30/06/2026 14:30
- 17:30
HALL: Parenzo - A18
Contact:
Feneuil A.
Chair:
Placial C.
The notion that belief admits of degrees is widely held among philosophers and psychologists. Yet, this notion remains contested among philosophers of religion and theologians, despite recent scholarship framing faith as a credence: a variable intensity of belief that operates on a spectrum rather than as a binary switch. More broadly, the social sciences have long challenged the simplicity of "belief," occasionally questioning the utility of the category itself. This panel investigates these emerging perspectives. We will discuss various theories of belief in philosophy and the social sciences that challenge the classical notion of belief, assessing their fecundity and plausibility through the lens of literary analysis. Bringing together philosophers of religion and literary specialists, it will explore how narrative fiction model the complexity of religious psychology. By treating literary characters as case studies and examining contemporary writing practices that blur the boundaries between belief and unbelief (such as those of E. Carrère and J. Cercas, among others), this panel evaluates the anthropological plausibility of non-binary accounts of belief. It is also an attempt to explore the nexus between philosophy, theology and literature in religious epistemology.
Tha panel will be sponsored by the Research Center Écritures (University of Lorraine), the Institut Universitaire de France and the scientific Journal ThéoRèmes.
