be related to theology. Each chapter provides an analysis of the crucial issues and debates while identifying and articulating the relevant epistemic considerations. This work will stimulate future r…Read more
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10The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2017.It considers the epistemology of theology and features 42 chapters, divided into 4 sections on 'Theology Relative Epistemic Concepts' and 'General Epistemic Concepts as Related to Theology', and on studies of individual theologians from St Paul through to Hans Urs von Balthasar and of contemporary movements such as Liberation Theology and Feminism.
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795On the Epistemic Role of Our Passional NatureNewman Studies Journal 17 (2): 41-58. 2020.In this article, we argue that John Henry Newman was right to think that our passional nature can play a legitimate epistemic role. First, we unpack the standard objection to Newman’s understanding of the relationship between our passional nature and the evidential basis of faith. Second, we argue that the standard objection to Newman operates with a narrow definition of evidence. After challenging this notion, we then offer a broader and more humane understanding of evidence. Third, we survey r…Read more
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19Towards a Broader Construal of EvidenceAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 94 (1): 125-139. 2020.John Henry Newman’s philosophical reflection on the nature of faith and its relation to evidence is fascinating, complex, and slightly misleading; yet it shows constructive promise. In particular, I argue that his broader construal of reason should concomitantly play out in a broader construal of evidence. Accordingly, I show how Newman’s distinction between different modes of reasoning informs his understanding of the relationship between faith and evidence. I conclude with three areas that des…Read more
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7The Severity of God: Religion and Philosophy ReconceivedPhilosophia Christi 16 (2): 457-460. 2014.
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Communities of Informed Judgment. Newman’s Illative Sense and Accounts of RationalityInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion 61 (1): 61-63. 2004.
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6An Integrative Habit of Mind: John Henry Newman on the Path to WisdomNorthern Illinois University Press. 2012.Searching for better ways to inspire people to pursue wisdom, Frederick D. Aquino argues that teachers and researchers should focus less on state-of-the-art techniques and learning outcomes and instead pay more attention to the intellectual formation of their students. We should, Aquino contends, encourage the development of an integrative habit of mind, which entails cultivating the capacity to grasp how various pieces of data and areas of inquiry fit together and to understand how to apply thi…Read more
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120The Synthetic Unity of Virtue and Epistemic Goods in Maximus the ConfessorStudies in Christian Ethics 26 (3): 378-390. 2013.In this essay, I show how the virtues, for Maximus the Confessor, contribute to the formation of a positive orientation toward (a deep and abiding desire for) the relevant epistemic goods (e.g., contemplation of God in and through nature, illumination of divine truths, wisdom, and experiential knowledge of God). The first section offers a brief overview of how three character-based virtue epistemologies envision the role of the intellectual virtues in the cognitive life. The second section draws…Read more
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19To Wisdom. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2012. Pp. x+ 130. Cloth $29.00, ISBN: 978-0-87580-452-1. Bracken, Joseph A. Does God Roll Dice?: Divine Providence for a World in the Making. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2012. Pp. xvi+ 196. Paper $24.95, ISBN (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 86 (3). 2012.
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32Externalism and internalism: A Newmanian matter of proper fitHeythrop Journal 51 (6): 1023-1034. 2010.