Philosophy Lecture: Dr. Merold Westphal Philosophy Department Fordham University

"Faith, Reason, and Passion." A popular double critique of religious faith claims that it is irrational because its beliefs do not rise to the level of knowledge and because it rests on emotion rather than reason. Kierkegaard argues that such thinking rests on a misunderstanding of all three key terms: faith, reason, and passion. He offers an alternative view of each to refute the claim that "secular" modes of knowing such as speculative philosophy and natural science have a legitimate hegemony over faith.