The Range of Reason is a book of essays written by Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 philosopher

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 Jacques Maritain

Jacques Maritain

Jacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

 and published in 1952. The text presents a Thomist

Thomism

Thomism is the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, his commentaries on Aristotle are his most lasting contribution...

 philosophy regarding religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 and morality

Morality

Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...

. It contains a study of Atheism, titled The Meaning of Contemporary Atheism, which has had a considerable impact on Catholic views of Atheism.

On Human Knowledge

In this essay, Maritain considers empiricist epistemology. While he acknowledges that sense-data plays an important part in human knowledge of the world, he rejects the thesis that the real does not exist or cannot be known, because he believes that the intellect can transcend sensory experience to perceive the noumenal world

Noumena

Noumena is a melodic death metal band from Finland. The band's name comes from the word noumenon, a philosophical term used by Immanuel Kant. The band consists of five members: vocalist Antti Haapanen, guitarists Tuukka Tuomela and Ville Lamminaho, bass guitarist Hannu Savolainen and drummer Ilkka...

.

On Artistic Judgement

Maritain here supports the theory that the aesthetic carries a "hidden truth

Truth

Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...

", as an expression of the fundamental individuality of the artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

.

The Meaning of Contemporary Atheism

Maritain introduces various terms to distinguish the beliefs of atheists

Atheism

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...

. These terms are:

• Absolute atheist - one who denies the existence of the god in whom believers actually believe
• Negative atheist - one who rejects the idea of God
  God
  God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
  
  
• Positive atheist - one who challenges all aspects of God and is an antitheist
  Antitheism
  Antitheism is active opposition to theism. The etymological roots of the word are the Greek 'anti-' and 'theismos'...
  
  
• Practical atheist - one who claims belief in God, yet whose actions contradict this claim
• Pseudo-atheist - one who claims atheism, but unconsciously believes in God
• Real atheist - one who denies the existence of God and follows a pseudo-morality rather than Divine law
  Divine law
  Divine law is any law that in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God . Like natural law it is independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation...
  
  

Absolute atheist

The absolute atheist does not lack belief in God, but rather constantly challenges and fights against God. Those described as such never stop thinking about God in order to liberate themselves from anything that connotes God.

Practical atheist

Practical atheists prefer to be seen as adherents to religious faith for selfish reasons, yet deny the gospels by lacking concern for the well-being of others.

Pseudo-atheist

The pseudo-atheist believes that he or she is an atheist, but unconsciously believes in God. According to Maritain, the "God" whose existence is denied is not God, but rather a being of reason, a nonexistent entity which he or she has mistakenly labeled as God. Thus, the pseudo atheist actually denies an entity that is self-evidently nonexistent or that necessitates negative consequences for nature or humanity.

Real atheist

The real atheist denies the "God Who is the authentic object of reason and of faith and Whose authentic idea [the atheist's] mind misuses." Maritain states the morality of the real atheist is but a false idol of the "separate Good," which is God's morality.

External links

• The Range of Reason