Philosophy of Religion in a Radically Pluralist Spirit: A Reply to Responses

I AM enormously indebted to my four interlocutors in this roundtable for their meticulous attention to various aspects of my book, A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion: Cross-Cultural, Multireligious, Interdisciplinary. It is gratifying to learn that there are features of the book that they perceive to be of value as well as stimulating to hear where they consider its weaknesses to lie. In reflecting upon their criticisms, I am reminded of a passage towards the end of D. Z. Phillips’s Religion and the Hermeneutics of Contemplation, where Phillips adverts to the frustration that accompanies philosophical work—the frustration that arises from the recognition that there is always more to be said. Whatever one writes, whether in philosophy or in other academic pursuits, will inevitably be susceptible to the questions “What about this? What about that?” (Phillips 2001, 326). I welcome these interrogations and observations, along with the opportunity to respond. Although I cannot hope, in this concise reply, to do justice to them all, I shall endeavor to touch on some of the most pressing comments from each of the contributors in turn.