A Palamite Perspective on Conflicting Religious Experiences

A common objection to the idea that religious experiences support theism is that such experiences are so diverse and contradictory that they cannot all be accurate. Philosophers have offered various explanations for this diversity. One model proposes that apparent conflicts can be resolved if God has multiple attributes or aspects, with different experiencers encountering different aspects. After reviewing recent versions of this aspectival explanation, the author identifies a particularly promising but underexamined version based on the Palamite theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

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Abstract

The claim that religious experiences provide evidence for the truth of theism (or indeed for any specific doctrine) faces the objection that the contents of such experiences are so diverse (often even contradictory) as to belie any notion that they could boost the probability of theism’s truth. Philosophers have in reply put forward a variety of explanations for this diversity. One model suggests that at least some of the apparent conflict can be resolved when one takes into account the fact that God may have diverse attributes or aspects; thus, perhaps some experiencers encounter God qua manifested in one attribute, and others encounter Him in another. After surveying recent formulations of this aspectival explanation, I single out a particular version as especially promising, though it has heretofore received little in the way of sustained attention: namely, a version drawing on the Palamite theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church.