[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Unequally Yoked\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-16T22:58:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-12-03T15:05:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.painting-canvas.co.uk\/images\/gallery\/Painting%20Reproduction\/Vermeer\/prepver023.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leah Libresco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leah Libresco\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html\",\"name\":\"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-16T22:58:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-12-03T15:05:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464\"},\"description\":\"As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/\",\"name\":\"Unequally Yoked\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464\",\"name\":\"Leah Libresco\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Leah Libresco\"},\"description\":\"Leah is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. Her further writing can be found at leahlibresco.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/author\/leahlibresco\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap","description":"As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap","og_description":"As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html","og_site_name":"Unequally Yoked","article_published_time":"2012-01-16T22:58:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-12-03T15:05:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.painting-canvas.co.uk\/images\/gallery\/Painting%20Reproduction\/Vermeer\/prepver023.jpg"}],"author":"Leah Libresco","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leah Libresco","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html","name":"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-01-16T22:58:06+00:00","dateModified":"2012-12-03T15:05:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464"},"description":"As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser's The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/","name":"Unequally Yoked","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464","name":"Leah Libresco","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Leah Libresco"},"description":"Leah is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. Her further writing can be found at leahlibresco.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/author\/leahlibresco"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":1511,"date":"2012-01-16T17:58:06","date_gmt":"2012-01-16T22:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=1511"},"modified":"2012-12-03T10:05:11","modified_gmt":"2012-12-03T15:05:11","slug":"feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/01\/feser-stuck-in-the-map-territory-gap.html","title":{"rendered":"[Feser] Stuck in the Map-Territory Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

As promised yesterday, this is the kickoff of my analysis of and questions about Edward Feser\u2019s The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0Yesterday, in the index post, I pasted in Feser\u2019s summary of Aristotle\u2019s Four Causes<\/a> which you may want to refer back to. \u00a0I\u2019m interested in Feser\u2019s book because he\u2019s making the pitch that if you believe in moral order and some kind of telos<\/em> for people, Christianity will follow inexorably. \u00a0Since I fit the first part of his modus ponens<\/a><\/em>, I want to take a look at the rest of his proof.<\/p>\n

But before I can get into any of the nitty-gritty philosophy, I have a broader epistemological question. \u00a0I like<\/em> the four causes and I find them to be a useful way to clarify some questions, but I\u2019m worried there\u2019s a \u201cmap is not the territory<\/a>\u201d trap here. \u00a0Just because Aristotle\u2019s schema is a good framework for conversations doesn\u2019t mean that they are an accurate portrait of the actual structure of the world. \u00a0They may just be a good\u00a0shorthand\u00a0for whatever we already believe, and they might not add anything to our understanding of the world.<\/p>\n

Feser seems to think that Aristotle\u2019s map is isomorphic to the territory, so we can expand our understanding of the world by studying these causes in depth and trying to figure out what you have to presuppose to make them work. \u00a0Feser is essentially bootstrapping his way up to metaphysics and theology by formalizing what he already knows and then accepting whatever is logically required to support his formalization. \u00a0I can follow a lot of the arguments that happen at this stage, but, even if I find them to be coherent, I don\u2019t necessarily believe that they\u2019re true<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the epistemological hurdle a theory should clear to be considered a reasonably accurate map of the world, not just a summary of my previously held beliefs? \u00a0My usual standard is positive predictive value<\/a>, but it\u2019s hard to set up metaphysical experiments, and I\u2019m reluctant to just give up and decide I can\u2019t say anything substantive about these questions. \u00a0How do you strike a balance?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"