Philosophy and Religion
Religion today is largely losing its hold in what is essentially a post-metaphysical – a world that has no place for a heaven or hell. The attempt of religious fundamentalists to hold back the tide is unlikely to succeed; and where religious faith does continue, globalisation and the accompanying migration has made it necessary for different religious traditions to try to come to an appreciation of each other if they are to peacefully co-exist.
On the surface, these two eighteenth century writers and thinkers had opposing views on religion, with Johnson being the believer and Hume the sceptic. These two never met but Boswell, Johnson’s famous biographer often confronted Johnson with Hume’s ideas, often to Johnson’s annoyance.
A paper presented to the Johnson Society of Australia in July 2016.
This essay explores the strengths and weaknesses of Humanism as an alternative to religion in living in the modern world. It does this through reflecting on the work of John Ralston Saul (USA) and John Carroll (Australia)
A paper presented at the National Conference of the Independent Scholars of Australia in 2006