The Revelatory Imagination: Thought Experiments and the Pluralist Turn

The Revelatory Imagination:
Thought Experiments and the Pluralist Turn

Date/Time: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 15:00 – 16:30 (HK time)

Language: English

Venue: Rm 201, May Hall, HKU & Via ZOOM (Registration is required.)

ABSTRACT
This talk explores the imagination as a mode of divine revelation and argues that thought experiments – commonly associated with the natural sciences – possess deep theological significance.  Prof. Fehige proposes that revelation does not merely accommodate the imagination but advances through it.  This claim forms part of a broader response to the pluralist turn in the history and philosophy of science, which calls on theology to reconsider its own epistemic frameworks.  By re-framing thought experiments in pluralist terms, a constructive theology of revelation is offered that embraces epistemic diversity and affirms the cognitive significance of the imagination.  This approach not only bridges disciplinary boundaries but also invites a renewed understanding of how theology might respond more faithfully to the complexities of a pluralist world.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professor Yiftach Fehige holds Ph.D. degrees in both philosophy (2004) and theology (2011), and holds a B.Sc. In physics (1998).  He has been a core faculty member at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST) at the University of Toronto since 2007.  His work primarily explores the evolving landscape of science and religion, particularly at the intersection of Eastern and Western perspectives, a featured in his edited volume Science and Religion: East and West (2016) and his latest monograph Thought Experiments, Science, and Theology (2023).

ORGANIZER

Faith and Global Engagement, HKIHSS, HKU;

CO-ORGANIZER

ASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU