Faith as practical attitude toward contingent being

• Main Author: Andrey S. Zheleznov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Philosophy and Law 2019-06-01
• Series: Антиномии
• Subjects: ontology; difference; contingency; ant; object-oriented ontology; being; future; faith

The main idea of the article is to show how the concept of faith could resolve problem, which is created in modern ontologies. Under the term «modern ontologies» we understand concepts of Latour (ANT), Harman and Meillassoux (speculative realism), Kerimov and Krasavin (heterology). Within the framework of these ontologies, the world is described as a field of unexpected connections between equivalent entities. New participants and relationships are produced and changed by the process of that interaction. The world and its laws are contingent, they can change, and change at any time. Modern ontologies put us in front of an absolutely unknown future and deny certainty in predictions or calculations. Science is no longer able to predict the changes taking place in the world, society, and our identities due to the process of the world's permanent creation from the connections between a multitude of equal participants. As a result, we have a practical problem: it is not clear how to act reasonably in the world, which constantly gets out of control. Therefore, it is necessary to find ways of correlating our actions or our way of living with being given as «any being». The concept of faith brings us closer to the solution of this problem. Based on model of faith of Kierkegaard, James, Derrida, and Bishop, we can treat faith as practical attitude to any future. Faith is an act or activity, which correlate with the object of faith. Faith has a practical nature. And in the same time, faith implies acceptance of any future as a value and a blessing.