With Eyes Wide Open: Modern/Technological vs. Sacramental/Realist Epistemology
Troy Dahlke, Philosophy Teacher, St. Andrews Episcopal School, Potomac, Md.
What kind of epistemic habits does the late-modern world of technology produce? One telling answer to this question is that it teaches users that appearances deceive; that they should, in the end, be skeptics. But there is more to the rise of epistemic skepticism than deep-fakes, highly curated social media profiles and virtual reality. Behind it is the deeply rooted epistemology of high modern philosophy, especially that of Rene Descartes and David Hume, both of whom, in their own way, insist that our senses cannot be trusted. It is the user, then, (in)formed by modern epistemic doubt, that mimetically reproduces the skepticism induced by technology. For a church that promises that “faith comes by hearing” and that the body and blood of Christ can be seen, touched, tasted and smelled in, with and under the bread and wine, the idea that appearance deceive offers a unique challenge to (and opportunity for) its witness. While exploring the influence of modern/technological epistemology, this presentation will draw on the realist epistemology of Thomas Aquinas as a corrective to aspects of contemporary skepticism. Daunting though the challenge may be, the faith that comes by hearing (and seeing, tasting, etc.), when taken up by a realist epistemology, engenders knowledge of Christ that not only challenges the skepticism of modern/technological age, but also offers something much better than it can produce of its own – something real.
Sieck Hall 101