Knowledge and God

This Element examines a main theme in religious epistemology, namely, the possibility of knowledge of God. Most often philosophers consider the rationality or justification of propositional belief about God, particularly beliefs about the existence and nature of God; and they will assess the conditions under which, if there is a God, such propositional beliefs would be knowledge, particularly in light of counter-evidence or the availability of religious disagreement. This Element surveys such familiar areas, then turns toward newer and less-developed terrain: interpersonal epistemology, namely what it is to know another person. It then explores the prospects for understanding what it might take to know God relationally, the contours of which are significant for many theistic traditions. Cover Title Page Imprints Page Knowledge and God Contents 1 Preliminaries 1.1 Three Parables 1.2 Two Lessons 2 Propositional Knowledge and Its Limits 2.1 Knowledge of Facts 2.2 Knowledge Defeat? 2.3 Disagreement and Defeatism 3 Epistemology Pluralized 3.1 Objectual and Practical Knowledge 3.2 Interpersonal Knowledge 3.3 Interpersonal Knowledge and Its Limits 4 Knowledge(s) of God 4.1 Fragmentation for Nontheists 4.2 God, the Good, and Guises 4.3 Fragmentation for Theists 5 Interpersonal Faith 5.1 Faith in Another as a Virtue 5.2 State of Love and Trust 5.3 Conclusion References Acknowledgments