Critique of Norman Malcolm’s View on the Relationship between Faith and Reasoning

Abstract

The concept of faith and reasoning and how they are related is one of the controversial issues that humanity has been facing for a long time. Norman Malcolm, an American philosopher and one of Wittgenstein's most famous students and commentators, has a unique expression about faith and reasoning and the relationship between the two, relying on Wittgenstein's later thoughts such as language game, the form of life, etc. By presenting similarities between the philosophical understanding and the characteristics of Wittgenstein's religious thought, Malcolm intends to find a solid relationship between faith and reasoning. Malcolm has explained the types of resemblance between faith and reasoning by appealing to concepts such as the finality of explanation, religious wonder, the elimination of error, the belief in the primacy of action and the groundlessness of belief. This issue leads him to the fact that the source of faith and reasoning is one thing, and in other words, these two are connected in a baseless foundation. In this article, with a descriptive-analytical method and in a systematic manner, an attempt has been made both to achieve a correct understanding of Malcolm's thoughts about the relationship between faith and reasoning, using his works and passages, and to review the opinions and criticisms of his critics such as Peter Winch and Kai Nelson.

Keywords

• faith
• reasoning
• language game
• form of life
• malcolm
• winch
• nelson