Faith, Reason and Imagination UNIV 3581 University of Memphis Instructor: William E. Maxwell Email: wmaxwell@yahoo.com How do you know that? Why do you believe that? Why do you imagine that? –– the epistemological questions Faith, reason, and imagination are three of the main modalities (manner of doing or being; method; form; fashion; custom; way) for understanding ourselves and our world. Each is premised upon the assumption that certain knowledge (a correct statement) can be attained through their application. For example, we possess certain knowledge that 2+2=4 through the modality of reason. Similarly, the existence of God is known through the modality of faith. Our main purpose in this course is to deepen our understanding of where we are today and how we come to be here. We will begin our discussion by exploring how ancient (prehistoric) peoples perceived their situation through the inherent modality of imagination. As we shall see, the modalities of faith and reason appear much later but are only possible at all because of imagination. As we trace the development of these modalities, we shall concentrate on those elements that most directly influenced the course of civilizations of Europe and its expansion in the Americas. Our specific focus will be the developments following the periods of Renaissance and Reformation. While many factors that arise elsewhere do indeed play a role in this development, it is only in recent times that our vision and understanding come to encompass the whole world. One of the central concepts of the course is identifying and appreciating the variety of approaches to understanding ourselves and our world. Each person, to some degree, has an outlook on the world–a worldview or Weltanschauung–a framework for interpreting the world and interacting with it and its inhabitants. While we cannot know or explore every possible variation we shall endeavor to gain insight into many of the most influential and widely held worldviews that have shaped our present. Where we, as human beings, go from here will be the product of our collective worldviews. |
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