What is Faith? Essays in the Philosophy of Religion

This collection of essays represents Anthony Kenny's sustained philosophical investigation into the nature of religious faith and its relationship to reason. Kenny, writing from his unique perspective as both a former Catholic priest and an analytical philosopher, examines faith not merely as a psychological phenomenon but as a complex epistemological stance that demands rigorous philosophical scrutiny.

The work engages directly with the classical debates surrounding faith and reason, particularly addressing whether religious belief can be rationally justified. Kenny challenges both fideistic approaches that divorce faith from rational assessment and crude rationalistic dismissals of religious commitment. His analysis is particularly attentive to the Thomistic tradition, given his scholarly expertise in medieval philosophy, while remaining conversant with contemporary analytical philosophy of religion.

Central to Kenny's investigation is the question of whether faith constitutes a legitimate form of knowledge or merely represents a species of unjustified belief. He examines various philosophical accounts of faith, from Aquinas's understanding of faith as lying between knowledge and opinion to more modern conceptions that emphasize trust or commitment. Kenny pays particular attention to the relationship between faith and evidence, exploring whether religious faith necessarily involves belief beyond or against the available evidence.

The essays also address the coherence of central religious concepts, including omnipotence, omniscience, and divine simplicity. Kenny's approach is characterized by careful conceptual analysis, drawing on his expertise in philosophy of mind and language to dissect theological claims. He examines whether traditional formulations of divine attributes involve logical contradictions or conceptual confusions.

Throughout the collection, Kenny maintains a stance of philosophical agnosticism, neither endorsing nor dismissing religious claims outright but subjecting them to rigorous philosophical examination. His work contributes to the philosophy of religion by demonstrating how analytical philosophical methods can illuminate religious concepts without either defending or attacking religious faith itself. The essays show particular influence from Wittgenstein's later philosophy, especially in their attention to the grammar of religious language and the various language games within which religious claims function.

Kenny's collection stands as a significant contribution to late twentieth-century philosophy of religion, offering a middle path between uncritical acceptance and dismissive rejection of religious faith, instead advocating for careful philosophical analysis of religious concepts and claims.