Intuitionism, Religious Belief, and Proof in the Papers of the Metaphysical Society

An issue frequently discussed by members of the Metaphysical Society concerned whether and how belief and believing can be justified. This exchange has been regarded as one between ‘empiricists’ and ‘intuitionists’. Here, I examine the responses to the issue of the justification of belief—particularly, religious belief—provided by those called ‘Christian intuitionists’. Little attention, however, has been given to what is meant by this intuitionism, or to the complexities of the Christian intuitionist position. I focus, therefore, on one of the founding members of the Society, the ecclesiastic and theologian, Henry Edward Manning, who arguably provides the most developed account of this view. Determining what Manning understood intuitionism to mean, allows one to see better what these intuitionists took religious belief to be, and how religious belief can be true and, as appropriate, reasonable or justifiable. In doing so, the so-called ‘Christian intuitionist’ position is made clearer.