How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor? by james k. a. smith? eerdmans, 160 pages, $16 In the seven years since its release, Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age has entered a particular category of books: frequently referenced, less frequently read. Conference speakers note its . . . . Continue Reading »
Although published in 2007, Charles Taylor’s tome A Secular Age continues to generate debate. Last year David Brooks offered a summary of the work while currently Ross Douhat and Damon Linker have reflected on whether or not Taylor’s idea of the late-modern self as . . . . Continue Reading »
(continued from 6/1/09) As little inclined as is Charles Taylor to connect the pre-ontological with the metaphysical, religious experience with cognitive assertions, he cannot finally avoid making certain claims about the way things are, or at least the way human things are: We all see . . . . Continue Reading »
For much of the last century, "experience" has been a central category in the philosophy of religion. Rather than treating religious beliefs as attitudes toward propositions ("God created the world in seven days, yes of no"), experientialist approaches understand religion as an . . . . Continue Reading »