Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

37

BROAD, CHARLIE DUNBAR

BRAHMAN. In Hinduism, Brahman
is the ultimate reality, limitless and
unchanging. Advaita Ve d a n t a teaches a
form of monism, in which Brahman and
atman (the self or soul) are identical
(Advaita is Sanskrit for “not two”). See
also ADVAITA VEDANTA.

BRAITHWAITE, R(ICHARD) B(EVAN)
(1900–1990). He defended a non-
cognitive, non-realist (see ANTI-
REALISM) view of religious language.
Commanding someone to love God is to
be analyzed as recommending that the
person live in a way with love toward all
creation. He is the author of Scientific
Explanation (1953), Theory of Games as a
Tool for the Moral Philosopher (1955), and
An Empiricist’s View of the Nature of Reli-
gious Belief (1957).

BRENTANO, FRANZ (CLEMENS)
(1837–1917). A theist who defended a
non-materialist view of persons, the
goodness of God, and an objective order
of values. He is the author of Psychology
from and Empirical Standpoint (1874)
and Our Knowledge of the Origin of Right
and Wrong (1889).

BRIDGEWATER TREATISES. A series
of treatises published in the early nine-
teenth century by the Reverend Francis
Henry Egerton, the eighth Earl of Bridge-
water, arguing for the wisdom, power, and

goodness of God based on our knowledge

of, and inferences from, the natural world.

BRIGHTMAN, EDGAR SHEFFIELD

(1884–1952). A member of the personal-

ist movement who stressed the personal

nature of God and ethics. For reasons that

stem from the problem of evil, Brightman

held that God is finite in power, rather

than omnipotent. Brightman (along with

fellow personalists Borden Bowne and

Peter Bertocci) taught at Boston Univer-

sity, which is why personalism is some-

times referred to as Boston personalism.

His chief works include An Introduction

to Philosophy (1925), A Philosophy of

Ideals (1928), The Problem of God (1930),

A Philosophy of Religion (1940), Nature

and Values (1945), and Person and Reality

(ed. P. A. Bertocci 1958). See also

PERSONALISM.

BROAD, CHARLIE DUNBAR (1887–

1971). A British philosopher who

defended a non-reductive view of human

persons and realism in ethics. He opposed

ethical and psychological egoism. He

was agnostic about whether there was life

after death and had a lively interest in

parapsychology. Broad’s meticulous cri-

tique of McTaggart constitutes a high

water mark in analytic philosophy. He is

the author of Scientific Thought (1923),

Five Types of Ethical Theory (1930), The

Mind and Its Place in Nature (1925),

Examination of McTaggart’s Philosophy,