Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
PhD Student of Philosophy of Religion, Department of Philosophy, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2
Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Divinity and Law, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In John Schellenberg’s eyes, divine Hiddenness has a special meaning and refers to the lack of empirical evidence to prove the existence of God. In his view, the existence of logical nonbelievers or agnostics is the best evidence of this claim. On this basis, Schellenberg sees the Hiddenness as a contradiction to the absolute love of God and, ultimately, as an evidence for the nonexistence of God. However, the concepts of agnostism and love as the two key points of this argument have different meanings in Henry Carbon's theological system. Paying attention to these meanings and presenting an analytical formulation of it can be an explanation for the divine Hiddenness from a different and original perspective and can be considered as a critique of the argument of divine Hiddenness. According to Carbon, the problems with rational theism include its reduction of the perceptual powers to sensory and intellectual faculties, its disregard for the cognitive role of the imagination faculty, and its elimination of the intermediary imaginal world from the levels of the world. This has caused the human to become agnostic in understanding the unseen (inward) aspect of the universe – i.e., God. Carbon's innovative way to overcome this epistemological crisis is to revive the cognitive position of the imagination faculty and its corresponding world. In this article, an attempt is made to introduce a novel path to knowing God by introducing the manifestation of Islamic mystics’ opinions in the works of Carbon. This way, the adequacy of the efforts of agnostics can be doubted.
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