The Fact of Faith or the Great Fact of Faith? Comments on the book by Jacek Wojtysiak Między ukryciem a jawnością [Between Hiddenness and Openness] Cover Image

Fakt wiary czy wielki fakt wiary? Uwagi do książki Jacka Wojtysiaka Między ukryciem a jawnością
The Fact of Faith or the Great Fact of Faith? Comments on the book by Jacek Wojtysiak Między ukryciem a jawnością [Between Hiddenness and Openness]

Author(s): Marek Dobrzeniecki
Subject(s): Philosophy, Special Branches of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: hiddenness argument; reversed hiddenness argument; argument from the great fact of faith; J.L. Schellenberg; Jacek Wojtysiak

Summary/Abstract: John L. Schellenberg, the author of the hiddenness argument, argues that if God existed, there would be no genuine nonbelievers. In his latest book, Jacek Wojtysiak states that a theist can reverse this reasoning and say that if God did not exist, there would be no genuine believers. He not only concludes that there are believers, it can be assumed that there are many more of them than nonbelievers. Thus, he can state the existence of the great fact of faith, against which the atheist is doubly helpless: firstly, he cannot explain it, and secondly, he is unable to present a parallel argument for atheism. In my article, I analyze the part of Wojtysiak’s book that is devoted to these issues and I come to the conclusion that an atheist is in a better position than the Polish philosopher suggests.

  • Issue Year: 71/2023
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 95-108
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish