The Spiritual Dimension: Religion, Philosophy and Human Value

The Spiritual Dimension offers a new model for the philosophy of religion, bringing together emotional and intellectual aspects of our human experience, and embracing practical as well as theoretical concerns. It shows how a religious worldview is best understood not as an isolated set of doctrines, but as intimately related to spiritual praxis and to the search for self-understanding and moral growth. It argues that the religious quest requires a certain emotional openness, but can be pursued without sacrificing our philosophical integrity. Touching on many important debates in contemporary philosophy and theology, but accessible to general readers, The Spiritual Dimension covers a range of central topics in the philosophy of religion, including scientific cosmology and the problem of evil; ethical theory and the objectivity of goodness; psychoanalytic thought, self-discovery and virtue; the multi-layered nature of religious discourse; and the relation between faith and evidence.

• A book that builds bridges between philosophy and religious studies • John Cottingham charts a new direction in the philosophy of religion bringing together emotional and intellectual aspects of human experience • A wide ranging book which will appeal to readers with varied philosophical outlooks

Preface; 1. Religion and spirituality: from praxis to belief; 2. Religion and science: theodicy in an imperfect universe; 3. Religion and value: the problem of heteronomy; 4. Religion and self-discovery: the interior journey; 5. Religion and language: emotion, symbol and fact; 6. Religion and the Enlightenment: modernist and postmodern obstacles; 7. Religion and the good life: epistemic; 8. Religion and pluralism: which spirituality?