Open-mindedness and Religious Devotion

Sophia 52 (1):143-158 (2013)
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Abstract

To be open-minded is to be willing to revise or entertain doubts about one’s beliefs. Commonly regarded as an intellectual virtue, and often too as a moral virtue, open-mindedness is a trait that is generally desirable for a person to have. However, in the major theistic traditions, absolute commitment to one’s religious beliefs is regarded as virtuous or ideal. But one cannot be completely resolved about an issue and at the same time be open to revising one’s beliefs about it. It appears, then, that religious devotion is inconsistent with open-mindedness. The more religiously devout a person is, the more firmly she will hold to her convictions. And the stronger her belief commitments, the less open-minded she will be regarding these beliefs. So there appears to be a paradox here, where from the standpoint of religious devotion, it is virtuous to display an intellectual vice, namely closed-mindedness. I discuss this problem and explore some potential routes of escape from the paradox

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James S. Spiegel
The Kalos Center

Citations of this work

On The Incompatibility of Faith and Intellectual Humility.James Elliott - 2019 - In Gregory E. Trickett & John R. Gilhooly (eds.), Open-mindedness in Philosophy of Religion. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. pp. 121-139.

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References found in this work

The Tacit Dimension. --.Michael Polanyi & Amartya Sen - 1966 - Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.
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Personal Knowledge.Michael Polanyi - 1958 - Chicago,: Routledge.
The Problems of Philosophy.Bertrand Russell - 1912 - Mind 21 (84):556-564.

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