Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Anthony Kenny" in English language version.
his path to Parnassus was unusual. Raised by a single mother in 1930s Liverpool after his father walked out when Tony was two, he found a mentor in his uncle Alec (Alexander Jones), a distinguished scholar-priest, before himself opting at the age of twelve to train for ordination. Brief Encounters describes the move as disastrous. Kenny was laicized by papal fiat in 1963, having gradually lost his faith while a doctoral student.
This book is intended as a critical exposition of the arguments for God's existence presented by Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae. Looking for illumination in parallel passages in Aquinas' works, Kenny tries to clarify the meaning of each alleged proof, often disagreeing with other expositors. Kenny finds all the arguments wanting: in each case, at least one premise is questionable if not downright false or some logical fallacy has been committed. Needless to say, this conclusion will come as no surprise to philosophers familiar with attempts to demonstrate rationally the existence of God
I'm agnostic about the existence of God. I don't find the arguments of atheists like Dawkins convincing, nor the arguments of Aquinas. The sensible thing to say is that I don't know.
Born Liverpool 16 March 1931; s of John Kenny and Margaret Jones; m 1966, Nancy Caroline, d of Henry T. Gayley, Jr, Swarthmore, Pa; two s
This book is intended as a critical exposition of the arguments for God's existence presented by Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae. Looking for illumination in parallel passages in Aquinas' works, Kenny tries to clarify the meaning of each alleged proof, often disagreeing with other expositors. Kenny finds all the arguments wanting: in each case, at least one premise is questionable if not downright false or some logical fallacy has been committed. Needless to say, this conclusion will come as no surprise to philosophers familiar with attempts to demonstrate rationally the existence of God
his path to Parnassus was unusual. Raised by a single mother in 1930s Liverpool after his father walked out when Tony was two, he found a mentor in his uncle Alec (Alexander Jones), a distinguished scholar-priest, before himself opting at the age of twelve to train for ordination. Brief Encounters describes the move as disastrous. Kenny was laicized by papal fiat in 1963, having gradually lost his faith while a doctoral student.
I was reading Anthony Kenny's A Life in Oxford. . . . After he has applied for and achieved laicization, married, and taken up a position at Oxford, Kenny—by now an agnostic—continues to attend Catholic Mass. But he does so as a non-Catholic, always careful to limit his participation in the liturgy to those portions that do not imply either religious belief or membership in the Church. His reasoning [being] . . . 'to recite the Creed or receive Communion would be, in my view, not only a sacrifice of integrity on the part of the unbeliever but also an insult to the seriousness with which these actions are undertaken by believers.'
since the 1960s I have remained in the philosophical position I then adopted: agnostic about the existence of God, sceptical about the possibility of life after death
Kenny became a Fellow and tutor of Balliol in 1963, having left the priesthood after two years as a curate in Liverpool, his birthplace. A condition of his proceeding to a doctorate at the Gregorian University (he had already passed the exams) was that he take an oath declaring that it was possible to demonstrate the existence of God. Increasingly doubtful about attaching meaning to any statements about God at all, let alone proving his existence, Kenny obtained permission to return to the lay state. He was not, however, released from his vow of celibacy, and so was automatically excommunicated when he married in 1965.
Born Liverpool 16 March 1931; s of John Kenny and Margaret Jones; m 1966, Nancy Caroline, d of Henry T. Gayley, Jr, Swarthmore, Pa; two s
I was reading Anthony Kenny's A Life in Oxford. . . . After he has applied for and achieved laicization, married, and taken up a position at Oxford, Kenny—by now an agnostic—continues to attend Catholic Mass. But he does so as a non-Catholic, always careful to limit his participation in the liturgy to those portions that do not imply either religious belief or membership in the Church. His reasoning [being] . . . 'to recite the Creed or receive Communion would be, in my view, not only a sacrifice of integrity on the part of the unbeliever but also an insult to the seriousness with which these actions are undertaken by believers.'
Kenny became a Fellow and tutor of Balliol in 1963, having left the priesthood after two years as a curate in Liverpool, his birthplace. A condition of his proceeding to a doctorate at the Gregorian University (he had already passed the exams) was that he take an oath declaring that it was possible to demonstrate the existence of God. Increasingly doubtful about attaching meaning to any statements about God at all, let alone proving his existence, Kenny obtained permission to return to the lay state. He was not, however, released from his vow of celibacy, and so was automatically excommunicated when he married in 1965.
This book is intended as a critical exposition of the arguments for God's existence presented by Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae. Looking for illumination in parallel passages in Aquinas' works, Kenny tries to clarify the meaning of each alleged proof, often disagreeing with other expositors. Kenny finds all the arguments wanting: in each case, at least one premise is questionable if not downright false or some logical fallacy has been committed. Needless to say, this conclusion will come as no surprise to philosophers familiar with attempts to demonstrate rationally the existence of God
