One Philosopher’s Reflections on Another Philosopher’s Memoirs

Review of Nicholas Wolterstorff, In This World of Wonders: Memoir of a life in Learning (Eerdmans, 2019)

There were several reasons why I was very keen to read Wolterstorff’s memoirs. First, I have always enjoyed reading autobiographies. We need to hear one another’s stories. Most often I find biographies and autobiographies inspiring as I reflect on someone else’s life experiences. Given my own background as a Christian philosopher, I was of course especially interested in reading the memoirs of a fellow Christian philosopher. Secondly, I have been very much influenced by Reformed philosophers like Wolterstorff. Indeed, I credit Reformed philosophers for my own philosophical salvation. So again, I wanted to read the memoirs of the man who wrote Reason within the Bounds of Religion, which so profoundly shaped my own thinking many years ago. Thirdly, I was in the middle of writing my own autobiography when I first read Wolterstorff’s memoirs, and so I was hoping that I might get a few tips on what a memoir by a philosopher should look like.

I was not disappointed on all counts. The Preface alone is worth the price of the book. Wolterstorff describes his reluctance in taking up the challenge of writing his memoirs. Who would want to read the story of a man whose life was rather “boring,” who spent most of his time reading books, thinking hard, and preparing and giving lectures? And isn’t it rather egotistical to write one’s memoirs? These were questions I was wrestling with in writing my own autobiography. It helped to have a fellow Christian philosopher give expression to these concerns.

There are other features of this book that encouraged me in my own writing project. Wolterstorff moves easily from personal family matters to academic politics to philosophical discussions. Philosophers are after all persons with lives that transcend the world of philosophy. What surprized me was how open Wolterstorff was in criticizing some of his professors, colleagues and students. I had been agonizing about this in writing my own autobiography. Wolterstorff’s memoir encouraged me to name the difficult persons I had encountered in my academic career and in the church. It certainly makes for more interesting reading.

In This World of Wonders includes a good review of Wolterstorff’s own philosophical writings. I was again reminded of the breadth of his writing. I loved his description of the writing process (pp. 292ff). Yes, new thoughts that come to mind as one is thinking and writing about a topic, is “truly mysterious.” And the “seesaw of emotional frustration and gratification” while writing is spot on (p. 294). I was also inspired by Wolterstorff’s description of his love of writing and the call to write in line with his abilities and opportunities (p. 296).

I especially appreciated Wolterstorff’s review of Reformed epistemology that he and Alvin Plantinga spearheaded (pp. 179ff). I was however a little puzzled about his comments that at Calvin College, they were not at all concerned about arguments for the existence of God (p. 56). Puzzled, because later he admits that Plantinga has been very concerned to show that it is not unreasonable to believe in God (p. 243). And earlier Wolterstorff himself expresses sympathy with the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God (p. 211). Now I realize that one important ingredient of Reformed epistemology is that belief in God might be a basic belief, and that arguments are therefore not necessary. But the argument that belief in God is a basic belief is still a kind of argument. I see both Wolterstorff and Plantinga very much involved in apologetics, though apologetics in a different key.

I also appreciated Wolterstorff’s moving account of the death of his son in Chapter 7. Here he explains why he became uninterested in theodicy, i.e. justifying the goodness of God in the face of evil and suffering. Yes, painful experiences have a way of making rational arguments seem rather futile. And yet, he couldn’t give up on God (p. 210). Again, he was forced to live with mystery. Yes, indeed.

 I was very interested in Wolterstorff’s reflections on teaching philosophy. I couldn’t help but take note of a comment about his experiences after he returned to Yale to teach in the Divinity School. He recalls that every once in a while a student would raise his hand and say something to the effect: “But as Jesus says in John 5 …” (p. 250). Wolterstorff goes on to say that this was always in indicator that this student was evangelical and he was speaking as if he were at an evangelical campfire. And then this: “I would take such a student aside afterwards and say that he could make approximately the same point he was trying to make, but that he had to learn to make it in a voice appropriate to a Yale philosophy classroom rather than in a voice appropriate to an evangelical campfire.”

Here I cannot resist engaging in some philosophical analysis. Why is quoting what Jesus says in John 5 distinctively evangelical? Wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) liberal Christians use this same kind of language? Or is Wolterstorff indulging in a liberal bias against evangelicals? Another question: Exactly what is the difference between camp-fire talk and talk within a philosophy classroom? Is philosophical talk superior to camp-fire talk? And if this is what is implied, is this not rather patronizing and condescending? Or does the making of this contrast reveal the dark side of intellectual embarrassment about any talk about Jesus? Surely at a divinity school it should be appropriate to quote Jesus. Or, must all such quoting be done in a “critical” fashion as befits a philosophy classroom? Maybe, just maybe, there are problems with the critical approaches to theology that are in vogue today. I would further suggest that Wolterstorff’s contrast and implicit critique of Jesus talk goes counter to his own critique of John Rawls and Rawls’s argument that in the public sphere only rational “neutral” arguments are allowed, only appeals to “public reason” (p. 271ff). Is this not what Wolterstorff is doing when he demands of his evangelical students that they not argue from within their own tradition?

But there is more. “Evangelicals often interpret the hostility they experience in academic settings as hostility to Christianity, or more specifically, as hostility to evangelical Christianity. Sometimes it is that, but not always. Sometimes it’s a reaction to the fact that the voice in which the evangelical is speaking is inappropriate to the situation” (p. 250). Again, all the questions I have raised in the previous paragraph apply. I’m glad that Wolterstorff at least added the word “sometimes.” I have certainly experienced hostility to Christianity and evangelical Christianity in the secular academic world. I still remember giving a paper at a conference at the University of Toronto where I was defending the possibility of an ethical form of evangelism, and where I experienced obvious and open hostility to my philosophical defense of the possibility of ethical forms of evangelism. And I didn’t quote John 5! I have to wonder whether Wolterstorff has not experienced more hostility because his is the voice of a liberal Christianity, which is more acceptable at a liberal university. Perhaps also his reputation is such that colleagues are more circumspect in expressing their opposition to Wolterstorff’s arguments.

I hope that the above critical reflections will not detract from all that is good and inspiring about Wolterstorff’s memoirs. Philosopher’s simply can’t help but engage in critical reflection! Much more could be said about In This World of Wonders, but my intent in this blog is just to share a few of my reflections on this superb autobiography. I am thankful that Wolterstorff overcame his initial reluctance in writing his memoirs. His vignettes and many stories were indeed inspiring. I gained a deeper understanding of the man who has shaped my own thinking over the years. And I learned a few lessons about how to write a philosopher’s autobiography. For those interested in another autobiography/memoir of a philosopher, see my Stumbling Heavenward: One Philosopher’s Journey (Mill Lake Books, 2021).

Tags: autobiography, education, evangelicalism, liberalism, memoirs, Philosophy, philosophy and Christianity, Reformed epistemology, Reformed philosophers, Wolterstorff