Realizm naukowy a teologia

Abstract

In this article the epistemological credibility of the theological theory formation is examined against the background of emerging recent scientific realism. A discussion of the necessity of theological interaction with philosophy of science leads to the difficult problem of reference or reality depication in theological theories, and to an analysis of the present discussion on scientific realism. In this analysis special attention is drawn to the fact that in all forms of realism ontological claims imply that something can be inferred about real structures that are at present out of our epistemological reach. Against this background the necessary and central role of metaphors and models in science is disussed and linked to the criterion of fertility regarding all scientific explanations. Eventually the complicated problem of the reliability and the epistemological status of theological knowledge is discussed within the context of critical realism in theology. Special attention is given to provisional criteria for realism in theology, and eventually to the two central problems for any form of realism in theology: (a) the role of religious or faith commitment in theological reflection; (b) the problem whether models, which are as indispensable in theology as they are in science, can also in a meaningful way be regarded as explanatory and thus as progressive and successful.