Array
(
    [fullTitle] => The Highways and Byways of Ritual: Pascal and Xunzi on Faith, Virtue, and Religious Practice
    [abstract] => Blaise Pascal contends that ritual is not simply an expression of religious faith; it is also the means by which religious faith is cultivated. While Pascal fails to offer a plausible account of how ritual can lead to faith, the classical Confucian philosopher Xunzi’s account of ritual – especially his account of how rituals shape a person’s character and how one comes to “acquire a taste” for the things that rituals achieve – is a helpful resource for extending and refining Pascal’s account of how ritual works to transform not just our actions but our feelings, desires, and beliefs, as well.
    [authors] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Erin M.
                    [affiliation] => Georgetown University
                )

        )

    [keywords] => Array
        (
        )

    [doi] => 10.24204/ejpr.v8i1.68
    [datePublished] => 2016-03-21
    [pdf] => https://www.philosophy-of-religion.eu/menuscript/index.php/ejpr/article/view/68/version/17/25
)
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The Highways and Byways of Ritual: Pascal and Xunzi on Faith, Virtue, and Religious Practice

Erin M.
Georgetown University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v8i1.68

Abstract

Blaise Pascal contends that ritual is not simply an expression of religious faith; it is also the means by which religious faith is cultivated. While Pascal fails to offer a plausible account of how ritual can lead to faith, the classical Confucian philosopher Xunzi’s account of ritual – especially his account of how rituals shape a person’s character and how one comes to “acquire a taste” for the things that rituals achieve – is a helpful resource for extending and refining Pascal’s account of how ritual works to transform not just our actions but our feelings, desires, and beliefs, as well.

Keywords:

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