Browsing by Author "Lange, Hans-Christoph Thapelo"

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    BEYOND CRITICAL REALISM? REVISITING J. WENTZEL VAN HUYSSTEEN’S RATIONALITY
    (Stellenbosch University, 2024-12) Lange, Hans-Christoph Thapelo; Vosloo, Robert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology & Ecclesiology.
    The apparent tension between religion and science was exacerbated by the rise of the logical positivist ideal of science. The pathos of much of the work of South African theologian J. Wentzel van Huyssteen was to develop a credible way to reestablish theology as a rational discipline within the wider academic community and culture. Motivated by contextual factors, van Huyssteen therefore proposed his critical realist approach in contrast to positivist theology via a metaphoric referential theory. In attempting to ascertain how his approach develops, an analysis of a selection of his works was undertaken. Writing from Princeton, van Huyssteen engaged the philosophical roots of modernity and postmodernity in foundationalism and nonfoundationalism respectively, finally proposing a postfoundational model for rationality as a third way. In his Gifford lectures—for which he refigured the directives with which the Gifford lectures were decreed— he sets out on the interdisciplinary quest of developing a nuanced doctrine on human uniqueness. The philosophical framework for this quest was given in van Huyssteen’s earlier work on postfoundationalism. For this reason, the disciplines of cognitive epistemology, paleoanthropology, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology were investigated in terms of the perspectives they can provide on what makes humans unique. Their influence on the theology with which van Huyssteen participates in the interdisciplinary conversation was analysed. The salient features of van Huyssteen’s work and consequent development are thus outlined and highlighted. Moreover, his proposed theology was analysed for consistency with his own criteria of critical realism. It was found that van Huyssteen remains consistent with his intent and largely—though not fully—conforms to these criteria. A remaining positivist influence on critical realism was identified, but was nuanced by considering van Huyssteen’s chosen audience and also the potential theologies that a postfoundational rationality could host.