The following chapters by Terry Godlove, Jeffrey Stout, Richard Rorty, and Wayne Proudfoot draw their inspiration from three variations on the theme of holism: Donald Davidson's radical interpretation, Robert Brandom's semantic inferentialism, and the pragmatism of Richard Rorty and William James. Godlove argues that there are good Davidsonian reasons for scholars of religion to keep the category of “belief” even though it has come under suspicion. Stout replies that, when interpreting belief, as well as “meaning,” “intention,” and “truth,” the Sellarsian model developed by Brandom, rather than the Davidsonian model, is a better alternative for pragmatists. Making further explicit use of Brandom, Rorty complements Stout's account by showing why the unavailability of norms to regulate discussion of topics such as “the existence of God” throws it open to cultural politics, and invites the privatization of religious beliefs along the lines of William James's “right to believe.” Taking up where Rorty leaves off, Proudfoot contends that beliefs about non-natural, superhuman religious objects, as supposed in William James's “right to believe” argument, cannot qualify for the private sphere where Rortyan pragmatism locates religious beliefs.

Readers will find each of these chapters significant for interpreting believers. Readers not familiar with Davidson's philosophy will gain from Terry Godlove a deft introduction to his most important ideas. Godlove pioneered with the publication in 1989 of the first book-length study of the relevance of Donald Davidson's work to interpretation in religion.