Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
When it comes to theistic faith, philosophers of religion have mostly focused on the role of counterevidence: To what extent can faith co-exist with counterevidence? When does counterevidence render faith irrational? However, counterevidence isn’t the only threat to the rationality of faith. This paper focuses on a second component of faith, that faith involves desire. This has important connections to the axiology of theism—the question of whether God’s existence would be a good thing. Pro-theists say yes, and anti-theists say no. Bringing the rationality of faith and the axiology of theism into contact raises a host of interesting issues that merit further exploration, including whether faith entails desire, faith’s conative resilience, whether having faith requires one to take a stand on the axiology of theism, and ways that anti-theism may threaten the rationality of faith.
Handout available here: liz-jackson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Handout.pdf
0:00 Introduction
2:55 The Axiology of Theism
8:25 The Nature of Faith
21:29 The Rationality of Faith
27:46 Upshots and Conclusion
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Check out my website: liz-jackson.com
For more on my research: liz-jackson.com/research
For popular-level interviews, podcasts, and blog posts I’ve done: http://liz-jackson.com/public-philoso...
Follow me on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/lizjackson111
Instagram: @lizjackson111
Facebook: facebook.com/lizjackson111
When it comes to theistic faith, philosophers of religion have mostly focused on the role of counterevidence: To what extent can faith co-exist with counterevidence? When does counterevidence render faith irrational? However, counterevidence isn’t the only threat to the rationality of faith. This paper focuses on a second component of faith, that faith involves desire. This has important connections to the axiology of theism—the question of whether God’s existence would be a good thing. Pro-theists say yes, and anti-theists say no. Bringing the rationality of faith and the axiology of theism into contact raises a host of interesting issues that merit further exploration, including whether faith entails desire, faith’s conative resilience, whether having faith requires one to take a stand on the axiology of theism, and ways that anti-theism may threaten the rationality of faith.
Handout available here: liz-jackson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Handout.pdf
0:00 Introduction
2:55 The Axiology of Theism
8:25 The Nature of Faith
21:29 The Rationality of Faith
27:46 Upshots and Conclusion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my website: liz-jackson.com
For more on my research: liz-jackson.com/research
For popular-level interviews, podcasts, and blog posts I’ve done: http://liz-jackson.com/public-philoso...
Follow me on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/lizjackson111
Instagram: @lizjackson111
Facebook: facebook.com/lizjackson111
