In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful

1. In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful

2. Ignorance as an epistemic vice and the problem of divine hiddenness Reza Akbari associate professor Imam SadiqUniversity, Tehran, Iran

3. Schellenberg:(in Divine Hiddenness andHuman Reason: Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993, p. 1) “the weakness of our evidence for God is not a sign that God is hidden; it is a revelation that God does not exist”

4. what is the argument? (1) If there is a personal God who is unsurpassably great, then there are not any people, who are capable of relating personally to God but who, through no fault of their own, fail to believe.(2) But there are such people, (3) So, there is no such God. (from 1 and 2)

5. What does guaranty the movement from antecedent to consequent of the first premise? • If there is a God, He is perfectly loving.(according to Abrahamic religions that introduce God as a personal being who is unsurpassably great with all perfect attributes which among them is love) • If there is a perfectly loving God, any human beings capable of relating personally with Him should be able to do so unless he freely puts himself in a contrary position. • One can relate personally to God only if he believes that God exists. • So if there is a God all will believe that god exists unless they freely put themselves in a contrary position.(another expression of the first premise with omitting some details)

6. Irrelevant responses to the problem of divine hiddenness • God is impersonal • God is absolutely incomprehensible They are irrelevant because Schellenberg talks about God in Abrahamic religions. They introduce God as a being with all perfect attributes which means that God is personal and in some way comprehensible

7. Relevant responses to the problem of divine hiddenness • Difference between love in human beings and love when in one side we have God as an absolutely great being. (schellenberg’s argument from analogy -God’s love is like maternal love- doesn’t support his claim) • Having relation with God does not require belief but acceptance. • It is not necessary for one to be aware that he has relation with God. Having relation is important not being conscious of it.

8. Relevant responses to the problem of divine hiddenness 4. Schellenberg gives us a wrong explanation • Suppose that God is hidden. So divine hiddenness is a fact and needs explanation. • When we want to explain a fact we should attend to all factors and all rules that these factors work in accordance with them in bringing about the fact. • So in explaining the divine hiddenness we should attend to all divine attributes that have efficacy here not love alone. • But Schellenberg didn’t do that. He didn’t take into consideration some divine attributes such as divine knowledge.

9. Some of the possible explanations of divine hiddenness By considering divine knowledge and some of His other attributes we can arrive to different conclusions such as: • Perhaps God knows that temporary nonbelief in some human beings is better than believing accompanied with negative response. • Possibly God knows that some human beings are unfriendly to Him so that they didn’t relate when God gives them sufficient evidence. • ………….. For a brief discussion see Daniel Howard-Snyder, “divine hiddenness” in Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition, MacMillan 2006.

10. Two important remarks • We should avoid category mistake (remind Gilbert Ryle)when we consider human beings. It seems that Schellenberg didn’t avoid this mistake. Man is very complex and we shouldn’t be simple minded and regard them as a one existence without any differences among them. • We can have a cumulative approach. If we regard our explanations cumulatively and compare them with Schellenberg’s explanation, we find that it is more probable to deny his explanation. The truth of theistic explanation is more acceptable. (applying Swinburne’s method in The Existence of God)

11. A somewhat new response Although some nonbeliever are individually inculpable but their form of life and the unwritten rules involved in that form of life, cause their nonbelief unavoidable. We can not close our eyes to the social aspects of knowledge especially in the field of religious epistemology. For the importance of social factors in epistemology see Kvanvig, J., 1992, The Intellectual Virtues and the Life of the Mind, Savage, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.

12. What does it mean? • Human cognitive faculties are potential not actual. • These faculties need training to become actual in a proper way. • Many factors involve in this process including education, family, social relation, even food that one eats.

13. What does it mean? 4. Since that is a long time process and many factors are involved, it is very natural that some human beings gain intellectual virtues like conscientiousness, open-mindedness, sobriety and prudence, but some others achieve intellectual vices such as ignorance and rashness. 5. It seems that some nonbelievers gain some intellectual vices, inculpably, especially heedlessness in the field of religious belief. So here we encounter social culpability and not individual culpability.

14. Question: what forms of life cause ignorance as an epistemic vice? • Those forms of life that restrict the explanations of the facts to scientific ones and avoid any personal explanation regarding the existence of the universe. (Recall Swinburne’s model in the existence of God) • Those that are sinful. They lose their epistemic capacities and can not recognize deep layers of truths in the world. There are many evidences but they can’t see them. “they know only the surface of the worldly life and they are ignorant of the becoming world.” Holy Quran, 30: 6)

15. The social aspect of religious knowledge in religions • In many verses in Holy Bible and Holy Quran we see that God calls unto nations not individuals alone. • עם (‛am) in Hebrew • גּי גּוי (gôy gôy) in Hebrew • «امة» (ommah) in Arabic

16. Some examples Exo 19:6 “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” Deu 32:28-29 “For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” Jer 4:21-22 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? (22) For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. Pay attention: they are seemingly adults but in fact they are children in some way. Some of their epistemic faculties didn’t become actual in a proper way.

17. Some examples Holy Quran,7:146“….those who magnify themselves wrongfully in the earth, and if they see each token believe it not, and if they see the way of righteousness choose it nor for (their) way, and if they see the way of error choose if for (their) way. That is because they deny Our revelations and are used to disregard them. Holy Quran, 2:128 Our Lord! And make us submissive unto Thee and of our seed a nation submissive unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and relent toward us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful. (Abraham and Ishmael's prayer) Holy Quran, 23:44 Then We sent our messengers one after another. Whenever its messenger came unto a nation they denied him.

18. The manifestation of the divine signs in the world Dan 6:27 He gives salvation and makes men free from danger, and does signs and wonders in heaven and earth… Holy Quran, 41:53 We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that He is the Truth. Holy Quran, 37:12-14 Nay, but thou dost marvel when they satirize, and heed not when they are reminded, and seek to scoff when they behold a sign.

19. last remark • This explanation is true about some human beings who that consider God as a hidden fact and then deny His existence. We should avoid applying it to all cases of alleged divine hiddenness.