ONLINE FIRST
published on October 27, 2017
Eleanor Helms
https://doi.org/10.5840/faithphil2017102687
On Climacus¡¯s ¡°Against Reason¡± Thesis
A Challenge to Westphal
I object to Merold Westphal¡¯s characterization in Kierkegaard¡¯s Concept of Faith (2014) of faith as ¡°against reason.¡± I argue that Kierkegaard scholars emphasize the tension between faith and reason more than Kierkegaard does, affirming and perpetuating a broader antagonism in our own cultural climate. I suggest that the view of faith as ¡°transforming vision¡± developed by M. Jamie Ferreira and others makes better sense of the different facets of faith pointed out by Westphal and the strengths of his account (especially faith as a passion) while avoiding conceptual and practical problems with the account Westphal has recently offered.