| 50-4946 | BL640 | 2012-10977 CIP | | Humanities Religion | | Leiter, Brian. Why tolerate religion?. Princeton, 2013. 166p bibl index afp; ISBN 9780691153612, $24.95; ISBN 9781400844852 e-book, $24.95. Reviewed in 2013may CHOICE. | | Take the real case of a 14-year-old Sikh boy whose religion requires that he wear a ceremonial dagger during the day, and thus to school. Despite the general prohibition against carrying weapons to school, this boy and many like him are granted exemptions from this law. Consider now a nonreligious obligation, based on ancient family customs, that requires another 14-year-old boy to carry a ceremonial knife to school. Never has a case such as the second been successful in winning a similar exemption from a general prohibition against carrying weapons. So why do religious obligations win, when no other worldviews or systems of belief do? Leiter (Univ. of Chicago) considers two possible arguments–moral and epistemic–to explain why one should respect religious obligations over other belief systems. He begins from a refreshing and Nietzschean point: “a false belief or lack of epistemic warrant is not a sufficient objection to those beliefs.” The criticisms of both positions are not groundbreaking, though Leiter packages them accessibly for nonspecialists. Students and scholars likely will be citing Leiter’s clear and powerful arguments for many years. Leiter previously coedited Nietzsche and Morality (CH, Jan’08, 45-2538), and edited The Future for Philosophy (CH, Sept’05, 43-0237). Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. — R. C. Robinson, City University of New York |
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