The Holy in a Pluralistic World - Rudolf Otto’s Legacy in the 21st Century - Ulrich Rosenhagen
4. Rudolf Otto and the Theory of Religion
The Holy in a Pluralistic World - Rudolf Otto’s Legacy in the 21st Century - Ulrich Rosenhagen
Robert C. Neville [+]
Boston University
Robert Cummings Neville is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Religion, and Theology at Boston University where he taught for thirty-one years and was Dean of the School of Theology and Dean of Marsh Chapel. He has published widely, the thirtieth book being the Metaphysics of Goodness: Harmony and Form, Beauty and Art, Obligation and Personhood, Flourishing and Civilization.
Description
In this essay I attempt to say in deep appreciation why Otto’s description of the holy is so fascinating. Nevertheless, he is needlessly “transcendental” in a sense close to Kant’s use of that term, which I shall claim is a bad thing. How then can we have a non-transcendental, naturalist, theory of religion that supplies the background he needs for his description of the holy? I shall draft a sketch of an appropriate naturalistic theory that also accommodates the philosophic traditions of many of the world’s cultures.